The Phantoms played three games last week going 1-1-1. They took an overtime loss to Hartford at home on Friday, then shutout Hartford on the road on Saturday, before they themselves got shutout by the AHL’s worst team the Bridgeport Islanders on Sunday. They sit with a 17-14-5-1 record on the season which is fifth in the Atlantic Division.
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Massimo Rizzo
Rizzo posted a goal and a helper in three games last weekend. He’s up to three goals and nine points in his last 11 games. Rizzo’s on-ice presence still hasn’t quite been to the level you’d expect it to be, but he’s finding ways to, especially considering the offensive groove he’s in at the moment, but as long as the points keep flowing, the rest of the confidence should grow as well.
Emil Andrae
Andrae scored a goal on Saturday. It was his second goal in the last four games, and his fifth point in 10 games since his demotion. He’s still missing that dominate play he had in the past, but scoring goals and keeping a regular presence on the score sheet is a positive sign for the 22-year-old that he’s re-finding his footing in the AHL after a messy return in late December.
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Samu Tuomaala
Tuomaala picked up a powerplay assist on Friday. If you’re just looking at Tuomaala’s stats, they’re not that bad. He does have five assists in his last nine games, 25 points in 33 games on the season, but has hasn’t scored a goal in 17 games, nearly two months, and he’s missing the off-the-charts swagger he started the season with. Is he hurt? Is consistency just his flaw? Either way, the fascinating and frustrating season for Tuomaala continues.
Zayde Wisdom
Wisdom went pointless this weekend, the first week since late November he failed to produce at least one point, but his play was still noticeably strong. Wisdom has been a bit of a late bloomer for the Phantoms as the 2024-25 campaign has been his best season since his rookie year back in 2020-21. He’s been doing it all lately and the Phantoms definitely needed one of their depth players to rise to the occasion.
Hunter McDonald
McDonald went pointless this weekend. The Phantoms are giving McDonald plenty of opportunities as their directive operative from the Flyers’ front office to develop the guy. He’s ranged from impressive to painfully ordinary, a physical specimen to just a guy. It’s all part of the process, but there have been many times, particularly as his conformation process continues, that leaves us wondering what exactly they see in this guy to devote all the minutes to in the first place.
Elliot Desnoyers
Desnoyers had an assist on Friday, briefly leaving him riding a three-game point streak. That was broken as he didn’t record a point in either road game Saturday or Sunday, but he’s now up to five points in seven games in 2025. An even more impressive stat when you realize he scored just 16 points in all of 2024. New year, new Elliot?
Olle Lycksell
Lycksell was named to the 2025 AHL All-Star game, and made an appearance in the NHL this week taking over for the doghouse-bound Joel Farabee. Lycksell has 24 points in 25 games this season and 108 points in 116 career AHL games. He continues to be the bastard child on the main roster more often than not, but it’s not because he’s not holding up his end of the bargain.
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Jacob Gaucher
Gaucher went pointless this weekend, and has just one point in his last 11 games. He signed his entry-level contract with the Flyers on December 12 then posted seven points in four games after the ink dried before slipping into a month-long scoring drought. He went from breakout season to just a guy status like every other Flyers’ prospect does. That’s how you know he’s officially under contract.
By: Dan Esche (@DanTheFlyeraFan)
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