Finding Offense: How the Flyers Can Take that Next Step in Year 2 of Rick Tocchet

The Flyers have their defensive structures down. Players have become responsible in the defensive zone, and the defensemen have taken massive strides from guys like Travis Sanheim to Jamie Drysdale, taking massive steps forward. Now, it’s time to incorporate more offense in the mix, to take this team from sneaking into the playoffs to becoming a contender. On Wednesday, Tocchet pointed out a few areas where he can see his team making the biggest improvements. The Flyers coach opened that topic with a question. *“How do you score goals, right?”* Tocchet pointed out the obvious: the fact that the Flyers don’t have a pure scorer like Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, or Cale Makar. Because of that, the coach said, *“*Y*ou have to think of other ways to score as a team*.” Four main areas of emphasis for next season were highlighted: puck possession, wall work, finishing on chances, and, of course, the power play. Those were four areas in which the Flyers struggled mightily during both the regular season and playoffs. It sounds like Tocchet is looking for less dump-and-chase next season. “*Do we want to carry the puck in more? Yes. Be more calculated? Of course.”* *“We’ve got to be a better wall team. I think that corner work and wall work are a very underrated thing when it comes to hockey. If you look at the teams that go far, you watch their inside game, that’s something we have to improve on,”* said Tocchet. Tocchet also knows he can get harder and more improved shots from his team. The first-year coach also knew what he was walking into with the power play. *“Walking into this with the staff together, we knew this was a five-year, six-year problem. It’s something, it’s a, it’s a talking point every year.”* Tocchet mentioned that they were aware of it, but they did not want to make such a big deal out of it in Year 1 that it took away from other aspects of the transition. He also recognized that there were many young players on the man-advantage. That adds a lot of pressure. It’s his job as the coach to relieve some of that pressure for the team. Tocchet explained how he can do so.”*That’s diving into it this summer, different scheming, different way of practicing. You know, maybe less information. Sometimes, you know, giving them too much information makes guys tighter. So we’re gonna dive deep into it.”* But, there’s a player side of it, too. So, what does Tocchet want to see from his power play guys? *“If you want to be on the power play, you’re going to have to get these reads. So how do you get these reads? Well, study, live it, practice it, rinse and repeat.”* The players are hungry; they want more. Now, Rick Tocchet laid out how he and his team can take the next step in Year 2. **Read More: *Can’t Stop Won’t Stop: Porter Martone is Headed to World Championships*** The post Finding Offense: How the Flyers Can Take that Next Step in Year 2 of Rick Tocchet appeared first on Philly Hockey Now.