The Phantoms went 0-2-0 this weekend in a home-and-home series with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. They went down by four in the first period of Friday’s game, but the Phantoms managed to score three in a comeback effort that fell just short. Then they outplayed the Penguins on Saturday, but goalie Filip Larsson pitched a 41-save shutout.
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Samu Tuomaala
Tuomaala recorded a power play assist on Friday, but was a -3 through both weekend games. The sophomore forward has been noticeably more active this year, particularly on the man advantage, especially considering the offense as a whole as been underwhelming. If he keeps this pace up over the course of the season, he could work himself into call up territory if the main roster needs help.
Ethan Samson
the sophomore defenseman has started the season on a high note, scoring a power play goal on Friday and has remained in the top four during the first three games. He came out of the gate slow last season but looked promising by the end of his rookie outing, so even though he’s got some work to do to determine of there’s anything more than just AHL competency here, it’s a positive trend for an under-the-radar prospect.
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Alexei Kolosov
Kolosov started both games this weekend and took an “L” in both contests. He allowed four goals in 12 shots in the first period of Friday’s game, then only allowed two goals on 43 shots over the following five periods. It’s been pretty hard to get a feel for Kolosov’s play early in the season. Sometimes he looks like a top prospect, and other times he looks like he never played hockey in his life. It’s not necessarily uncommon for rookie goalies, but given the offseason drama and his demands, you’d think he’d be near bulletproof at the AHL level, which just hasn’t been the case.
Helge Grans
The right-shot Grans has been manning the left side while his typical partner in crime Emil Andrae has been recalled to the main roster. Grans isn’t really going to show up on the scoresheet in any notable fashion, but he does visually seem to be far more active in the playmaking side of things than he was last season. We’ll see if the jump to his off-side will remain throughout the season, but it does seem to be keeping him on his feet in the short term.
Elliot Desnoyers
Desnoyers picked up an assist on Friday. They have shifted the 22-year-old third-year forward to the right wing position from his typical center in an effort to get his game back on track. Has there been progress early in the campaign? Maybe a little bit, but if the baseline was how lost in the woods he was last year, then just about anything can be seen as an improvement.
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Olle Lycksell
Lycksell hasn’t registered a point yet this season. He did have the shootout winner last weekend and had an assist taken away from him on a scoring change. For someone who’s looking to get back to the NHL, the only way to do that is to score at his typical high pace and he hasn’t done that yet.
Ronnie Attard
Attard has been pushed down the lineup and is a -3 through three games. He has had notoriously slow starts over the last few years, so this isn’t really new, but it isn’t a great sign for the player that has been excommunicated from the main roster that he’s buried at the AHL level as well. It’s going to be a long season for Attard.
Hunter McDonald
McDonald only took one penalty all weekend after racking up three in the home opener last week. It seems like he’s destined to walk the fine line of playing his style of hockey and taking penalties, or playing it safe and not contributing much of anything at all.
Massimo Rizzo
Rizzo has yet to play his first AHL game. He has remained a scratch through all three games.
Alexis Gendron
Ditto for Gendron, who apparently found himself right back in Lappy’s doghouse after his rookie season was cut short due to a junior demotion.
By: Dan Esche (@DanTheFlyeraFan)
brotherlypuck.com 