SAN JOSE, Calif. — Taylor Leier’s last game in the NHL last season just so happened to be in the very same building where he’ll start as a full-timer.

Leier, 23, is still a rookie despite playing 16 games across the last two seasons. He had a couple hits last December in his game against the San Jose Sharks. He hopes he’ll make a bigger impact this season.

So far, it doesn’t feel much different.

NHL PREVIEW:Breaking down the 2017-2018 Metropolitan Division

FLYERS AT SHARKS:3 things to watch in Game 1

“Honestly, I don’t know if it hasn’t clicked in yet,” Leier said. “I’m definitely grateful and thankful, but I feel like it was just yesterday that I was playing here last year. I feel comfortable and I’m ready to go.”

Well, so he thinks.

The Flyers’ opening night roster had five rookies on it, although after Wednesday’s morning skate it appeared only three were slated to play in the season opener. Nolan Patrick and Travis Sanheim are the only ones who have not dressed for at least one NHL game.

Leier has more experience than most. Robert Hagg, who was set to play, and Samuel Morin, set to be a healthy scratch, got a game apiece late last season.

“I think this is going to be a different animal,” Wayne Simmonds said. “Obviously a lot of these guys haven’t played a lot of games in the NHL. They’ve only played one game. You come and play in this arena and I think they’ll be shocked right at the start. It’s probably one of the loudest rinks in the league and it’s a treat to play here. We’ll definitely have to talk with them a little bit.”

Part of why the Flyers took on so many rookies, according to general manager Ron Hextall, is the maturity level they have in both their game and life. The fact that most have a taste of the NHL, and Hagg, Sanheim, Morin and Leier were all in the American Hockey League last year, doesn’t make them any less rookies.

“There’s a reason there’s a term, ‘rookie,’” coach Dave Hakstol said. “There’s some jitters and I think on opening night there’s a little bit of that excitement or jitters for everybody, but for a guy playing in his first game or being in this situation, absolutely there’s some jitters you have to work through on night No. 1.”

Jake Voracek remembers that feeling. He had a goal and an assist in his first NHL game.

“I thought I was gonna hit 160 points that year,” he joked.

The goal came late in the first period, after he had already calmed down a bit. He also figures the rookies will have to be told to calm down, even if it falls upon deaf ears.

“No matter what you say, it’s the first game. It’s exciting. It’s nerve-wracking. It’s all of those things,” Voracek said. “You shake it off in about two or three shifts and just play your own game. At least I was like that. I remember I was backchecking my first shift in Dallas and I was like, ‘Oh my God, I’m playing in the show.’ It was a good feeling.”

Perhaps too many of those nerves at once is why the Flyers decided to sit two rookies on the back-end Wednesday. Hakstol is the one responsible for making the lineups and on the first game he opted for a veteran-heavy defense.

“Putting that mix together, that’s all part of it,” Hakstol said. “The heat gets turned up a couple of notches from where it’s been in preseason. The young guys will handle it well. The veteran players have to do a good job of leading and doing their part when they’re in because there are going to be nights when they’re out as well.”

Meantime, Morin and Sanheim continue in a world of uncertainty.

They waited to see which one would make the final roster after the last preseason game, and when Shayne Gostisbehere got hurt, both of them found their way onto the roster. They were assigned new jersey numbers, a symbol that they graduated from training camp, but have either one of them truly made it?

“I’m just thinking day-to-day,” Morin said. “We’ve got eight D here. I’m really excited to start the season here. I battled hard in training camp to be part of that team and I’m excited.”

“Nobody said it was going to be easy to get right in and play big minutes,” Sanheim added. “You’ve got to earn those minutes and that’s what I’m looking to do right now.”

Neither one has been told to move their stuff into their shared apartment in Allentown, Pennsylvania…but nor have they been told they should plan on being in the NHL all season either.

They didn’t get to make the emotional call to their parents that Leier did. It was documented on a video the Flyers posted in a behind-the-scenes look at training camp with his mom Cindy screaming for joy in the background.

“That was pretty cool,” Leier said. “They asked me to do that and I thought it was gonna be a good video because I knew what my parents’ reaction was going to be. That excitement that they had just shows how much it affects everyone’s families, not just themselves. It’s exciting for everyone in their lives. It’s a special job that we get to do and not everyone gets to do it.”

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

Up next: at Los Angeles Kings

When: 10 p.m., Thursday

TV/Radio: NBCSP/97.5 FM