The Phantoms went 1-0-1 over the weekend and sit 8-6-1-1 overall on the season.
Trending Up
Tyson Foerster
Foerster had a bit of an inconsistent start to the season when it came to producing offense, but he has seemingly shaken off the cobwebs and now has a point in five straight games (3g, 2a). He’s up to five goals and 12 points in 16 games this season and now that he’s finally playing closer to the expectations laid before him going into the season, he could be in line for a callup sooner or later given the pitiful state of the main roster. There still needs to be another level for Foerster to reach, he’s still struggling to rise up and take control of a game in a dominant fashion, but this is the first real tangible sign of progress this season, so just hope he can continue to build up confidence and the points will follow.
Olle Lycksell
It’s hard not to get excited about Olle Lycksell, whose four-point night on Saturday and five-point weekend now places him with 11 points in 10 games. His two-way ability is solid and has shown a knack for forechecking as well. He missed most of November with a minor injury, but arguably returned stronger than he left. The 23-year-old former sixth rounder pick in 2017 sure has all the makings of a legitimate diamond in the rough for the Flyers in the very near future.
Elliot Desnoyers
Speaking of diamonds in the rough, 2020 fifth round pick Elliot Desnoyers scored his team leading sixth and seventh goals of the season over the weekend. His overall game is still developing, but he is dropping plenty of breadcrumbs that he could very well be a high-end middle-six center in the NHL one day, and for a team as starved down the middle as the Flyers, Desnoyers’ development could quite literally be game changing.
Sideways Trending
Cam York
Admittedly, York has cooled a bit from the high he was on a couple weeks ago, but he’s still tied for the team lead in points with 12 and racked up two assists this weekend and is on a three game point streak overall. He’s still looking to solidify and adjust his game at the max level at all times, but there are still plenty of positive signs coming from York as he works through the kinks along the way.
Egor Zamula
Zamula did go pointless during his return to the Phantoms, but he was on a pair with Ronnie Attard and looked more than comfortable doing so. Zamula’s not going to be a big point producer, his success will come in the finer intricacies of playing defense, of which he looked fine. John Tortorella did speak highly of Zamula upon his demotion, so it does leave the door open for a potential NHL return down the road, but for now, the name of the game for Zamula is cleaning up the problems diagnosed to him by Torts and the NHL-level coaches.
Trending Down
Ronnie Attard
Attard has really come in bursts this season, as most offensive defenseman do, and he’s currently between bubble ups. His overall play is still at an acceptable level, but the biggest asset he brings to the table is his cannon of a shot and when he’s not recording points he tends to be a bit invisible. Hopefully lining up with a new consistent partner in Zamula should help dial his game back into a high level consistently.
Zayde Wisdom
It’s now been five games since Wisdom recorded a point. For as well as the Phantoms’ coaching staff has been handling the prospects this season, Wisdom has been the odd man out more often than not, being moved when the lineup changes due to demotions/callups and injuries. They could be looking to develop him in more of a bottom six grinder role, it’s where he’s spent most of the season, but all four of his points, all assists, came when he was in the top six on a scoring line with Lycksell and Jackson Cates. He spent the weekend on the third line with Alex Kile and Cal O’Reilly, not exactly a spot for success.
Sam Ersson
After pitching five straight victories for the Phantoms dating back to early November, Ersson was scratched the entire weekend with an illness. Hopefully it was just a minor bout with the flu that just kept him out the weekend, because after missing almost all of last season with an injury, one can only hope there’s no more setbacks for the 23-year-old Swede, who finally seems to be putting the pieces together.
.
By: Dan Esche (@DanTheFlyeraFan)
brotherlypuck.com 