Carson Bjarnason Wants To Be The Best As He Prepares For Flyers Training Camp

As a goalie, Carson Bjarnason, the Philadelphia Flyers' second-round pick in 2023, tends to be in his own head a lot.

"You can make a mistake and it can be a goal and then that could be the game," he said. "So it's definitely a burden on you, but you kind of take it in stride and you enjoy the pressure."

It's easy to understand where Bjarnason could be feeling said pressure—he continues to impress coaches and fans alike with his performances in front of the net, and with that, he's garnered quite a bit of attention this summer, making a case for himself as a key figure in the future of Flyers goaltending.

He's been working hard at honing his craft, staying local to the Flyers Training Center in the offseason and putting in the hours to level up his game.

"It was definitely a good summer," he said. "I stay here a lot of the summer, so it was nice to kind of get that one-on-one work with all the goalie coaches and players and stuff, so obviously watching all the older guys, you're gonna get better."

But the desire to improve goes beyond gym workouts and on-ice practices. Where other players might want to focus on working out legs or biceps or core strength, Bjarnason is focused on training a different muscle—his brain.

The mental side of his game is a top priority for him—so essential, in fact, that it's a cornerstone of his passion for hockey.

"It's what we play this game for—the thrill of it, just being able to push through that kind of stuff," he revealed. "I'm not gonna say other players don't have any less of a hard time, but being a goalie, it's definitely hard on you. But it's nice, I'm sure, later on in life, when I can persevere through this kind of thing."

The Flyers have resources to help keep players' mental health in check, and it's something that Bjarnason makes good use of while he's training.

"They have a mental performance guy here, Jeremy Rahn—who I'm actually gonna work with right now after this," he said.

It's easy to assume that NHL-level mental performance exercises could include some convoluted brain gymnastics that foster indestructible mental clarity.

According to Bjarnason, however, it's the simple things that truly make the difference.

"It's just touching base, making sure you're in the right mindset, making sure everything's clear and that you're going into each period with a clear mindset," he explained. ""Just basic stuff. Breathing is a big thing...Self-talk is a big one, too. It's something I take seriously.

"It's definitely a lot of work, it's a lot more draining than most people think it would be, but it's worth it and it's definitely the most important part of my game."

And it's working—Bjarnason has earned plenty of new fans after back-to-back starts in the Flyers' rookie series games, where he was able to keep a formidable New York Rangers rookie team largely in check. (But he won't take all the credit.)

"It's unbelievable. Even [the defensemen] making the jump from junior to here...It's crazy how much they talk to you when you're playing the puck," he said. "I thought I had a good game playing the puck in the second game, and just all kudos to them; they tell me where to put it, where to play it, and they make it super easy on me [with] blocking shots and all that kind of stuff."

He's made a convincing case for himself to be considered a serious call-up contender should (knock wood) current Flyers goalies Sam Ersson or Ivan Fedotov be unable to play. In just his second year as a Flyer, he knows he still has development to do, but that's not stifling his ambitions.

"I set pretty unrealistic standards for myself going into this year," he stated. "I want to be the best in the league and keep that high standard for myself. I have a lot of hopes for World Juniors [with Team Canada] this year. I want to play every game and win that tournament and just kind of carry that into the second half [of the season]. [I] want to win the Memorial Cup with Brandon...and just play the way I can, give my team a chance to win every night."

Part of the pursuit of being the best is learning from the goalies in the Flyers system—namely, to "take advantage of what they're putting out for me," which includes finding a role model in current starting goalie Sam Ersson.

"Sam [is] such a great guy," Bjarnason noted. "He just takes everything in and is such a sponge with everything, like what [goaltending coach Kim Dillabaugh] tells us, I'm sure he learned from Cal [Petersen]. [I'm] hopeful I can do that one day.

"I don't know if this year will be the year. I hope it is, but I'm just gonna learn from him. He's been in the NHL for a year now, and even that one year of experience is gonna make such a big difference, so it'll be nice to hopefully be paired up with him and just take a lot away from it."

The two goalies have had a few interactions over the summer, but even if they're not in the same country, the 19-year-old knows he can come to Ersson for anything.

"He's been back home [in Sweden], but we talk, we have each other's numbers," he said. "I ran into him the other day; we just kind of casually run into each other at the gym. He's a great guy. He's nice, he makes sure he reaches out to us and it's definitely hopeful to look up to him and have such a good role model."

Bjarnason won't get much of a break between rookie camp and the Flyers' main training camp, but he doesn't mind. If anything, he can't wait to tackle the challenge of standing out in training with the NHL roster.

"Nobody's here to just not make the team," he stated. "I want to have the mindset that I'm trying to make the Flyers this year. That might not be the case [because] they have a few guys ahead of me, which is fine, but it's just a mindset—going into it trying to act like I can play on this team, and I'm ready."

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