Are The Flyers Making The Right Decision Gambling On Three Unproven Goalie Prospects?

Photo Credit: Our very own Chris Maher

With so many major issues to correct this past off-season, Flyers’ general manager Chuck Fletcher may have been forced to overlook or, if you will, “gamble” on one of them. That question/issue being just who might be looked at as the team’s 3^rd goaltender. Now, while some may think of this as holding little importance in the grand scheme of things, let us not forget just a few short years ago when the Flyers set a new league record for number of goalies to start a game for a franchise in a single season when they were forced to start eight different netminders that year. That season, due to injuries and poor play by the ones that were brought up from the minors to fill in, Philadelphia was forced to scrape the bottom of the barrel to find goalies who could actually hold down the fort for them. They signed free agents, traded for others, and were able to grab one from another team’s waiver wire. 

I know this was an extremely rare case but, say, over the course of the season (this year) what happens if either Carter Hart or Martin Jones sustains an injury that will cause them to miss an extended period of time. Who then in the team’s system would be picked to fill in for them? Over the past five seasons that answer was always Alex Lyon who, after all that time, failed to progress his game to the next level. This off-season Fletcher rightfully decided to let him sign with another team once his contract expired. 

In making that decision, though, the team is now left with three unproven goaltenders who don’t have a single game of NHL experience between them! In fact, out of the three, only two of them have experience playing professional hockey in North America, with most of those games being at the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL) level. 

By now you may be asking just who are these three young goaltenders that the Flyers are putting so much faith in, and which one might be relied upon by the Flyers if needed in the ‘21- ‘22 season? Well, the one with the most professional experience is the Flyers’ 2016 3^rd round pick Felix Sandström, who just so happens to hail from Sweden. This now 6’2 24-year-old goaltender played parts of 6 seasons in Sweden’s top professional league the Swedish Hockey League (SHL) before deciding to come state side. Upon coming over a few seasons ago, he was originally assigned to the team’s ECHL affiliate the Reading Royals where, in the ‘19- ‘20 season he was able to average a disappointing 3.27 goals-against-average (GAA) and a .885 save percentage (SV%) in 25 games played (GP) where he was able to achieve a record of 13-11-1. Last season (after advancing to the American Hockey League (AHL) where he played in 11 games) he was able to win only a total of 5 of those games and found himself still giving up over three goals a game. But with another season now set to get underway, Felix looks to once again build on where he finished off last year and has shown a real sense of commitment to every drill he has been placed in this camp.  

However, there are still two other goaltender prospects who are in camp who are trying to best him. Perhaps the one who might be the most likely to do so is the Flyers’ 2017 3^rd round pick: Goaltender Kirill Ustimenko of Belarus. At just 22 years of age, Kirill is hoping to be able to achieve the kind of success he had back in the ‘19- ‘20 season when he exploded on the scene down in Reading where his play had the Royals setting new attendance records and was forcing the team to sell standing room only tickets to fans who were vying for the chance to see this (once thought to be) phenom in net. But after taking the ECHL by storm, Kirill was brought up to the AHL where he was then asked to try and do the same thing for the Phantoms. Once there though, Ustimenko had no such luck. Playing in 5 games for Lehigh Valley that year Kirill was able to record just one win and average a very unimpressive 3.84 GAA and a .889 SV%. The following season (last year), Ustimenko set out to tackle the AHL once again but before his season was even able to begin, he tore a labrum in his left hip- an injury that most Philadelphia fans may remember happening to the Flyers’ former goalie Antero Niittymäki during his time here with the Flyers. Now recovered from that, Kirill is out to prove that his success in Reading wasn’t just a flash in the pan, but a preview of what’s still to come! Surely, he will have his chance to prove in the coming weeks as the Flyers still have multiple preseason games left to play. 

Although Ustimenko has been impressive during many drills so far this camp, there is a newcomer who looks equally impressive so far. That is Samuel Ersson- the Flyers’ 2018 5^th round pick. This 21-year-old Swede was offered the chance to sign and bring his talents to Philadelphia this year after playing the past three seasons in the SHL for the Bryans IF. There, he might have been just about the only bright spot on a very disenchanted franchise. Playing in 42 games last year, Ersson may have only been able to win 16 of those contests but he still was able to post a very respectable .911 SV% in the process. While Sam is having a good showing in camp, you can expect that he will be sent down to Reading to get the most starts that he can if he does not absolutely blow the powers at be away in these next couple weeks in an effort to continue to try and get him used to the smaller North American-style ice and the speed in which players now will be coming at him. 

But, as if this battle wasn’t going to be hard enough, it just got a whole lot worse for these three: Only just coming to their senses and realizing their lapse in judgement, the Flyers thought it would be wise to try and bring in just a little more experience to the mix beyond these three young prospects. To do that they recently signed career minor leaguer, goaltender Pat Nagle back on September 17^th (who is perhaps best known for his time playing for the Ferris State University Bulldogs of the NCAA).

Will this decision to forgo signing an older “backup to the backup” with some NHL experience prove to hurt the Flyers down the stretch? Time will only tell; But, by entrusting that their drafted youth will hopefully excel to the point they need them to this year, the Flyers will be able to truly see what they have between the pipes moving forward. This sink-or-swim method may not be the most ideal situation most fans would like to see happen (especially with all that was given up this off-season to turn this team around) but when gambling you have to make the best out of the cards you are dealt and if another team calls the Flyers’ bluff Philadelphia better hope that one of these guys will be ready to step up.