Hart finally finds his feet in South Jersey

Of those courageous Flyers souls who have ventured back to the Skate Zone in Voorhees, N.J. for informal, if restrictive workouts on the socially distanced ice, 21-year-old stillrookie-goalie Carter Hart might be the rustiest.

Since the coronavirus shutdown in the NHL kicked in March 12, Hart has spent almost all his time at his family’s home in Sherwood Park, Alberta. You’d think there a talented kid could find the use of some ice?

Nope, not way up there, either.

“It was great; it felt great to get back out there,” Hart said Monday after his first Flyers skate (sort of) in about 3½ months. “Nice to see some of the boys that are here, and, just to get back on the ice and feel the ice again. I mean, I didn’t have much ice (time) back home, so it’s nice to get back out here and get into a rhythm and see some of the guys.”

They’re only doing that in sixman-maximum shifts, only doing simple drills and perhaps a pond hockey session here and there, but it’s certainly better than merely riding a Peloton in the family basement.

Yes, even in Alberta, Hart found it difficult to keep sharp. Except with his PS4, which he explained he didn’t use much until finding so much time on his hands back home that he

essentially turned into a gamer.

“It’s probably been the longest I’ve been off ice in my life,” said Hart, who estimated he’d only seen pucks in a few informal sessions before Monday. And that wasn’t during a long stretch of mandated inactivity in Western Canada earlier in the spring.

“I mean, three months, I think, without skating,” Hart added. “That’s a pretty long time. So the first time you get out there and feel the ice again, just skate around, that’s a pretty good feeling.”

Based on what he saw from his teammates before the shutdown, Hart has a feeling the Flyers are in a good position if this virus indeed allows the NHL to get back into action. A second training camp is still scheduled to open in Voorhees on July 10, with a round-robin seeding tournament expected for a time and site to be determined toward the end of that month.

If all goes according to coronavirus-free plan, a relatively full Stanley Cup playoff season would commence sometime in August.

“I think it’s important that when we get our camp rolling here on July 10, that we come in and everybody’s ready to go,” Hart said. “Whatever they give us, two or three weeks to get ready and maybe one exhibition game to get ourselves prepared, I think we have the right group here to be ready to go.

“Wherever that is, whatever date they tell us that we’re going to play.”