After dropping the preseason opener 3-1 at the hands of the New York Islanders, your Philadelphia Flyers take on the Isles again this time on Long Island. Although this game is between the Flyers and the Islanders, with the way the Flyers roster has been assembled for tonight’s game we may as well call it Phantoms vs. Islanders. Much of the forward core is comprised of the projected members of the Lehigh Valley Phantoms this season.
Names such as David Kase who looked strong in the rookie game, German Rubtsov, Matthew Strome, and Nicolas Aube-Kubel will all suit up tonight for the orange and black. Here is the full roster for tonight’s rematch with the Isles.
FORWARDS
10 – Andy Andreoff RW
12 – Michael Raffl RW
21 – Scott Laughton C
24 – Mikhail Vorobyev C
29 – Kurtis Gabriel RW
44 – Chris Stewart RW
50 – German Rubtsov C
62 – Nicolas Aube-Kubel RW
64 – Maksim Sushko RW
72 – David Kase C
78 – Matthew Strome LW
81 – Carsen Twarynski LW
82 – Connor Bunnaman C
DEFENSE
6 – Travis Sanheim
8 – Robert Hagg
20 – Chris Bigras
26 – Tyler Wotherspoon
39 – Nate Prosser
43 – TJ Brennan
59 – Mark Friedman
GOALTENDERS
35 – J-F Berube
79 – Carter Hart (Starter)
Players to watch for
Carter (Starter) Hart — The prodigal son makes his 2019-20 debut tonight in his first season as the starter of the Philadelphia Flyers. We all know how impressive Hart was in his rookie season, and he appears to be the goaltending savior that Flyers fans have longed for. His sophomore season begins tonight and it would be nice to see him get off on the right foot, even if it is just a preseason game. One would expect Hart to play roughly half of the game as Brian Elliott did last night, and for J-F Berube to finish it off.
Robert Hagg — Coming into this season, Hagg appears to be on the outside looking in with how well rookie Philippe Myers has looked, and how well he performed last night. Make no mistake, Hagg was bad last season, like really bad. This preseason will be huge for him as he hopes to earn a roster spot over the likes of Myers and Samuel Morin. He’ll most likely be paired with Travis Sanheim tonight, so we’ll see how well that duo performs as the top pair.
Travis Sanheim — Speaking of, Sanheim makes his preseason debut tonight after an impressive sophomore season. The 23 year old blueliner was outstanding last season, especially with the arrival of Rick Wilson and the departure of Dave Hakstol. Sanheim is projected to be on the second pair this season with Ivan Provorov and Matt Niskanen projecting to be the first pair.
Mark Friedman — It feels as though Mark Friedman has been in this organization forever, and that’s kind of because he has been. Friedman might be a very long shot to make this team, but this is his opportunity to impress and make his case to make the NHL roster. He played the final game of last season, and appears to be headed back to Lehigh for 2019-20. It would take a lot for Friedman to make this team, but that push begins tonight.
Other news & notes
- Despite all the Phantoms present in tonight’s game, there are some Flyers to keep an eye out for in the forward core. Michael Raffl and Scott Laughton are two roster locks in tonight’s tilt and will most likely be on the same line together come the season opener on October 4.
- Mikhail Vorobyev, German Rubtsov, and Maksim Sushko are all playing their third consecutive game of the preseason, including the rookie game. Although Sushko isn’t in the conversation to make the opening day roster, Vorobyev and Rubtsov could very well still be in the mix. Both have looked impressive so far, and they hope to continue that with a strong showing tonight.
- Morgan Frost is still out with a lower body injury. Hopefully the flashy forward prospect will be able to at least get a few preseason games in before its conclusion./
