Photo Credit: Lehigh Valley Phantoms
The Lehigh Valley Phantoms are just kicking off their preseason as the NHL prospects head down the farm to join their fellow teammates. The team boasts plenty of talent this year as Morgan Frost, Samu Tuomalaa, Tyson Foerster, Issac Ratcliff, German Rubtsov, and others lead a talented the forward group. Promising defensemen Cam York, Yegor Zamula, and Wyatt Wylie are the top young players on the Phantoms as they look to build on their already excellent young careers as they take on a big role and responsibility upgrade heading into the 2021-22 season. The goaltending trio of Felix Sandstrom, Krill Ustimenko, and Samuel Errson are at the helm of the goaltending as they look to make a case to be future NHL regulars and gain experience in the AHL. All of these players will be lead by, first time head coach, Ian Laperriere and his assistant coaches Jason Smith and Riley Armstrong. They will look to lead this young crop of players into the AHL playoffs and upgrade their games for the next level.
There is a new mentality with the AHL Phantoms this year as, GM Chuck Fletcher, is looking to make it a seamless transition from the AHL to the NHL. Ian Laperriere has been a Flyers assistant coach for the past several years and knows Alain Vigneault’s system well. There will now be an expectation that the Phantoms execute the same system as the Philadelphia Flyers. The hope here is that the team can more easily swap players in and out of the lineup without having to learn changes from team to team. This should indicate that the Flyers intend to use a lot of young talent from the minor league level in the NHL and will rely on reinforcements on the regular.
On this episode of Gettin Gritty Wit It, I welcome back friends of the show and Isiah from O&B Puckcast and Flyers Nitty Gritty writer Samantha Wismer. Sam and Isiah are both very knowledgeable about the talent in the organization and help me break down the current depth chart at the AHL level. Take the time to get to know the young players available in the AHL and where we see them playing in during the season and beyond. Check out this latest episode as we go through the Flyers offseason hiatus.
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