1) The Philadelphia Flyers Rookie Camp campers won 5-1 on Saturday at the PPL Center in Allentown to complete a two-game sweep of their New York Rangers rivals. The Flyers were outshot (37-15) and out chanced heavily in the first two-plus periods, but now-healthy goalkeeper prospect Samuel Ersson’s superb 36-save effort was the deciding factor in the final score.
The Flyers went 5-for-5 on the penalty kill with a shorthanded goal and were 1-for-3 on the power play, contributing to the lopsided result. Furthermore, three of the Flyers’ five goals were snipes, while the other two were veritable slam dunks after well-executed passing moves.
Egor Zamula, Olle Lycksell, Noah Cates (shorthanded), Zayde Wisdom, and Ronnie Attard scored for the Flyers (power play). Lycksell, who also scored in Friday’s 2-1 overtime victory, led the offense on Saturday with a three-point performance (1g, 2a). Early in the third period, Rangers prospect Bobby Trivigno broke up Ersson’s shutout attempt, lowering New York’s lead to 4-1.
Swede Victory on PhiladelphiaFlyers.com provides an in-depth look into Saturday’s game. See ‘Ty’ Breaker for more on Friday’s victory.
2) On Sunday, Rookie Camp returns to Voorhees for a practice at the Flyers Training Center. This will most likely be a short workout because it is the fourth consecutive on-ice day, including the back-to-back games on Friday and Saturday. In Sunday’s game, a handful of players, notably Rookie training camp invitations with no previous pro hockey experience, were heavy-legged. In order to fill out the lineup, the Flyers dressed two natural defensemen as fourth-line forwards in the rematch. Due to an injury, center prospect JR Avon missed both games, and the Flyers only had 13 forwards in Rookie Camp in the first place.
3) With the back-to-back victory against the Rangers, the Flyers improve to 10-3-2 all-time in Rookie Games, dating back to the first one in 2007 at the Flyers Training Center (then called the Skate Zone) in Voorhees versus Washington Capitals prospects. No games were played in 2012 (due to the NHL lockout), 2015 (due to the decision of then-GM Ron Hextall), or 2020. (COVID-19 pandemic).
On Saturday, Samuel Ersson’s 36-save performance set a new Flyers Rookie Game record for the most saves by a Flyers goaltender. In 2013 (1-0 final score with Anthony Stolarz and Carsen Chubak in net), Philly recorded two combined shutouts against the Capitals (3-0 score with Stolarz and Martin Ouellette combining for 23 saves).
James van Riemsdyk’s five-point outburst (4g, 1a) versus Capitals prospects in Voorhees in 2009 still holds the record for the most single-game production by a Flyers prospect in a Rookie Game. In 2018, Oskar Lindblom had a hat trick and two assists in a 6-3 win over New York Islanders prospects in East Meadow, NY. Morgan Frost has a power play goal and three assists in the same game.
4) The Flyers released Episode 2 of their preseason “Beyond the Boards” docuseries on Saturday night, directly following the conclusion of the Rookie Game in Allentown. Episode 2 follows Tony DeAngelo from the FTC in Voorhees to the Hollydell rink in Sewell, where DeAngelo got his start playing the game and where he has held offseason kids hockey clinics for the previous four summers. Much of the podcast focuses on DeAngelo growing up as a hardcore Flyers fan, his on-ice confrontations with Travis Konency and how they are now fast becoming friends, and his thoughts on playing under John Tortorella.