Holmgren speaks 1/7/13

Courtesy of the Courier Post and the Philadelphia Flyers 

When will full team be in town?

“We can’t organize. They have to do it on their own because we can’t contact them right now.”

Injury updates on Danny Briere, who recently injured a wrist playing in Germany, and Andrej Meszaros, who had surgery in August to repair a torn right Achilles tendon.

“We’ve got some injury issues that are a little bit concerning now. Meszaros will get checked out today. He looks good on the ice. He feels good, so we’re hoping he gets clearance to go ahead. I think it’s just a trust issue (skating for Meszaros). I’m assuming the doctors are going to say he’s good to go, then it’s just going to come from Andrej practicing and doing the things that we can do. We went through it last year in the playoff game. We all thought he was ready to go, then when Claude couldn’t play in the last game because of the suspension, Andrej wanted to get in there and was one of our better players in that game. So he got over a hump by playing the game. We’ll see. He’s a good kid. He’s worked hard to get to the point where he is now. You just hope that A, he is healthy, and B, he gets over that mental hump.”

What about Danny?

“Danny Briere is a little bit of a concern. We’ll get the information on that over the next few days.”

Will Danny be ready for the season opener?

“I don’t know for sure. We’ll see in the next few days once our doctors get their hands on him. I don’t think it’s serious, but we’ll see. The fact that Danny was playing probably was good. Missing a little bit of time isn’t that big of deal. Obviously, you’d like to have him. If we don’t, we’ll deal with it.”

What did you do during the lockout?

“I saw the Phantoms play quite a few times. I did a lot of amateur stuff, which was a good way to keep busy.”

Can Kimmo Timonen and veterans benefit from a shorter season?

“I remember the last time we came back. I was coaching then. It just goes by so quickly. You’ve got to have lots of players. They gotta be on the same page in what you’re trying to do. I think the coaches are going to have a big say in this, what type of game they want to play. I know they’ve been doing their preparation the last couple of days and planning. It’ll go fast. But we’re all in the same boat.”

Can the Flyers not having much turnover on roster work to your benefit?

“There’s a number of guys who have played 30-odd games with the Phantoms, which is good. I think a lot of our players did play in Europe. I think that’s going to be beneficial. The guys that decided not to (play during the lockout), I don’t think that’s an issue either. It’s important when we do get together, whatever the number of days of practice time, they have to have their focus and get ready for the first time. To get ‘em back, I think we’re going to have to a very short period of time to get our practices in and get ready for the first game. Again, that’s where the coaches come into play. The fact there that is some familiarity with how we play and it’s pretty much the same group as last year is good for us.

Expect some player movement before season opener?

“With our team, highly unlikely. Around the league, probably some.”

When fans and media talk about the Flyers, the defense often is viewed as the weakest part of team. Disagree?

“Meszaros is a question mark because of his injury, but he’s a good player. Kimmo’s a good player. Coburn’s a good player. Grossmann’s a good player. I think Luke Schenn is a good player. I think he’s going to be a real good fit on our team. I don’t particularly get into reading what other people say, but I like our defense. They’re big and their mobile and they can move the puck. Kimmo got bigger over the lockout!”

On buyouts being part of the next CBA. How will that affect teams?

“I don’t know. That’s probably a good question if I had time to think about it. I don’t know it affects anything. It’s in there, I would assume, for teams to become cap compliant. Teams are going to go about their business and do what they think they need to do to become cap compliant and come up with the best team they can come up with. I don’t know how players view it.”

Expect to name a captain before season because Chris Pronger is still injured?

“I haven’t even thought about it. I’ll sit with Lavy over the next few days and we’ll decide. Obviously, we’ll have a captain at some point. That’s another thing to add to the list. Thanks for bringing that up.”

Update on Nick Grossmann?

“He played with his hometown team (during the lockout in Sweden) a few games. He did go back and practiced with them and ended up playing a few games.”

Is Grossmann healthy?
“Yeah, yeah.”

Will there be roster spots up for grabs?

"We still haven’t settled on who is going to come in from the Phantoms other than the obvious guys. There are some guys that played well down there and could perhaps get looks here in a short training camp that we’re going to have. Ice time is always up for grabs, and that’s a good thing. It’s about the Flyers. Terry Murray and his staff down there understand that. I saw (the Phantoms’) last game when they came back and won in overtime. When I saw Terry after the game, I kind of identified some players that he might lose if this thing got down, which it did. There are some players in (ECHL) Trenton that have been playing and they might get shuffled up to Glen Falls to fill the spots. The team that probably is going to suffer the most is Trenton.”

Some teams are talking about bringing in junior players to training camp. Perhaps 2012 No. 1 draft pick Scott Laughton? Have you thought about it?

“It’s probably unlikely, but I haven’t decided yet.”