VOORHEES — With a week to go in training camp before rosters are due and the Flyers decide who they’ll take with them on a season-opening trip, two candidates have emerged as the favorites in the battle for third line center and they’re no surprise.

Jordan Weal and Mikhail Vorobyev are getting close to the finish line and it may come down to the last couple preseason games to determine who will make the roster. Monday night against the Boston Bruins Vorobyev played and Weal did not. Even a decision that small will bring out the decoder rings to try and read a subliminal message as to what that means for either player.

That message may or may not exist yet.

“There’s competition there,” coach Dave Hakstol said. “There’s a team aspect to this where we need players that have some versatility. I think a lot of focus on versatility has gone to that ‘fourth-line role,’ but there’s also— as you go through a season there’s a need for versatility in your top six and your top nine, those skill positions, without a doubt. Yeah, we’ve evaluating and looking at the competition for jobs, but we’re also looking at versatility in where guys may fit as you get into different situations throughout a year.”

From the onset of camp, it looked like Scott Laughton would be in discussion for the role also, but the Flyers have played him almost exclusively at wing. Hakstol said Laughton would get one more preseason game at center, but Monday he was on the left wing of Corban Knight’s line.

So that leaves Vorobyev, who was a rookie in the American Hockey League last season, and Weal, who has played mostly wing for the Flyers in the past and is in the second of a two-year contract that carries a salary cap hit of $1.75 million.

“He doesn’t let anyone outwork him,” Wayne Simmonds said of Weal, who has played a lot with Simmonds since a 2016 trade brought him to Philadelphia. “I think that’s one thing I’ve seen the last three years with Weals. He’s one of the hardest-working guys, if not the hardest-working guy on the ice. He shows that in the gym and on the ice. If someone’s gonna beat him for a spot they’re not gonna do it easy because he’s gonna do everything in his power.”

As far as versatility goes, Vorobyev has an up on Weal in that he’s killed some penalties. Both have played on the power play and have been positioned in preseason games to play with skill players at the top of the lineup and with bottom-six forwards that don’t have as much offensive firepower.

Monday night, Vorobyev centered the top line in the absence of Sean Couturier who is still recovering from a knee injury.

“Honestly I didn’t know what level he would be able to be at in camp on a consistent basis,” Hakstol said of Vorobyev. “The value of his year last year goes without saying (he had 29 points in 58 games with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms). We see the results of that. At the critical time of year, especially when I had the chance to see him play live (in the AHL playoffs after the Flyers had been eliminated) he was going through injury. I’ve learned an awful lot about his game a year later. Last year as a young player, this year, there’s a lot of maturity in every part of his game.”

If the Flyers have to pick between one or the other to make their roster, then Weal has the upper hand in staying. He would require waivers to be sent to the Phantoms and it’s likely another team would pick him up, so the Flyers probably wouldn’t risk it. Vorobyev is waiver-exempt and can be sent down without an issue.

Meet Gritty

The Flyers unveiled their first mascot since the short-lived Slapshot in 1976. The 7-foot, orange “fuzzy creature” wears a Flyers jersey, hockey shorts, a black helmet and gloves, sporting bulging orange eyes. It goes by the name of “Gritty” and is a product of Dave Raymond, the original Phillie Phanatic, who has his own mascot company and was the brains behind the Phantoms’ mascot, MeLVin.

“First and foremost, the Flyers adding a mascot to our fan engagement program is specifically for our young fans,” chief operating officer Shawn Tilger said in a press release, “and we’re excited to add value to their experience both at games and in their communities.”

Sanheim skates

None of the players in Monday’s game took a morning skate with the exception of backup goalie Anthony Stolarz. Travis Sanheim was among the non-game crew and he has only had a couple practices with the team since he suffered a shoulder injury in the preseason opener last Sunday. He is expected back before the conclusion of the preseason.

“It’s been steady,” the defenseman said. “Every day it’s getting better. Just taking it day-by-day and see what happens.

“It obviously sucks to be out and I know it’s only preseason but I think everyone loves to play and loves to be with the group and getting better, learning the systems, learning what the coaches have to say out there. Sucks missing it but I’m happy it’s nothing long-term.”

Dave Isaac; @davegisaac; 856-486-2479; disaac@gannett.com

Up next: vs. New York Rangers

When: 7 p.m., Thursday

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