The Flyers’ 4 Nations Face-Off participants won’t hold any secrets back when it comes to their teammates: ‘We’re here to win’
John Tortorella, Travis Sanheim, and Sam Ersson all said they won't hesitate to spill the beans on their Flyers teammates. Sanheim and Ersson also said they can draw from the Eagles' Super Bowl win.
BROSSARD, Quebec — After the Flyers defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday, coach John Tortorella joked that the United States will run over Sam Ersson when they play against Sweden.
At least we think he is joking.
“We’re trying to win. We’re trying to kick the [expletive] out of them,” Tortorella said in December.
Er, maybe not.
The Flyers bench boss is swapping orange and black for red, white, and blue for the next two weeks as he will serve as an assistant coach on Mike Sullivan’s staff for the upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off. The inaugural “best-on-best” tournament, which will be contested by the U.S., Canada, Sweden, and Finland, begins Wednesday and will serve as a dress rehearsal for next year’s Winter Olympics in Italy.
» READ MORE: Flyers-Penguins takeaways: The annual Scott Laughton sale, and Ersson's the one
In addition to Ersson, defenseman Travis Sanheim and forward Travis Konecny are playing for Canada. Defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen was named to Team Finland but dropped out Sunday due to injury.
Tortorella said there are no secrets about his NHLers during the tournament. All their cards and tendencies are on the table — and he’s not the only one doing that.
“I’ll give them no special treatment in any way like that,“ Ersson told The Inquirer. ”So when we’re here, it’s all about this team and trying to help this team win."
The Swedish team is filled with stars like William Nylander and Victor Hedman. On Monday, the Flyers goalie was like a kid on Christmas and “snuck out there” a little early in his gold and yellow pads. He joked that he’ll let his current partners, Linus Ullmark and Filip Gustavsson, know what Konency likes to do in the shootout — before saying with a chuckle that the Ontario native’s go-to move on breakaways is the worst-kept secret in the NHL.
Don’t worry, the Canadians will be sharing too.
“If that time comes, obviously we’re here to win. So I’m going to do everything that I can. ... And after these two weeks, we’ll go back to being friends,” Sanheim told The Inquirer.
The blueliner said he’s been getting texts from the Flyers, asking how it’s going and letting him know they’ll be tuning in. So, how is it going? Well, while Konency did not skate on Monday due to illness, Sanheim practiced with the likes of Sidney Crosby, Connor McDavid, and Drew Doughty, who he did some penalty killing with.
“Every time you walk in and see some of the guys you’re sitting next to and having conversations with, you don’t really think about it in the moment,” said Sanheim, whose stall at the Montreal Canadiens practice facility was between Colorado’s Cale Makar and Devon Toews. “Then you sit back a little bit and realize where you’re at and who you’re with.
“Never really thought that this was something that was possible for me so really, really honored. It’s a privilege.”
Fly Eagles Fly
Sanheim said he and Konecny wore their Eagles jerseys on Sunday as they watched the Super Bowl with Team Canada. “Had to show our Philly love and was happy they pulled through for us and got the Super Bowl win," he said.
Ersson watched the game, too, and seriously debated bringing his jersey. Instead, he opted for a green shirt and hat. The goalie has watched videos of the postgame celebration in Center City, and he called the win inspiring.
“It’s a special feeling you get watching that and you really want to be in a situation like that one day,” he said while wearing a 76ers hat.
“I think it just goes to show the sports market that we’re in and what winning looks like in the city of Philadelphia,“ Sanheim added. ”[It’s] something that we’re trying to get to and work towards.
“I think that just makes it much more exciting and easier to motivate yourself to get to that level with how the city reacts. It’s somewhere we want to get to.
“Obviously, it’s going to take time. But we know we’re going to get there eventually, and when we do it’s going to be a lot of fun.”