Photo Credit: Zack Hill
Chuck Fletcher provided updates on injured players yesterday. First, Fletcher announced that Sean Couturier was done for the session with season ending back surgery, then Ryan Ellis is still rehabbing with surgery still possibility. Now let’s get into the injured prospects and Kevin Hayes.
Kevin Hayes
Hayes is always upbeat, as he tries to settle down the locker room, and make it lively at times. This season has been a rough one for him mentally with the loss of his late brother Jimmy and this abdominal injury. However, now he may need another procedure.
“I don’t know about bringing him back too soon,” Fletcher said. “It’s certainly a lot going on in that area for him. The core muscle, the groins, everything. I think with Kevin, it’s 50/50 that he can come back and play. He also may need some additional work done to get ready for next year. We’re doing what we can. He’s seen different specialists. We feel we have a good grasp on where we’re at.”
Fletcher continued, “We’re just going to have to see how he responds to the treatment and the skating that he’s doing now. Again, the focus for all these guys is what’s in their best long-term interests in terms of their health and can we get them ready for the 22-23 season.”
Tanner Laczynski
Laczynski has been out all year due to hip surgery. Fortunately, he is returning this season, as he looks to make an impact for the Flyers/Phantoms at some point.
“Tanner Laczynski, I believe, will be able to return to play a week from today and another week is the goal,” said Fletcher. “It could be off a day or two. Laczynski’s skating every day. Skating hard. Working on conditioning.”
Tyson Foerster
Foerster could have really played a big role for the Flyers this season. As many know the Flyers are having trouble scoring, and that is one ability that Foerster brings. He is a sniper, and is not afraid to shoot from anywhere.
“With the shoulder surgery that he had, I don’t think he’d be a candidate to play this year,” Fletcher said. “The good news is, as you’ve seen, he’s skating every day. Rehab’s going well. Everything’s trending the right way. I don’t know that we’ll be in a position to get him to play games this year, but again, he’s working on skating right now.”
Fletcher continued, “Going to be able to work on his lower body strength and then when his shoulder begins to progress, he’ll be able to work on the upper body. We’re very confident he’ll be good to go for next year. We’re just trying to take advantage of the time that we have to work on some areas that a lot of young players need to work on.”
Ryan Fitzgerald
Fitzgerald is one of Kevin Hayes’s cousins. He typically plays for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, but he has missed the entire season with an injury at training camp.
“Ryan is a couple weeks behind him (Laczynski), but we expect both to be able to play,” Fletcher said. “They’ve put a lot of time and effort in, so I’m excited for both of them to get playing as well as Lappy.”
Ivan Fedotov
The Flyers are in talks with Fedotov’s agent in regards to signing with the Flyers. Good to hear that they are in talks, and this 6’8 towering netminder more than likely wants to start his career in the NHL like Ilya Sorokin did with the New York Islanders.
Fedotov has been one of the best goaltenders in the KHL for the past three seasons. For those that forget, the KHL is arguably the second toughest lead in the World.
Check out our Flyers Nitty Gritty Store
