Samuel Ersson struggled early last season with momentum saves, when used as a backup netminder, that would eventually turn the page on the game in the Flyers favor. However, when he took over the helm as a number one netminder following the departure of Carter Hart, Ersson became a stone wall for the most part. Sure he struggled a bit down the stretch, in large part due to workload, however, he managed to still put forth a good season.
Flyers’ Head Coach John Tortorella noticed his increased workload down the stretch, and he managed to use him more effectively over the course of the past month of the season. Ersson was pretty impressive with his rebound control, and he made timely saves most notably against the San Jose Sharks. He moves laterally from post to post well, and he has also donned a new goalie mask in the same token this season.For his efforts, Ersson had a good year last year. So much so, he owned the 19th best GAA in Flyers history with a 2.87. That’s actually better than Carter Hart’s career 2.94 GAA as a Flyer.
Fast forward to the 2024-25 season, where he pitched a 36 save shutout in his pre-season debut, followed by a 30 save performance against the Boston Bruins. Ersson only allowed two goals, which was good enough for a .938 Save Percentage. He was spectacular for the Flyers just like he was last year at times. Ersson 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.
Then, a lower body injury arose. He came back from that injury well posting a 1-0-1 record, to only see him have another recurring injury. It happened to be the same injury as before, a lower body injury, notably his groin.
Ersson was out for about a month, and he has came back like a different Goaltender, in a bad way. He owned a 2-3 record at one point, and did not post a Save Percentage over .900 in any of them. In those five starts his Save Percentages were as follows: .783, .840, .840, .857, .833.
Fast forward to his last five starts. He has struggled mightily once again. Yes, the play in front of him hasn’t been the best these past five games at times, but he has let in more than few softies, and ones that he typically saves.
It’s that bad that Flyers’ Head Coach John Tortorella doesn’t paint him as the number one netminder anymore, rather he will go with a tandem of Ersson and Ivan Fedotov moving forward, “I am going to take it each game at a time,” Flyers Head Coach John Tortorella said on Thursday. “I thought Feds deserved another game after his prior game. Erss goes tonight, and go from there.”
Tortorella continues, “Sam has been inconsistent. Our Goaltending has been inconsistent. I think with Sam as we move forward, we are hoping it’s going to be a tandem. We are not going to ask Sam to play 55, 60 games, if he’s the guy. I think it’s going to be a tandem. We are still evaluating. Sometimes you watch him play, and you think he’s got it but then he falls off.”
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It’s understandable that Tortorella has these thoughts, as the Flyers own a combined .875 save percentage on the season. More over, Ersson has been good at times, but bad at times too. His numbers are indicative of such as he owns a 3.02 GAA, and a .886 Save Percentage on the season. It’s clear the organization is still evaluating their netminder’s, so let’s see how all this plays out in the future.
