Cam York Details Individual Improvements, Dispels Injury Concerns From This Past Season
Like it was for many of his teammates, the 2023-24 season was one of huge strides and valuable lessons for Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Cam York.
Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports - Cam York Details Individual Improvements, Dispels Injury Concerns From This Past SeasonLike it was for many of his teammates, the 2023-24 season was one of huge strides and valuable lessons for Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Cam York.
In fact, York did so well that he received the Pelle Lindbergh Memorial Trophy, an award for the Flyers' most improved player, voted on by the players themselves.
"It's really cool," he said of winning the award. "I felt like I put in a lot of work in the offseason and spent the majority of my summer here...I felt like my body help up pretty well for 82 games, playing as much as I did. I'm happy with that, and just want to continue to build and grow my game and continue to get stronger."
But playing 82 games while averaging the second-most amount of ice time on the team takes its toll, and York, along with defensive partner Travis Sanheim, weren't completely immune from the physical ramifications of being the Flyers' top defensive pairing.
"We were both pretty banged up there," he revealed. "But the situation we were in, we had defensemen injured and when you're right there in the playoff line, I think you want to just lay it all on the line. I think we did that...Just proud of how we handled that, not an easy situation when you're playing 25-plus minutes a night."
York even admitted that, looking back, it would have been advisable for him to sit out for some games, but there was one important game this season that he didn't want to be watching from the stands.
"I probably should have missed a few games," he said. "I had a grade two AC [shoulder] sprain. The outdoor game was the next game, and I wasn't going to miss that one. So, I don't know, after the Toronto game, I got shot up with something. I'm not sure what it was, but that did the job."
Despite battling through some injuries, York proved himself to be an indispensable figure on the Flyers' back line. It's a far cry from when head coach John Tortorella said he wasn't sure if the 23-year-old had what it took to be an NHL player—not that York paid his coach too much mind in the first place.
"Anything [Tortorella] says I try not to pay too much attention to—in a good way!" he laughed. "I've learned to kind of ignore it, but it's great. Like I said, I put in a lot of work. I knew I could do this, and I think for me, I'm gonna continue to just get better and better. I owe a lot to [Sanheim] for being a great [defensive] partner all year and helping me out there. For me, I feel like my confidence has always been there, but this year, I just was put in a situation where I could thrive. I'm looking forward to next year and continuing to build on what I am all about and what I can do. So, I'm really excited.
"I think as a young guy, especially with Torts as your coach, you've got to earn his trust. I want to play as much as possible throughout the game. I don't think you can do that as a young D if you're not responsible in your own end. That's just always been an area that I wanted to make sure I had down. My first couple of years here, we weren't the best, we were in our D zone a lot. I think at the time, obviously, it sucked. But looking back, I think that really helped me a lot kind of grow my D game. It's still a work in progress, I'm continuing to learn, but I think that's where it starts for me. Then my defense leads into offense and kind of goes from there."
All of the upsides from his individual season don't take the sting out of narrowly missing the playoffs, but York is choosing to look on the bright side of things, focusing on how well this Flyers team has come together—and will continue getting better—as next season approaches.
"It wasn't the way we wanted it to end for sure," he said. "It hurts now, obviously, because we want to still be playing and we had our sights set on playoffs for a while. To not come out of the right side of it, it sucks. It's frustrating. Now we've got to look at the positives—we're building a really strong foundation here. It's going to be a strong foundation for years to come. So, I think just trying to look at the positives is the thing for us.
"We've definitely learned a lot. I've been here for it feels like a pretty long time now, and never been in a situation like we were in. So, obviously, to come out of the wrong side of it, you definitely learn a lot. You definitely want to do everything you can the next few years to make sure that doesn't happen again. So, not the way we want it to end, but I think there's a lot of positives. And I mean, the young core is really good, and we're gonna be really good for a long time."
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