It’s been a minute since there was an installment of the Prospect Stock Report as a barrage of injuries and post-deadline call-ups limited how many “prospects” were actually on the Phantoms’ roster. But with a five-game home stand occurring over the last eight days and the playoff picture becoming more clear, it’s time to check in with the ongoings in Lehigh Valley.
The Phantoms went 2-3-0 during their home stand, splitting two games with the Penguins and beating the Admirals, before turning in two of their worst performances of the season against the Syracuse Crunch and Providence Bruins, as their status as plucky underdogs lost some magic.
They’re currently 31-25-5-2 and fifth place in the Atlantic Division, with an eight-point cushion on a playoff spot. They have nine games remaining in the regular season.
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Zayde Wisdom
Wisdom posted three goals and an assist during the five-game home stand. He’s up to 29 points on the season, which is currently fifth on the Phantoms in scoring. His offensive consistency is still a bit hit or miss, but Wisdom’s breakout season has been nothing short of impressive overall. The Phantoms needed someone to step up and Wisdom answered the call.
Alexis Gendron
Gendron scored two goals and tacked on an assist in the last three games. His line mates have been a revolving door lately and his own consistency hasn’t been great, but with Lycksell called up and Tuomaala hurt, the Phantoms needed Gendron to answer the call during these last few weeks of the season, and he appears to be doing just that.
Nikita Grebenkin
Grebenkin, whom the Flyers acquired in the Scott Laughton trade, has played four games with the Phantoms. He’s scored two power play goals, added an even strength assist, and went -5 since his arrival. His presence on a shift-by-shift basis isn’t anything noteworthy, but he’s been a fiend in the netfront role on the man advantage and hasn’t been afraid to get in some post-whistle scrums and seems to take point in communicating with Alexei Kolosov. The hockey side could still use some work, but overall, he seems like a guy that will quickly become a fan favorite in Lehigh Valley.
Ethan Samson
Samson posted two goals and two assists in the five-game home stand. The Phantoms desperately needed someone on the blue line to step up in place of the recalled Emil Andrae, and Samson had no problem doing it. His offensive presence has come and gone throughout the season, but as he’s thrust back into the top PP QB role he reemerged as a scoring threat. He’s up to nine goals and 21 points in 60 games, easily new career highs in both categories.
Alexei Kolosov
Kolosov started four of the five Phantoms’ contests and surprisingly turned in easily his best performances of the season. His highlight was a light out performance in the first meeting with the Penguins, stopping 26 of 27 shots. He posted two wins and two losses, allowing 10 goals on 89 total shots (.898 SV%). It was great sign from Kolosov, who wasn’t exactly trying his hardest last time he was in Lehigh Valley back in January. But his five weeks with the Flyers where he didn’t play a single second of hockey may have finally made him realize it’s time to do things the right way.
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J.R. Avon
Avon recorded three helpers in four games. He missed Saturday’s contest for an undisclosed reason. Avon has had a bit of a disappointing sophomore campaign, but has been playing better lately. His speed has been on display throughout the home stand and his improved presence has been rewarded with some points on the scoresheet.
Hunter McDonald
McDonald has zero points, an even 0 +/- rating, four shots on goal and six penalty minutes during the home stand. He’s back to serving as the top lefty with Andrae called up and did an overall decent job. He certainly didn’t do anything to rise above the crowd, but he didn’t sink either. Not the overly sexy bonafide top guy performance you’d want, but he’s holding his own right now.
Elliot Desnoyers
Desnoyers scored a goal and added two assists in five games. They were his first points since January 17. He’s got four goals and 15 points this season, somehow worse than his six-goal, 22-point performance in 2023-24 when he had a 42-game goalless drought.
Anthony Richard
Richard posted three assists in five games, but went -6 during the home stand. The Phantoms used Richard heavily as the only pure scorer on the team that’s currently healthy, and while he did contribute some helpers, his overall performance was a bit of a struggle.
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Jacob Gaucher
Gaucher went pointless with a -4 rating over the full home stand. With Abols on the main roster, it was time for Gaucher to fully step up and take the top center spot in Lehigh and he really didn’t.
Oskar Eklind
Eklind went pointless during the home stand. In fact, he went pointless in his last 11 games and hasn’t scored a goal since February 8. He’s one of the few players that has been openly trending in the wrong direction as the season comes to a close.
Samu Tuomaala
Tuomaala’s still on the shelf with an injury. His timeline was announced at 4-6 weeks, which dating back to his last game on March 1 should, at the latest, put him due to return right around the time playoffs start. He had 32 points in 46 games and was just starting to break out of his two-month scoring slump before his injury.
Massimo Rizzo
Rizzo returned halfway through the home stand and went pointless in three games after missing three weeks with an injury. Between injuries and call ups, now is as good a time as ever for Rizzo to step up, but it didn’t happen last weekend.
By: Dan Esche (@DanTheFlyeraFan)
brotherlypuck.com 