Samuel Ersson’s proud parents finally got to see him play in the NHL for the Flyers

Photo Credit: Our very own Rob Windfelder

“We saw last year how good he was. He was strong for us when he came in, he gave us a chance. The last two were good shots by good players. We have belief in our goalies,” Scott Laughton said following the game against the Buffalo Sabres earlier in the season when asked a question about Samuel Ersson filling in for a period of time, after Carter Hart went down with a mid body injury.

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Samuel Ersson struggled somewhat early in the season, mainly with his timing of saves. He wasn’t terrible, but he hasn’t made that save either. What I mean is he didn’t made that momentum save, that turns the page on the game in the Flyers favor. He was pretty solid in relief of Hart at times, but he gave up another two goals that lead to the Buffalo Sabres winning the game 5-2 (One empty net goal). Ersson was pretty impressive with his rebound control in the pre-season and Ersson made timely saves. He moves laterally from post to post well, and has donned a new goalie mask in the same token this season.

That was then, and this is now. Since then, Samuel Ersson is 6-0-1 with a 1.93 GAA, and a .916 Save Percentage in his last seven games played. The Flyers are reaping the benefit of some awesome backup goaltending. 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 following the Flyers victory against the Washington Capitals.

The former Vasteras IK product in Ersson appeared to a confident after his first 12 stints in the NHL. He was 6-3, with a 3.07 GAA, and a .899 Save Percentage to start his NHL career last season. Ersson is agile, and really moved well laterally from post to post. He has a good glove hand, as he snares pucks out of mid air. For his efforts, Ersson earned a 2.00 GAA, and a .930 Save Percentage in his last three starts, and he led the Flyers to a sweep of the California road trip for the first time in franchise history.

This was an unlikely role given to him, with the sickness to Felix Sandström, but he seemed to relish his new role with the Flyers. Ersson really turned some heads in a good way for the Flyers proud faithful, and took this backup goaltending spot by the bullhorns for a short period of time. However, John Tortorella seemed to favor Ersson over Sandström when Felix came back from injury. Now one can see why. The Flyers goaltending has been fantastic, and it has propelled the team to second place in the Metropolitan Division.

“First time my family got to see me play in NHL, so I was happy to get the shutout.” – Samuel Ersson said following the Detroit Red Wings game

Ersson and his family will spend the holiday break in town and around New York City. The rest of his family and girlfriend are coming into town for the holiday, as well. His parents were able to finally see him play a game in the NHL, and it just so happened to be one of the best performances by him while donning a Flyers sweater. He pitched a shutout, and I’m sure he made his parents proud.