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For a good part of the first quarter of last season, it seemed as though the future of the Philadelphia Flyers was still somewhere off in the distance. A rebuild with an emphasis on the build part under rookie head coach Dave Hakstol seemed to be about as good as it was going to get for Flyers fans.But a funny thing happened to all of those dire predictions of being a lottery team: The Flyers scratched and clawed their way into a most unlikely of playoff berths and then managed somehow to stretch the powerful Washington Capitals to six games in the first round.Theres already healthy skepticism that last season was a blip on the rebuilding radar and the Flyers will be back outside the playoff bubble. But Im not so sure, especially watching rookie of the year nominee Shayne Gostisbehere playing so well at the World Cup of Hockey and veteran Mark Streit helping Team Europe to an unexpected berth in the tournament finals.Certainly GM Ron Hextall isnt letting the players feel its a given theyll get back to where they were last season. Essentially were starting fresh here, Hextall said in a recent interview.Best new facesA tinkering summer for Hextall brought in a couple of veterans to help augment the youth movement that is fully in place in Philadelphia. Veteran center and defensive specialist Boyd Gordon will be looking for fourth-line minutes, while Dale Weise will be expected to be a kind of everyman, even bringing unexpected offensive upside. Ivan Provorov is another young defenseman with a big top-end skill set. The left-handed seventh overall pick in the 2015 draft is just 19, and at one point during training camp was paired with Gostisbehere. A glimpse of the future or is the future here?Biggest unknownsCan the Flyers continue their upward arc in terms of evolution while weve seen so many teams (the Dallas Stars, Winnipeg Jets and Columbus Blue Jackets come to mind) take one step forward and then regress for a season or two? Specifically, can they find enough offense to help take the pressure off the defense and goaltending? Last season, the Flyers were 22nd in scoring. Only one team with a worse offense made the playoffs (Detroit Red Wings). The penalty kill, tied for 20th, needs to improve.Can the unlikely goaltending tandem of Steve Mason and Michal Neuvirth continue to provide the high level of netminding we saw down the stretch and into the playoffs? And who is the No. 1? Neuvirth had an eye-popping .981 save percentage in three starts in the playoffs against the Capitals. Hextall has said hes looking for more from younger players Scott Laughton -- who is expected to miss three to four weeks with a lower-body injury -- Jordan Weal and Nick Cousins, who all have strong pedigrees but need to prove they are NHL-ready. And NHLers in the fold need to give more, such as Jakub Voracek, who struggled for much of last season after signing a monster contract extension last summer.Sure thingsNot sure how Dave Hakstol didnt end up on the ballot for coach of the year, but thats a moot point. What isnt moot is that Hakstol, who came to the NHL after a long, successful stint with the University of North Dakota, should be even better in his sophomore season in terms of how to schedule practices and his familiarity with his own group and with the opposition. He showed he was a quick study a season ago and his skill set behind the bench should be even more evident this season.Up front, you have to figure captain Claude Giroux is motivated after making Team Canadas World Cup of Hockey roster and then not playing. He rebounded after being left off the 2014 Olympic roster with a place on the Hart Trophy ballot a few months later, so expect a similar response this time around.Is there anyone steadier -- and maybe more underappreciated -- than Wayne Simmonds? Hes coming off a career-best 32-goal campaign and has become one of the on-ice leaders, having averaged a hair less than 30 goals a season over the past three.PredictionThe bottom of the Metropolitan Division is a dogs breakfast. But Im liking what is going on with the Flyers, even if they finish just outside the playoff picture. 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Having two big pieces back is going to be a key for us moving forward for years to come," said Knighthawks head coach Mike Hasen.Vince Carter is no longer the NBAs highest flyer, though hes certainly not ready to be grounded.Once one of basketballs most ferocious dunkers who put opponents on posters long before there were internet Vines, he can no longer rely just on his athleticism. Nearing 40 years old, the guy who famously put his arm through the rim while winning a dunk contest now often plays below it.Like everyone who wants to keep playing toward middle age, its about the mind now as much as the legs.Thats how I was able to stay around this long, is just, I learned the game, Carter said. Not being able to play. Everybody can play basketball, but learning the ins and outs of the game is what has kept me around.Same with Manu Ginobili in San Antonio, Jason Terry in Milwaukee, Paul Pierce in Los Angeles and Dirk Nowitzki in Dallas, who follow Carter as the oldest players in the NBA this season.Basketball is a game a lot of people dont understand, Terry said. When you are not as athletically gifted, you still have your brain. I learned from none other than Jason Kidd.Terry plays for Kidd now, but they were teammates in Dallas when the Mavericks won the 2011 NBA title. Kidd by then was well past his dynamic days as a nightly triple-double threat, a guy who burst into the league with everything but a reliable jumper and left it at 40 ranked third in career 3-pointers.As I got older, the speed limit started coming into effect. Instead of going 55, I could only go 45, Kidd said. But, you know, when things started to go a little bit slower, you got to see things a lot better. For me, things were a lot clearer. As you get older, thats the best time to get better at the game. You can always learn, you can always do something different. For me it was shooting the ball. If I wanted to play for a while I needed to make an outside shot.Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant made similar transitions, outworking and outsmarting opponents when they could no longer just outplay them. Now Carter, who will turn 40 on Jan. 26 and ranks in the top 25 in career points and games played, does the same in Memphis -- where he surpassed Jordan this season as the oldest player to score 20 points off the bench.Like Jordan, he played at North Carolina for the mastermind, Dean Smith, as Carter called him, where even as a teenager he was being prepared for how he would need to play 20 years later.So he taught us how to learn the game, how to take your abilities and dominate to the best of your ability, Carter said. And with that being said, as Ive gotten older, just the little things that we tend to not want to do as a young guy stuck with me, as far as just the little thiings that we say a lot of guys make mistakes on.ddddddddddddCarter acknowledges tiring of the endless play the right way mantra preached at Chapel Hill, but now he lives it. He cant just jump over players like he did to Frederic Weis in the 2000 Olympics , though he quickly earned the trust of first-time coach David Fizdale, who had Carter on the floor defending 21-year-old Andrew Wiggins to spark the Grizzlies comeback victory over Minnesota in their season opener.Again, Ive said this before, I dont put limitations on anyone because of age, whether its youth or because theyre one of the elder statesman, Fizdale said. Vince Carter, hes a veteran, hes a professional, he stays in shape. I always remind people he was the best athlete in the NBA, so his falloff athletically isnt the same as an average athletes falloff.Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said the key for players who are effective into their mid-to-late 30s is their work ethic, and he marvels at what the 38-year-old Nowitzki puts himself through to keep playing on legs that support his 7-foot frame, particularly in this season when hes battled an injured Achilles tendon.Medical enhancements have helped, with teams providing such improvements for their players that Mavericks owner Mark Cuban believes young players entering the league now should be able to play into their 40s if they have the talent.When I first got to the NBA, taking care of your health meant not eating Twinkies before a game, Cuban said. Guys would smoke cigarettes, theyd drink, there would be beer -- people sometimes would have a beer at halftime. There literally were bars in locker rooms. Things have changed.The things that we let players do 15 years ago that created inflammation and created orthopedic issues in their bodies, we know not to do as much anymore.Carter has prolonged his career by becoming a reserve for the last five seasons, and by resisting the urge to create the spectacular highlights that made him the leading vote-getter to the All-Star Game four times. The Grizzlies say hes questionable to play Wednesday in Toronto, his first NBA home, after hurting his hip Monday.He still gets the internet buzzing -- and occasionally surprises himself -- with some vintage Vinsanity, but mostly skips the unnecessary risks to preserve his body to get through the long NBA season.And how many more after this?I dont know yet, he said. Im still flying. Its not time yet.---AP freelance writers Joe DiGiovanni and Andrew Gruman in Milwaukee contributed to this report. ' ' '