At first, the bearded guy in the black practice jersey wearing No. 21 on his helmet appeared cautious as he skated circles around the Skate Zone rink with several of his Flyers teammates.

A half hour later, he was dominating the puck, slipping familiar seeing-eye passes to open wingers, and having so much fun that he was reluctant to end the workout in Voorhees.

The Flyers - or at least most of them - went through yet another unsupervised scrimmage yesterday, but this one held more significance than the others because it was the first time star center Peter Forsberg tested his right ankle and foot since they were surgically repaired on May 15.

Afterward, the team's most important player said that he felt better than he had expected, and that there was a chance he would be ready to go when training camp opens in nine days.

For a team that read the gloomy headlines in May saying Forsberg would miss the first three months of the season, the sight of him wheeling and dealing was a huge relief.

"From going from missing half the year to maybe be ready for the beginning of training camp is a great feeling," Forsberg said. "Obviously, I don't think I'm in as good a shape as I should be in right now, but, considering the surgery and everything, I'm happy to be here to get it going."

Forsberg, 33, cautioned that it was too soon to tell how his foot would feel, which is why he was reluctant to say he would definitely be ready for camp. The real test will come when the pace picks up and he skates over a prolonged period of time. But he knows this much: The foot is straight, and he is able to push off on it.

In retrospect, it's amazing that Forsberg was as productive as he was last season, when he had 75 points, including a team high of 56 assists, in 60 games. He was skating on an unstable right foot that required intricate surgery by orthopedic surgeon Robert Anderson, who shifted bones to get the foot properly aligned and repaired torn ligaments.

Flyers trainer Jim McCrossin estimated that Forsberg went through 40 pairs of skates in an attempt to find one that would hold his foot in place.

Originally, Forsberg was going to have similar surgery on his left foot as well, but Anderson concluded that it wasn't necessary. The surgeon gave Forsberg the go-ahead to begin skating this month.

"The foot is straight, so it should be better," Forsberg said. "We just have to keep working to strengthen it up. I have 100 percent confidence in the doctor and what he did, so it should be fine. Everything is aligned and healed up. I can turn on the foot now, and I couldn't before."

Forsberg also believes the groin problems that sidelined him for 22 games last season were probably related to the foot injury. "That's what I'm hoping, so I don't have those problems again," he said.

"It's a lift to the guys in the room that he's going to be back," said right winger Mike Knuble, who had a career high of 34 goals last season, when he played on Forsberg's line.

"To see him on the ice is a hell of a feeling for the entire organization," said Hitchcock, who has shaved off his mustache after sporting it for 30 years.

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