The Philadelphia Flyers have assigned defenseman Emil Andrae to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms of the American Hockey League. The move comes as somewhat of a surprise as the 22-year-old Andrae has been solid in 20 NHL games.
The 2020 second-round pick has a goal and four assists in the NHL this year, as well as a +3 plus/minus rating, 22 hits and 28 blocks. His underlying numbers are even better, particularly on the possession front where Andrae has posted a CF% of 54.2 at even strength. The Flyers have leaned on Andrae quite a bit during his time in the NHL, as he has played 19:18 per game which makes his demotion all that more surprising.
Despite being undersized at just 5’9” Andrae did a good job winning puck battles and using his small frame to gain body positioning on opponents. His edge work remains solid, particularly in the offensive zone where he has been able to walk the blue line and get pucks to the net at a good rate.
Andrae had sat for several games as a healthy scratch, with the Flyers preferring to use Yegor Zamula over him. Now that he is back in the AHL, Andrae will have an opportunity to continue his development, and he should receive a recall at some point in the new year