Cole Bardreau will miss chance to impress at Flyers training camp

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VOORHEES, N.J. — Every team in hockey has its share of tough-luck players; guys who have a knack for getting an injury at the wrong time and miss out on something significant.

Such appears to be the case for Flyers forward prospect Cole Bardreau.

The 23-year-old Phantoms center underwent abdominal surgery within the past 10 days and will miss all of training camp.

He’s had significant injuries going back several years, starting with a cervical fracture in his neck three years ago at Cornell University that caused him to miss the NHL draft. 

The Flyers signed him as a free agent in 2015.

“He should be back by mid-October,” general manager Ron Hextall said Thursday at Flyers Skate Zone.

With the Flyers missing three centermen — Claude Giroux, Sean Couturier and Pierre-Edouard Bellemare — because of the World Cup of Hockey, Bardreau, along with Scott Laughton and Nick Cousins, would have been given extra ice time and a chance to impress in preseason exhibitions.

“Typically, your veteran players, you want to get them in four, five games, and it limits the opportunity for some other guys,” Hextall said.

“Well this year is a little different year. Especially in the middle. Look at our centers from last year — three of them are in the World Cup. So there’s going to be opportunities here for guys to show us what they can do.”

From the standpoint of forward prospects, much of the attention there in rookie camp will be focused on Travis Konecny.

As such, Bardreau said after this summer’s developmental camp, he was hoping to fly under the radar and impress people on the side.

“Absolutely, I think that with all my injuries, it’s kind of been the story of my whole career,” Bardreau said this past June. “I’ve always been the underdog that really surprises people and that’s something that I like to play with.

“Last year, my goal was to come in and help out the Phantoms and be a stable position, but this year the goal is to try and get a few games up with the Flyers. It’s important for me to come in with that mindset, it’s going to help me along the way.”

Unfortunately for him, it won’t happen.

Gudas update
Hextall said the club’s information and examination of Radko Gudas doesn’t quite measure up to what Czech officials announced last week — that the Flyers’ defenseman had a hairline fracture in his wrist.

A source told CSNPhilly.com this week Gudas’ injury wasn’t as severe as believed and he is expected in camp.

“There is some misinformation there and leave it at that,” Hextall said. “He has an upper-body injury and we’ll monitor him week to week and that’s it.”

Camp dates
An update: Rookies will go on ice Sept. 19, while the veterans will be on ice Sept. 23. The Flyers-Islanders rookie game on Long Island is slated for Sept. 21.

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