Photo Credit: Samantha Wismer
The Flyers are suffering with the injury bug at the moment, and Jamie Drysdale became the latest to hit IR (Injured Reserve). Drysdale now marks the third player to hit IR while joining the likes of Ryan Ellis and Rasmus Ristolainen. Ristolainen is week to week with an Upper Body Injury, and Ellis is year to year I guess. Travis Konecny is also hurt, and don’t forget Carter Hart is away from the team due to the Hockey Canada sexual assault that took place in 2018.
Cal Petersen, who was recalled from the Lehigh Valley Phantoms in Hart’s absence didn’t fair to well against the Pittsburgh Penguins this past Sunday, and that’s putting it nicely. Petersen entered Sunday’s game with a .920 Save Percentage, and he was 2-0 and his previous two starts before getting pelted against Pittsburgh in the 7-6 loss. He was very scattered brained, and he had troubling corralling rebounds. By my count, he should have saved at least three of those said goals against Pittsburgh.
Theoretically, Hart’s absence wasn’t a bad thing. This gave the Flyers a shot to not only get a look at a Samuel Ersson, but Petersen, as well. After that horrific start against Pittsburgh on Sunday it came as no surprise that Petersen was waived yesterday by the Flyers, ultimately paving the way for Felix Sandström to rejoin the big club. The Flyers could stash Petersen in Lehigh, thus freeing up his $5 million salary. If he clears waivers today he will most definitely be sent to Lehigh Valley.
In the end, the Flyers will only need the backup goaltender to play in four to five more games throughout the course of the season, per John Tortorella. There is no wiggle room for error, or time for that matter to see if Petersen could be the guy or not. The playoffs are on the line here, every point matters this time of year.
Ronnie Attard and Felix Sandström
The Flyers knew they had some tough decisions ahead of them as the roster was getting healthier back in November. Eventually, Felix Sandström was placed on waivers. This ultimately paved the way for Marc Staal to re-enter the lineup, as he was ready to return from his rib injury, I believe. Moreover, at one point last season it appeared Flyers’ Head Coach John Tortorella favored Samuel Ersson over Sandström, which lead to even more pressure for Sandström to put forth an excellent camp.
Today is a good for Sandström, as he was officially recalled by the orange and black. This might wind up being Sandström’s last chance at privng he could be a quality backup in the NHL, as Cal Petersen was waived yesterday, with the intent of sending him to Lehigh.
The former HV71 product appeared to be confident, and one could see the jubilation on his face in the locker room last year while playing for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms in 2021-22, especially towards the latter part of the season. I once again derived a quote he said to me at Flyers Developmental Camp back in 2019, “I’m confident in my abilities,” Sandström said to me back in 2019. “I am ready for the journey ahead, and I do not think I will have a hard time adjusting to the size of the rink. Carter Hart is a good Goaltender. I’m coming in to kill it, should be no different from Sweden. I’m going to work my butt off.”
Fast forward to the 2021-22 season with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. For about the first quarter of the season it was anything but blissful, as the Phantoms were navigating through covid concerns, and injuries. Moreover, Sandström is also no stranger to Taxi Squads as he was recalled to the Taxi Squad earlier in the season. He compiled a 15-18-5 record, 2.96 GAA, and a .900 Save Percentage with the Phantoms during the 2021-22 season. However, Sandström played well in the past four to five games, while becoming a brick wall for a young Phantoms club before this recent recall.
Sandström plays well as he sees more playing time. Some goalies need to play to keep their game fresh, especially for confidence purposes, and Sandström is one of those netminders. Felix finally made his NHL Debut during the 2021-22 season, and he played rather well with backstopping 43 saves on 46 shots faced for a whopping .935 Save Percentage in the 3-2 overtime loss to the San Jose Sharks on December 30, 2021. He became the 715th former ECHL player to make his NHL Debut.
Felix just wants to prove that he is a Goaltender that a team can rely on in the future. Unfortunately, Sandström hasn’t made “That” save, like Hart has primarily all season long. At some point, Sandström has to make “That” save or saves for that matter, to stay afloat in the NHL. Moreover, he actually has been inconsistent with the Phantoms over the course of the past month or so, but in the same token he should be given a shot to see what he has left in the tank.
Moving on to Ronnie Attard, he got off to a very slow start with the Phantoms this season, but has since picked up his play over the course of the past two months or so. Attard now has 10 goals and 15 assists on the season in 46 games played. His gap control is much better, Attard just looks a bit more confidence. He may not play consistently, but I wonder if he was brought up now to get acclimated with the club, since most notably Sean Walker could be on the move. In that event, Attard would likely take over the right-side in the absence of Walker, at least until Jamie Drysdale comes back from injury.
He’s not a flashy Right-Handed Defenseman, but he gets the job done. Attard finished his Senior season with 12 goals, 20 assists, and was a +15 for the Western Michigan Broncos. Attard appeared to be confident and poised this season as he drove the play up the ice, and netted a few hat tricks in the process. He even suited up for 15 games with the Flyers, and really showcased his promising skills in the future. Attard even netted two goals and registered two assists for his efforts, “I feel like I’m right on track, ” Attard said. “I’ve continued to gain strength and now it’s just the speed aspect of it. I feel really good and really strong.”
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