With Kent Huskins going down with a concussion in last night’s game against the Canadiens, the Flyers have recalled defensemen Brandon Manning and … Matt Konan? … from the Adirondack Phantoms.
Manning makes a ton of sense. He’s arguably the Flyers’ top defensive prospect at this point, has four NHL games under his belt (all last season) and given the depth of the defense organization across the board, seems to be the most logical choice for call up now.
Reports in Glens Falls indicate that Manning has had a bit of a rough year — the numbers are never a simple indicator at the AHL level since they don’t really move past points, plus/minus and penalty minutes — but I’m not sure we should read into it all that much. Manning has a lot of talent and still remains the Flyers best defensive prospect, at least when it comes to guys playing in the pros.
Konan, on the other hand, is a little more interesting. He spent much of the early part of the season injured and played a few games in the ECHL, but he’s become a mainstay on the Phantoms blue line for much of his rookie year.
The best part in these call ups? It clearly shows that the Flyers mentality for the rest of the season is to give some of the young guys a chance. They could have recalled Danny Syvret and Andreas Lilja today but instead called up two lesser-known quantities. At this point in the year, it can’t hurt to give them a look.
Both players are eligible to play Tuesday night against the Rangers.
