Photo Credit: Our very own Michael Reaves
The Flyers made a shocking, surprising move today. Emil Andrae was sent back to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.
Andrae needs a bit more seasoning and growth, but he was a viable option as a top four pairing defensemen in the future. He’s just 22-years-old, and look at all he has accomplished thus far in his short professional career. Andrae was a “Healthy Scratch” for Egor Zamula the past few games, until Cam York was benched last night against the Los Angeles Kings.
Unfortunately, he did not play very well against the Kings, and it appeared every mistake he made, it ended up with the puck in the back of the net. It looked like he was pressing a bit, and just trying too hard, if that makes sense. After all, he should be giving some leeway here, after just coming back from being a “Healthy Scratch” or being benched due to nursing an injury.
His defensive partner was Egor Zamula against the Kings, and this was not one of the most formidable defense units on the night. This pairing struggled to transition out of the zone at times, and they just lacked cohesion. This is going to happen from time to time, as the Flyers are a young team, who are embedded with young defensemen.
Let’s hope Andrae takes this in stride, and becomes a force to be reckoned with for some time in the foreseeable future.
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This team needs another forward on the roster, not 8 players on D. Frost should be benched with his defensive lapses costing us goals and his lack of offense. He’s invisible out there, and when you do notice him, the puck is in our net. He needs to go. I’ve been saying this for years. This is absolutely the right move. I don’t think Zamula is going to stick with this team either. He hasn’t progressed at all.