Dave Isaac | The Courier-Post

VOORHEES — The plan is still, as it has always been, to re-sign Wayne Simmonds.

The Flyers’ power forward is now in the last year of his contract, a team-friendly $3.975 million cap hit for a perennial 30-goal scorer.

Spoiler alert: the next one is going to be a lot richer.

Simmonds turns 30 in August and this will be his best shot at a payday in his career. It is entirely possible that the Flyers won’t be able to afford him, although they disagree that signing James van Riemsdyk to a five-year, $35 million pact is in any way connected.

“Where talks go, I have no idea,” general manager Ron Hextall said. “We’ll talk to Simmer’s reps in the next little while here and we’ll see where it goes. If it has to go into next year, we’re comfortable with that. But until we talk, and seriously talk, I don’t have anything there. We like Wayne Simmonds. This doesn’t change anything for Wayne. This is a left winger. This is a different player than Simmer. We’re excited to have James, and certainly we would like to have Simmer for a long time too.”

And if they can’t?

The Flyers have drafted well and have several candidates to replace him, although probably not as soon as this fall. One of them is Isaac Ratcliffe, whom the Flyers traded up to take with the 35th pick in last year’s draft. The 6-foot-6, 205-pound left winger has skilled hands that usually don’t go with such a frame.

“It’s a big offseason thing for me,” he said. “I work on all parts of my game and hands is definitely a big part. That’s something I focused on a lot when I was younger. Toward the end of practice I’m (stickhandling) through pucks or gloves or sticks. It’s something I’ve always looked after.”

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Ratcliffe, 19, scored 41 goals for the Ontario Hockey League’s Guelph Storm last season and showed some of the dangling moves one wouldn’t expect from a lanky winger at development camp.

He was on the winning team in Monday’s 3-on-3 tournament and had four goals.

“He’s really linked up for a guy that size. Zdeno Chara at the same age was all dangly. He looked like he needed braces on every joint in his body,” Hextall said. “You watch (Ratcliffe) and see him at this age and it’s like— the training is better and all that kind of stuff — to be that linked up at that age is amazing. He’s come a long way in a year. I think his all-around game needs work, his wall play and things like that, which most guys that age do. His hands, his patience, his poise with the puck, he’s got some scoring touch. He’s got a reach to put it around a goalie. We’re excited about Big Rat.”

The Storm selected Ratcliffe to be team captain in the fall for what will likely be his last season before turning pro. He spoke of picking up things from development camp that will help him in his leadership role, like the Navy SEAL training last week.

One more adjustment he might have to make, especially if the Flyers need to replace Simmonds on the right side, is playing his off-wing because he’s a left-handed shot. Other than that, it seems he only needs slight tweaks before he’s NHL ready.

“I definitely have that size,” he said. “I just need to put on that strength and some speed as well. I know I have a lot of developing to do. I know the guys upstairs (in the front office) know that too. I’m just working my way each day and trying to push forward and hopefully I can get there as fast as possible.”

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2018 Flyers Development Camp 3v3 Tournament

Here are two other takeaways from Flyers development camp…

Vorobyev may get an NHL look

Last year, after sending 2015 fourth-round pick Mikhail Vorobyev down to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms in training camp, he was recalled for the penultimate preseason game. Most of the rosters around the league were pretty close to final products and the recall wasn’t for an injury. Hextall wanted to see if Vorobyev could handle that kind of competition. He didn’t stick out one way or another against the New York Rangers in 10 minutes of ice time.

This year he’ll likely get a longer look thanks to the departure of Valtteri Filppula to the Islanders on a one-year deal. Hextall doesn’t seem interested in picking up another forward unless it’s at a substantial discount below market value. Guys like Vorobyev, Morgan Frost and Mike Vecchione will get auditions.

“The coaches will decide (if I’m NHL ready),” Vorobyev said through a translator. He speaks English with teammates but isn’t comfortable enough to do interviews yet. “I have to show with my game what I’m capable of.”

He had nine goals and 20 assists in 58 games for the Phantoms last season as a rookie and missed time with a couple injuries, one of them a concussion. His game picked up considerably after he adjusted to a tougher schedule than he was used to.

“He’s a very intelligent player,” Hextall said. “He can play all situations. He’s got good size. He made strides. Whether he’s ready this year or next year, that’s certainly up to him. He’s gonna have to come in and prove it. He made a lot of strides last year and for him to come over at that age and be all-in, he’s gonna be here most of the summer. His commitment level has been good thus far.”

Sushko plays bigger than his size

Typically players’ development paths take different turns because of the leagues they play in. For 2017 fourth-round pick Maksim Sushko, he’s had a big year because he’s from Belarus, which is a little short on talent and relied heavily on the 19-year-old.

His team in the Ontario Hockey League is the Owen Sound Attack and he played well there as a point-per-game player in 60 games with 31 goals. Where his development really grew was in the World Junior Championships in the winter and the World Championships in the spring. In the World Juniors he played nearly 27 minutes against Denmark and had eight points in six games in the tournament. He barely played in the men’s tournament but took a lot out of it.

“It was a really, really good experience for me,” he said. “I can’t say I played lots, but even if I played 11, 12 minutes, I think every shift was so useful. Even when I sat on the bench and watched the best forwards, the best D and how they play, I learned something every shift.”

Development camp isn’t an evaluation tool, but he clearly played with confidence and a lot bigger than his 6-foot, 179-pound frame. He’s an under-the-radar prospect for the Flyers but may have a bright future thanks in part to his international play this year.