Photo Credit: Our very own Michael Reaves
Samuel Ersson struggled early in the season with momentum saves, that would eventually turn the page on the game in the Flyers favor. He has been a stone wall for the most part, with some recent struggles through the latter parts to the season, as Flyers’ Head Coach John Tortorella admittedly placed Ersson in a hell of a spot. Tortorella also said he was “Tired”.
“I haven’t really had that much time to kind of structure up to Summer. I’ll probably head home in a little bit, and probably get back to Philadelphia maybe at the end of August something like that,” Ersson said. “Do what I normally do to prepare for the season.”
Flyers’ Head Coach John Tortorella noticed how tired Ersson was, so he started using him more effectively over the course of the five to six games of the season. Ersson was pretty impressive with his rebound control, and he has made timely saves. He moved laterally from post to post well, and even donned a new goalie mask in the same token this season.
For his efforts, Ersson became the fourth Flyers rookie in the last 30 years to record 20 or more wins in a single season, per NHL stats, following a victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs.
“You have to be ready to play a lot of games. I have tried to. Like I said throughout the season you have to maintain kind of the same mentality throughout it all,” Ersson said. “I think that is something that has been important for me. It helps me push my day-to-day competing in practices. As much as I can, I try to stay in the moment and not look too far ahead for preparing, not thinking I am gonna play this or that many games. I’m just trying to take it one game at a time.”
Ersson has been spectacular for the Flyers between the pipes after the first month of the season. He’s made timely saves after being peppered trying to keep his team in it early, and also key saves in big moments to keep the Flyers engines going. Ersson continues to receive praise from Danny Briere and John Tortorella alike, even Briere saying that he was capable of being a number one netminder.
“Erss was great, especially in that first period,” Joel Farabee said at the conclusion of the Florida Panthers game a month ago
Well before the break, Ersson was on fire for about ten games, but the last few games leading into the All-Star break he had little help in front of him. For the season, Ersson is 20-14-5 with a 2.68 GAA, and a .898 Save Percentage. Ersson time and time again gets the job done, “He just continues to get better, making key saves at key times. Goaltending has been good, it’s given us a chance every night for a while here. He came up with the extra save, and we found a way to get two points,” said John Tortorella earlier in the season.
“The grind of the season, the stretches where you are playing every other day for a month basically,” Ersson said. “It’s something that I haven’t done, and you have to kind of learn how to deal with that. How do you keep your body and your mind at the best level you can, so you are ready for those games. I think we got to play some meaningful games here at the end of the season, and chasing the playoff spot is something that we can definitely take some to learn from and take experience from.”
“He’s a number one, I believe that,” Briere said of Ersson at his mid-season presser.“ At the same time we have to be careful. You don’t want to put too much pressure on him. He’s still young. He’s still developing and acquiring experience. This is a great opportunity for him to shoulder a lot of heavy load. We will see, but I do believe so.”
Ersson did finish his exit interview saying the support he has received from everyone in the organization, most notably Tortorella, means a lot, “Obviously, it means a lot for me in a lot of ways. He’s given me a lot of chances from through the early parts of my NHL career, and I’m very grateful for that. I think it’s given me the opportunity to kind of bounce back. I think that is something I want. It’s also a key trait to have, that ability, because you’re gonna have tough moments and tough games and stretches. It’s always about the way you respond, that’s something that’s big for me.”
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