ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Nikita Grebenkin popped off the bench in overtime, took a drop pass and zipped a shot into the net.
And just like that, the Flyers were celebrating Friday night at PPL Center.
With the club’s front office and new coaching staff watching from upstairs, the Flyers beat the Rangers, 4-3, in the first of two rookie games this weekend at the home of AHL affiliate Lehigh Valley.
Denver Barkey, Alexis Gendron and Jacob Gaucher also scored goals for the Flyers. The team, which just opened rookie training camp Thursday, erased deficits of 2-0 and 3-2.
“There’s a lot to like and a lot to be happy with,” John Snowden, the Phantoms’ head coach who runs rookie camp, said. “Obviously we don’t have a whole lot of time to put together what our plan is and I thought they did a heck of a job at executing it. We saw a ton of plays, we saw some skill come out, which I think we all wanted to see.”
• The Flyers’ decision-makers had to be pleased with the contributions from some forwards who will be knocking at the door throughout the season.
Grebenkin, who came to the Flyers in the Scott Laughton trade, definitely showed an offensive mindset.
“He finished in an important moment of the game for us,” Snowden said. “He made a lot of plays below the goal line. … It was a good start for him in this camp.”
The 22-year-old Russian winger played seven games for the Maple Leafs last season and will be vying for his Flyers debut this season.
Nikita Grebenkin won it for the Flyers in overtime, capping off a 4-3 rookie game victory.
In the second period, Barkey got the Flyers on the board with a 4-on-4 marker off a feed from recent trade acquisition Tucker Robertson. The 20-year-old Barkey is a dogged competitor who makes winning plays.
“The biggest thing about him is that he’s just so competitive,” Snowden said. “He’s a smaller guy, but he plays like he’s 6-4. How many puck battles did he win tonight?”
The 5-foot-9 winger will have to overcome the undersized label.
“It has kind of been the story of my life, always have been a smaller guy,” Barkey said. “So ever since a young age, I’ve always had to be a heads-up player and think ahead.”
Karsen Dorwart didn’t hurt his chances at trying to work his way into the Flyers’ bottom-six picture at center. The 22-year-old collected a pair of assists. On Gendron’s game-tying 2-2 goal at shorthanded in the middle stanza, Dorwart sparked the rush. His second helper came on Grebenkin’s winner.
The Michigan State product signed with the Flyers toward the end of last season as a college free agent and played five games for the big club.
“I think last spring was huge for me to kind of get out of the mindset of, ‘Whoa, this is the NHL,'” Dorwart said. “Now my goal is to make the team. That’s what I wanted to do all summer, it’s what I want to do now. Just doing everything I can in these couple of games and then going into training camp to prove that I can make the team.”
Devin Kaplan made a slew of impressive moves to set up Gaucher’s game-tying 3-3 goal in the third period. The 21-year-old winger made his NHL debut in last season’s finale.
• Alex Bump, the rookie camp headliner, played on the Flyers’ top line with Jack Nesbitt and Samu Tuomaala.
The 21-year-old winger didn’t crack the scoresheet, but he had his offensive savviness on display. He also exhibited his improved strength by protecting the puck to extend possession on a few plays.
“He’s a cerebral, intelligent hockey player, especially when it comes to the offensive side of the game,” Snowden said Friday after morning skate. “He is so strategic as for where he needs to go, he never puts himself outside of a scoring area, he always re-routes back into the interior. So he’s always putting himself into good spots.”
Bump has a legit shot to make the Flyers’ season-opening roster. Before now, he had never been in a training camp because of school.
“I’m prepared for it,” Bump said Friday after morning skate. “I don’t really think there should be pressure if I’m prepared for it.”
• Carson Bjarnason, the Flyers’ 2023 second-round pick, played the full game and converted 21 saves on 24 shots.
He allowed two goals a little over four and a half minutes into the action. The second one he needed to stop. Bjarnason saw the shot, but the puck ricocheted past him after it appeared to hit his stick.
“The first period, I want those back, definitely,” Bjarnason said. “I’ll take the blame on those, those are my fault.”
The 20-year-old then settled in and made some key saves. He was playing his first game since April 1 in the WHL playoffs. His first pro season is ahead with Lehigh Valley.
• An under-the-radar defenseman would be Ethan Samson, who played an athletic and comfortable game at the point of the power play. The 22-year-old has good size and two AHL seasons under his belt.
“Samson I thought looked pretty good tonight,” Snowden said.
• Sawyer Boulton fired up the crowd in the second period when he fought Corbin Vaughan and then jawed with the Rangers’ bench.
Vaughan dropped the gloves earlier in the period when he gave Gaucher a round of punches. Gaucher was defending Kaplan, who took a big hit.
Boulton then stood up for Gaucher by giving it back to Vaughan.
Sawyer Boulton and Corbin Vaughan dropped the gloves in the Flyers vs. Rangers rookie game Friday night.
• Oliver Bonk was out because of a maintenance day, but the 2023 first-round defenseman is expected to play Saturday against the Rangers in the second rookie game (5 p.m. ET).
Bjarnason will play the first half of the game before camp invite Joey Costanzo comes on in relief.
