The Phantoms went 1-2-0 this weekend. They beat the Penguins in overtime on Wednesday. Then lost two close contests to Springfield and Hershey on Friday and Saturday respectively. The Phantoms hold a 6-5-2-1record on the season.
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Samu Tuomaala
Tuomaala had two goals and six points in three games this week. He’s on a five-game point streak where he’s posted three goals and eight points and is up to 16 points in 14 games on the season. Given how atrocious the main roster scoring is this season, Tuomaala has worked himself into the conversation for a call up. It may not happen until closer to the trade deadline unless an injury pops up, but Tuomaala has more than earned an opportunity to make his NHL debut.
Olle Lycksell
Lycksell scored two goals and two assists in three games last week, bringing him up to 11 points in 14 games this season. He still has the AHL lead in shots on goal with 61. Olle Lycksell is really good and now that he’s converting on his copious opportunities he’s creating, getting back to point-per-game status is once again close.
Alexis Gendron
Gendron potted a pair of goals on Wednesday. He’s finally established a place for himself on the right wing of the the middle six, playing more often than he’s sitting after being sent to the press box during most of the month of October. With the ice time now flowing consistently, he’s got time to round out his full game, but his shot is great and he’s one of the faster skaters on the team as well. So provided he can continue to develop he could be an under-the-radar prospect in the coming years.
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Ben Gleason
Hard to call Gleason a prospect because he’s a 26-year-old pending UFA, but he’s got four points in four games since arriving in Lehigh Valley. It’s been a pleasant surprise and upgrade over Attard, who had clearly thrown in the towel on his Flyers experience.
Rodrigo Abols
Much like Gleason, the 28-year-old Abols isn’t really a prospect, but he did post a goal and two assists last week. Abols and his fellow offseason addition Oscar Eklind have gone back and forth posting productive weeks. Abols is up to 8 points in 13 games while Eklind, who went pointless this week, has 7 in 14 contests.
Ethan Samson
Samson scored a goal in Saturday. At the time, it was the game-tying goal that ultimately didn’t matter as Hershey squashed the Phantoms’ comeback. Samson was also -5 in three games last week. It was his first bad week defensively in about a month for the sophomore righty. On the whole, he’s having a pretty decent start to the season, but we’re still waiting for him to step up and take the top RHD status with consistent play.
Huner McDonald
McDonald had an assist on Friday and a fight against former Phantoms scrapper Brennan Saulnier on Saturday. He also managed to walk away with a +2 rating, the best among the defenders last week. His game has settled quite a bit since the all-over-the-place start he was off to early in the season, which is decent progress for a guy that only has 25 games of AHL experience to his name.
Elliot Desnoyers
Desnoyers registered a goal and assist last week. It was his first goal of the season and just his fifth in the last calendar year (66 games) and the first time he logged points in consecutive games since November 3 and 4 of 2023. His play away from the puck has been slightly more noticeable lately as well. It’s a painfully low bar, but hey, it’s something.
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J.R. Avon
Avon had an assist on Saturday and logged eight shots on goal in thee games last week. It was his first point since October 25 and the most SOG he had in a seven-day period since opening weekend. If that seems like a poor standard, it is. Maybe it’s the sign of an upward trajectory coming, though.
Adam Ginning
Ginning scored his first point of the season, an assist, in Friday’s contest. He also went a team worst -3 in Saturday’s game against Hershey. Easy come, easy go when it comes to forward momentum for Ginning, who has been stuck in the mud so far in 2024-25.
Helge Grans
Grans did a whole lotta nothing this week. He had three shots on goal and a +1 rating. So while it can’t be considered a bad stretch by any means, the Grans that was highly active and noticeable in recent weeks regressed back into the shadows.
By: Dan Esche (@DanTheFlyeraFan)
brotherlypuck.com 