The Phantoms played three games last week, first laying the smackdown on the visiting Springfield Thunderbirds 7-3, then took back-to-back losses to the Hershey Bears, 4-3 in a heartbreaker in regulation on Saturday, then a 2-1 overtime loss back in Hershey on Sunday. They’re now 9-4-1-1 on the season.
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Alex Bump
Bump posted one goal and five points in three games. He’s now up to 13 points in 15 games on the season, alone at the top of the Phantoms’ scoring, as well as being tied for second most points by a rookie in the entire AHL. He and Denver Barkey were put on a line a few weeks ago and their chemistry has been through the roof. He’s finally awakening as the superstar in the making everyone expected when the season started.
Denver Barkey
Barkey scored three goals last week, all of which were at even strength. He has seven points in his last 10 games and 10 points in 15 games on the season. He went from disappointing start to red hot start real quick, and all it took was a lineup change.
Christian Kyrou
Kyrou went +5 on Wednesday, which tied a Phantoms record and bumped him into second place on the team in the category. He posted two assists last week as well. He did take the 2RHD role with the return of Ethan Samson to the roster, who has been missing since training camp with an injury, so his production may slow down a bit, but his status as a pleasant surprise since the trade hasn’t changed much.
Alexis Gendron
Gendron recorded two goals and an assist in three games last week. He’s now on a four-game point streak. He was a bit slow out of the gate, but is now on pace to replicate his 20-goal season from last year and set a new personal best in points. With guys like Bump and Barkey around, Gendron has fallen down the prospect board a bit, but in terms of raw speed and a deadly shot, he’s only refining his skills as he continues to age.
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Ty Murchison
Murchison was a +4 against Springfield, bringing him to a +9 on the season which is tied for the best +/- by a defenseman in the AHL, and second among all rookies. It’s hard to overstate how good Murchison has been during his rookie campaign with the Phantoms. He won’t be the flashiest guy around, but he’s more or less the team’s top left-handed defenseman when Andrae is with the main roster.
Alexei Kolosov
Kolosov posted a win and an overtime loss this week. The win on Wednesday was actually rather frustrating because he allowed three goals on 20 shots, and all three were softies, which has been a consistent problem this season. He’s been very Bryzgalov-esque in nature when it comes to his ability to be at the top of his game but somehow let in goals that your average beer leaguer could’ve stopped. If he could actually clean that part of his game up, the Flyers may actually have something here.
Devin Kaplan
Kaplan posted an assist on Wednesday. He’s still fighting an uphill battle when it comes to securing ice time, but he’s ben far more noticeable on a regular basis since their recent line shakeup. The skill is definitely there, the opportunity to put it on display hasn’t been.
Helge Grans
Grans went pointless, but put a whopping 12 shots on goal during their last three games. The return of Ethan Samson and arrival of Christian Kyrou doesn’t exactly bode well for Grans, but he’s largely been unspectacular this year anyway. It sure feels like he’s the most recent prospect who wasn’t called up during their peak and, whether intentionally or not, just can’t seem to get his mojo back.
Ethan Samson
Samson returned to the AHL after being out of action since training camp with an injury. He didn’t do much of note during his return, but he was one of the rising stars of the Phantoms last season, so hopefully he can shake off the cob webs over the next few weeks and return to form as the team’s top right-handed defenseman.
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Carson Bjarnason
Bjarnason allowed four goals on 20 shots on Saturday, including the game-winning goal with less than 20 seconds left in regulation. To be fair, this was his first game in 10 days, but it was his worst statistical game in the AHL and first regulation loss since opening weekend. Maybe he shouldn’t be in the “trending down” category, but man, allowing that heartbreaker on home ice was a real sour taste to leave for the week.
Karsen Dorwart
Dorwart recorded an assist on Wednesday. It is the lone point in his last nine games. Dorwart was hot out of the gate when nobody else was, and now that everyone else has started to click, Dorwart has fallen both down the lineup and score sheet.
Hunter McDonald
McDonald’s reign as the poster child of the “just another guy” category remains strong. He just isn’t really standing out in a positive way… but hasn’t really been standing out in a negative way either. That’s not the worst case for a defenseman, but he really isn’t doing much of anything that made him the oversized, physical, speedy player he was over the last year-and-a-half and that is a problem when it comes to his ceiling as a prospect.
By: Dan Esche (@DanTheFlyeraFan)
brotherlypuck.com 