The Lehigh Valley Phantoms opened their 10th season at the PPL Center with two games over the weekend. They suffered a miserable defeat at the hands of the Cleveland Monsters on Saturday with a 5-2 loss, but answered back on Sunday with their own 5-2 victory over the Belleville Senators.
Trending Up
Alexis Gendron
19-year-old Gendron made his AHL debut on Sunday after being a healthy scratch on Saturday. He scored his first goal, capitalizing on a Belleville turnover with speed and a deadly shot. He was the Flyers’ seventh round pick in 2022 and had a head-turning run in the QMJHL last season with 33 goals and 47 points in 34 games. Do the Flyers have yet another late round diamond in the rough on their hands?
Adam Ginning
After a surprisingly solid season last year, Ginning scored a beautiful shorthanded goal on Sunday to continue the hot start to his North American career. He may not typically be the flashiest prospect, but he’s continuing to prove he can be a jack of all trades and continues to climb up the organizational defensive depth charts.
Samu Tuomaala
The Flyers’ second round pick in 2021 returned to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms after a brief debut back in the 2021-22 and scored his first goal late in the game on Saturday. Tuomaala looks much bigger, both in size and confidence, than he did a few years ago. It’s a good start for a player that struggled in his native Finland since leaving the first time.
Sideways Trending
Olle Lycksell
Lycksell went pointless to open his sophomore season in Lehigh, but his overall defensive play was solid through both games. Lycksell was just shy of a point-per-game pace through 53 games last season, so offensive production is expected from him, but playing a solid two-way game could be just as useful, and maybe even better, to punch his ticket back to the NHL one day.
Tanner Laczynski
He may not be a prospect anymore, but Laczynski returned to the Phantoms after a disastrous run with the Flyers last season. He scored three points, a goal and an assist, in Sunday’s game and served as their top center the whole weekend. It’s unlikely John Tortorella ever recalls him, but if he can have a great season in the AHL, it’ll go long way for the Phantoms’ season.
Trending Down
Ronnie Attard
Attard, who is fighting to earn an NHL opportunity, did nothing to impress during opening weekend. He went pointless and walked away with a -1 rating, slightly better than the -3 rating he earned in Saturday’s contest. He’s going to have to turn in better performances than this if he ever wants to make his way back to the Flyers’ roster.
Elliot Desnoyers
Elliot Desnoyers was among the earliest cuts from training camp, and he opened the Phantoms season pointless and not particularly standing out on either side of the puck. He had a great year with the Phantoms in 2022-23 setting the rookie goalscoring record in Lehigh Valley, but he just hasn’t come out of the gate with any fire in 2023-24.
Cal Petersen
Much like Laczynski, Cal Petersen really isn’t a prospect anymore, but he did turn in one of the worst goaltending performances I’ve ever seen on Saturday. Not a good start to a guy making five million dollars for this season and next.
By: Dan Esche (@DanTheFlyeraFan)
brotherlypuck.com 