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Samuel Ersson

Flyers Notes: Konecny, Sanheim, Grans, Ersson

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There are only two days until rosters are announced for the 4 Nations Face-Off but we may already have a sneak peek at a couple of players that will play for Team Canada. According to Anthony Di Marco of Daily Faceoff, Philadelphia Flyers’ players Travis Konecny and Travis Sanheim will be named to Canada’s roster.

Konecny would be an unsurprising addition to Team Canada. He’s been a point-per-game player for the Flyers over the last three years with 77 goals and 159 points in 161 games and has represented Canada well in the past. Konecny tallied eight assists in 10 games during the 2017 IIHF World Championships and two points in five games for Team Canada’s U20 team during the 2016 IIHF World Junior Championships.

Sanheim’s inclusion on the roster would be an interesting development. Along with increased ice time, his scoring has increased over the last two years but Sanheim’s name typically isn’t mentioned with the top Canadian defenseman. He hasn’t suited up for Team Canada since the 2022 IIHF World Championships when he scored one goal and four points in 10 tournament games.

Other Flyers notes:

  • The Flyers organization announced a small roster move earlier today by loaning defenseman Helge Grans back to their AHL affiliate, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. Grans’ demotion could correlate with the return of defenseman Jamie Drysdale or the team may not feel the need to carry eight defensemen on the active roster. The Ljungby, Sweden native tallied one assist over six games with Philadelphia averaging 14:28 of ice time per game.
  • Philadelphia is nearing the reality of a full goaltending trio as Jackie Spiegel of The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that goaltender Samuel Ersson was a full participant at today’s practice. Ersson hasn’t played since November 11th due to a lower-body injury. Still, over 11 games with the Flyers this year, he’s managed a 5-2-2 record with a .902 save percentage and 2.70 goals against average.

Metropolitan Notes: Ersson, Duclair, Chytil, Kreider

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Flyers goaltender Samuel Ersson will be out for the eighth straight time with his reaggravated lower-body injury when they take on the Rangers today, Jordan Hall of NBC Sports Philadelphia reports.

The injury has limited Ersson, 25, to starting only three of the Flyers’ 12 games in November. When healthy, he’s far and away been Philadelphia’s best netminder. He still leads the team with 10 starts and five wins despite the extended absence, as does his .902 SV%, 2.70 GAA, one shutout, and 0.2 GSAA.

Ersson’s lack of availability means the Philly crease has been guarded by a tandem of rookies Ivan Fedotov and Aleksei Kolosov for most of the past few weeks. The former is starting today against the Blueshirts but has struggled in eight appearances this season, logging a .874 SV% and 3.69 GAA. The younger Kolosov’s numbers are slightly better but still unimpressive, with an .885 SV% and 3.11 GAA in six appearances.

Ersson remains on injured reserve but can be activated at any time since he’s missed well over a week.

More out of the Metropolitan Division:

  • Islanders winger Anthony Duclair has begun skating on his own as he begins the first tangible step in his recovery from the leg injury he sustained last month, Stefen Rosner of NHL.com relayed Friday. The 29-year-old had two goals and an assist in his first five games with the Isles in a top-line role alongside Mathew Barzal and Bo Horvat before leaving an Oct. 19 tilt against the Canadiens. He’s missed 18 games and is near the end of his initial four-to-six-week timeline, so since he’s yet to practice with the team and take contact, his return will likely push past that mark.
  • The Rangers will still be without forwards Chris Kreider and Filip Chytil in the lineup against the Flyers as they remain day-to-day with upper-body injuries, head coach Peter Laviolette told Vince Z. Mercogliano of USA Today Sports. It’s Kreider’s third straight absence – they’re 0-2-0 without him as part of a four-game skid – while Chytil has been day-to-day for over two weeks and hasn’t played since Nov. 14 despite skating with the team.

Metro Notes: Frost, Flyers, Jiricek, Lindstrom

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Morgan Frost has had a tumultuous position in the Philadelphia Flyers’ lineup since John Tortorella took over as the team’s head coach in the 2022-23 season. He’s been a healthy scratch in three of the last four games, and this is coming one year after being a healthy scratch in half of the team’s first 20 contests last year. In an article (Subscription Article) in The Athletic, Kevin Kurz opines the Flyers could be headed for a breakup of sorts with Frost before his current contract ends.

There’s no questioning his skill on the offensive side of the puck. Frost scored 10 goals and 33 points over the last 50 games of the 2023-24 season finishing fifth on the team in scoring despite his time in the press box earlier in the year. That’s not enough for Tortorella to overlook his defensive shortcomings, as he typically expects much better two-way play from his centers.

Frost’s two-year, $4.2MM extension expires after this season and he’ll only have one more year remaining until he can hit unrestricted free agency. Kurz believes Philadelphia should trade Frost by the deadline despite selling low on the former-27th overall pick of the 2017 NHL Draft.

Other Metro notes:

  • Continuing in Philadelphia, the organization announced multiple injury updates earlier today. Notably, defenseman Cam York won’t return to the lineup this evening despite being a full participant in practice on Monday. Defenseman Jamie Drysdale and netminder Samuel Ersson remain on the injured reserve with their injuries while defenseman Emil Andrae is considered day-to-day with a mid-body injury.
  • This morning, the Columbus Blue Jackets surprised many by reassigning defenseman David Jiříček to their AHL affiliate, the Cleveland Monsters. Shortly after, Aaron Portzline of The Athletic wrote a scathing article (Subscription Article) on Columbus’ handling of the sixth overall pick of the 2022 NHL Draft. Jiříček has rarely had a consistent role with the Blue Jackets despite the team carrying a subpar defensive core and has little else to prove in the AHL after scoring 13 goals and 57 points in 84 career games.
  • Sticking in Columbus, Portzline reported that the team’s first pick of the 2024 NHL Draft, Cayden Lindstrom, underwent a minor surgical procedure this morning. Lindstrom hasn’t played at all this season with the WHL’s Medicine Hat Tigers due to a back injury, and today’s surgical procedure was a part of the recovery process. He was recently drafted with the fourth overall pick of this past summer’s draft after scoring 27 goals and 46 points in 32 games for the Tigers.

Flyers Recall Helge Grans Under Emergency Conditions

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The Flyers announced Monday that they’ve recalled defenseman Helge Grans from AHL Lehigh Valley under emergency conditions. The 22-year-old will make his NHL debut tonight against the Avalanche, Jordan Hall of NBC Sports Philadelphia reports.

Grans will enter the lineup for Emil Andrae, who the team said won’t play after sustaining a mid-body injury against the Sabres on Saturday. Philadelphia moved goaltender Samuel Ersson to injured reserve to open a spot on the active roster.

Grans arrived in the Flyers organization last year as part of the three-team trade with the Kings and Blue Jackets that sent Ivan Provorov to Columbus. Drafted 35th overall by Los Angeles in 2020, the 6’3″, 205-lb righty already has loads of professional experience. He logged 69 games of Swedish Hockey League experience with Örebro HK before coming to North America in 2021, and he’s since recorded 11 goals, 33 assists, 44 points, 58 PIMs, and a -4 rating in 185 games for the Kings’ and Flyers’ affiliates in Ontario and Lehigh Valley.

While Grans once projected as a solid puck-moving defender with good size, his point totals in the minors suggest he’ll be more of a stay-at-home option if he manages to lock down an everyday NHL role. He’s struggled to make a significant impact on the scoresheet after a 24-point rookie season in 56 games with Ontario in 2021-22, posting just eight points (1 G, 7 A) in 56 games with Lehigh Valley last season.

Grans will debut on the right side of a pairing with Yegor Zamula, head coach John Tortorella said. Don’t expect them to log a ton of minutes, though, with Tortorella adding he plans to “play the s*** out of [Travis Sanheim] and [Rasmus Ristolainen]” as the Flyers look to win their fourth game in a row and push their record above .500 for the first time since their first game of the season (via Kevin Kurz of The Athletic).

For Andrae, it’s a tough break for the 22-year-old. He’s played well in fringe top-four minutes with Jamie Drysdale and Cameron York hitting injured reserve in recent weeks, posting three assists with a +1 rating in 10 appearances while averaging 18:27 per game. The undersized 5’9″ blue-liner has gotten involved physically with 13 blocks and 15 hits, and his possession play has been quite good. The Flyers have controlled 51.2% of shot attempts with Andrae on the ice at even strength compared to 42.2% without him.

Ersson, meanwhile, hits IR after re-aggravating a lower-body injury last week. He’s not expected back until Saturday’s game against the Blackhawks at the earliest, so today’s move is purely for roster flexibility purposes and doesn’t impact his timeline for a return.

Flyers’ Samuel Ersson Out 1-2 Weeks, Re-Aggravated Lower-Body Injury

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Flyers starting netminder Samuel Ersson reinjured his previous lower-body issue and will miss the next one to two weeks, Kevin Kurz of The Athletic reports Friday.

Ersson, 25, sustained the initial injury in the first period of Philadelphia’s game against the Bruins on Nov. 2 while stretching to stop a shot from Nikita Zadorov. He missed a few contests but returned to action last Saturday, stopping 58 of 62 shots in a pair of games before missing out on Thursday’s overtime win over the Senators.

It’s not clear when exactly he re-aggravated the ailment. However, Kurz reports Ersson had imaging done in the past few days that revealed a minor tweak to the previous injury, which appeared to be groin-related.

In his first full season as the Flyers’ No. 1 option between the pipes, Ersson has responded to the challenge. He’s greatly improved on last season’s numbers, posting a 5-2-2 record, .902 SV%, 2.70 GAA, one shutout, and 0.4 GSAA in 10 starts and one relief appearance.

Those numbers become quite valuable when compared to his backups’ performance. Ivan Fedotov and Aleksei Kolosov have combined for a 2-6-0 record and ghastly .862 SV% while conceding 8.3 goals above average.

It will now be down to those two to improve their numbers, as Ersson could remain sidelined for anywhere from the Flyers’ next three to seven games. Since they were both on the active roster, and injuries have forced the Flyers to carry three goalies for quite a few days now, no corresponding transaction is needed.

Given Ersson’s return timeline, Philadelphia could place him on injured reserve to open up a roster spot if necessary.

Metro Notes: Johnson, Brindley, Eller, Ersson

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Aaron Portzline of The Athletic is reporting that Columbus Blue Jackets forward Kent Johnson is back practicing today for the first time since he injured his shoulder back on October 17th in a game against the Buffalo Sabres. Johnson has missed ten consecutive games due to the injury he suffered when colliding with a Blue Jackets teammate.

The former fifth-overall pick played in just four games before the injury but was very productive, posting two goals and three assists while averaging 16:46 of ice time per game. Johnson looked as though he was ready to break out two seasons ago when he recorded a 40-point season as a 20-year-old. However, last season, his play fell off dramatically, as he tallied just six goals and ten assists in 42 games.

In other Metropolitan Division notes:

  • The Columbus Blue Jackets have activated forward Gavin Brindley off injured reserve and loaned him to the Cleveland Monsters of the American Hockey League. Brindley broke his finger in a preseason game on October 1st and ended up missing the first 15 games of the regular season. The 20-year-old  made his NHL debut at the end of last season in April after he was drafted by the Blue Jackets in the second round of the 2023 NHL Entry Draft. An undersized forward, Brindley had a very successful run in the NCAA with the Michigan Wolverines, recording 37 goals and 54 assists in 81 career games from 2022-24.
  • New acquired Washington Capitals forward Lars Eller will make his return to the Capitals lineup tomorrow night after he was acquired via trade from the Penguins this week (as per Tarik El Bashir of the NHL Network). Eller practiced today with the Capitals and centered the third line where he was flanked by Andrew Mangiapane and Jakub Vrana. Eller was one of the few bright spots for the Penguins this season and dealt with very difficult deployment in Pittsburgh, starting over two-thirds of his shifts in the defensive zone. Despite the unfavorable zone starts, the 35-year-old still managed to put up four goals and three assists in 17 games.
  • Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Samuel Ersson left practice early yesterday after suffering a small tweak (as per Jordan Hall of NBC Sports Philadelphia). The issue is apparently not something that will keep Ersson out long-term, but it will keep him out of the lineup this evening as Aleksei Kolosov will be the backup to starter Ivan Fedotov. The Flyers already have three goaltenders on their roster and won’t need to make a roster in order to replace Ersson.

Flyers Notes: Michkov, Ersson, Kolosov

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Matvei Michkov will be a healthy scratch for the first time in his career tonight, head coach John Tortorella told reporters (including Charlie O’Connor of PHLY Sports). He got back on the scoresheet Tuesday against the Hurricanes with a power-play assist, but he hasn’t recorded an even-strength point since Oct. 26 against the Wild and has seen his minutes reduced over the past four games. He’ll sit for Anthony Richard, who will make his Flyers debut after being recalled in place of the IR-bound Ryan Poehling yesterday.

“Just part of the process,” Tortorella said. “We’re trying to help him. I told you guys: with young guys, they can watch games too, as part of development. It’s trying to help him.” Sitting the Calder Trophy frontrunner for a game is something he’s hinted at for a few days.

Michkov, the seventh overall pick in 2023, has 10 points (4 G, 6 A) through his first NHL 13 games and is averaging 17:50 per game. Despite his struggles to produce offense at even strength, he’s carrying possession well. The Flyers control 48.4% of shot attempts with Michkov on the ice compared to 44.7% without him.

There’s more from Philadelphia:

  • Goaltender Samuel Ersson remains out of the lineup tonight against the Lightning as he continues to nurse a lower-body injury, per Jackie Spiegel of The Philadelphia Inquirer. He was a participant in morning skate, though, signaling a return isn’t far off. It’ll be his second game missed with the injury, putting a pause on what had been a good start to the season for the 25-year-old with a .901 SV%, 2.68 GAA and 0.5 GSAA.
  • Unfortunately, he’s not the only Flyers netminder with injury issues. While they initially anticipated giving Aleksei Kolosov his third career NHL start tonight, he sustained an undisclosed injury during morning skate and may be unavailable to dress, reports Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. Without time to get a recall from AHL Lehigh Valley to Tampa for tonight’s game, they’ll need to rely on the arena’s designated emergency backup goaltender if Kolosov isn’t cleared to play. He may still be healthy enough to dress as the backup, but either way, it appears Ivan Fedotov will get a chance to get back on track after logging a horrid .821 SV% and 5.35 GAA through his first three showings.

Metro Notes: Ersson, Johnson, York

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Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Samuel Ersson is currently managing a minor groin injury (as per Kevin Kurz of The Athletic). Ersson’s condition isn’t expected to sideline him for long, though it’s not yet clear when he’ll return to full participation. The 25-year-old left his last start against the Boston Bruins with what was being called a lower-body injury, but now with that injury defined, it appears that the issue could cost the young netminder some time.

Ersson has shown a lot of promise this season and has arguably taken over the Flyers’ starting role. Given that, the Flyers are likely to take a cautious approach to ensure he avoids further issues. With the demands on goaltenders, groin-related injuries can be particularly limiting and difficult to predict. The Flyers will undoubtedly monitor Ersson’s progress as they continue building a solid roster of younger talent. So far this season, Ersson has dressed in nine games and is sporting a 4-2-1 record, with a .901 save percentage and a 2.68 goals-against average.

In other Metropolitan Division notes:

  • Kent Johnson of the Columbus Blue Jackets participated in a skate after practice today (as per Blue Jackets reporter Jeff Svoboda). Johnson’s return to the ice is a good sign of progress, even in a limited capacity. Johnson has been kept out of action with a shoulder injury since October 17th and isn’t expected to get back into the lineup until the end of November. He was fortunate to avoid surgery but will ultimately miss around six weeks of the regular season with the ailment.
  • Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Cameron York will be travelling with the team, hinting at his availability for upcoming games (as per Kevin Kurz of The Athletic). York’s presence on the road is promising for the Flyers but head coach John Tortorella wasn’t sure whether the 23-year-old would play. York has been dealing with an upper-body injury that has kept him out of action since October 23rd and was off to a decent start to the year with two goals and an assist in his first seven games.

Snapshots: Ersson, Becher, Tokarski

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Flyers goaltender Samuel Ersson suffered an injury in the first period of today’s game against Boston and did not return.  Following the game, the team clarified (Twitter link) that the netminder sustained a lower-body injury.  It has been a tough year between the pipes for the Flyers who came into this game with a combined save percentage of just .863 (including empty-netters allowed), the lowest in the Eastern Conference.  However, Ersson has had a reasonable start to his year, putting up a 2.72 GAA with a .897 SV% heading into today’s action.  Aleksei Kolosov came on in relief while Ivan Fedotov, who has struggled mightily in his limited NHL action so far, is also on the active roster should Ersson miss any more time.

Elsewhere around the hockey world:

  • Red Wings prospect Ondrej Becher has signed an ATO agreement with AHL Grand Rapids, per a team release. Detroit took the 20-year-old in the third round of the draft back in June following a dominant showing with WHL Prince George that saw him score 32 goals and 64 assists in 58 games last season, good for 13th in league scoring.  While he remains eligible to spend an overage year at the junior level, it appears the Red Wings would prefer to see how he fares in the pros first but the tryout agreement suggests that they’re open to the idea of sending him back to junior if things don’t go well.
  • With the Hurricanes needing Spencer Martin due to Fredrik Andersen’s injury, their AHL affiliate in Chicago has made a move, announcing (Twitter link) that they’ve signed veteran goalie Dustin Tokarski to a PTO agreement. The 35-year-old was in Ottawa’s training camp on a tryout but wasn’t signed.  He spent last season with AHL Rochester, posting a 3.32 GAA and a .890 SV% in 24 games and is a veteran of more than 400 appearances at that level over 14 seasons along with 80 NHL contests.  The PTO agreement can last for up to 25 games.

Flyers Sign Eetu Mäkiniemi To One-Year Deal

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Sep. 25: The Flyers made Mäkiniemi’s signing official Wednesday.

Sep. 24: The Philadelphia Flyers have signed goaltender Eetu Mäkiniemi to a one-year, two-way contract (as per PuckPedia).  The 25-year-old was attending Flyers training camp on a PTO and now has a guarantee heading into the 2024-25 season. The deal will see the former fourth-round pick earn $200K in the minors while making $775K if he sees NHL time.

Mäkiniemi will likely be a Group 6 UFA again next summer unless he happens to play 26 NHL games this upcoming season, in which case he would be an RFA (as per PuckPedia). The likelihood of him seeing 26 NHL games is pretty low given that the Flyers already have Samuel Ersson and Ivan Fedotov ready to start the season in the NHL as well as veteran Cal Petersen who could start the year as the AHL starter.

Mäkiniemi has a little bit of NHL experience having spent the last two years with the San Jose Sharks where he dressed in two games back in 2022-23. He played almost all of last season with the Sharks affiliate the San Jose Barracuda going 8-8 with a .900 save percentage and a 3.14 goals-against average. Mäkiniemi also played in three ECHL games for the Wichita Thunder.

Mäkiniemi started the Flyers preseason game against the Montreal Canadiens last night and played just over 31 minutes stopping 13 out of the 14 shots that were fired his way. He looked relatively composed for an inexperienced goaltender fighting for a job and did enough in the small sample size to secure a contract with Philadelphia.

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