Well, the roster gymnastics of sending Emil Andrae back to Lehigh Valley makes some sense now, despite what Torts will tell you: Jordan Hall has reported that Olle Lycksell has been recalled from the AHL to join the Flyers.
Looks like Flyers have called up Olle Lycksell. He's on their roster on NHL media page. We'll see if Sean Couturier will be available tonight.
— Jordan Hall (@JHallNBCS) December 21, 2024
The move makes some sense. Hall mentions Couturier’s availability, as he wasn’t participating in morning skate ahead of tonight’s game against the Columbus Blue Jackets, and the Flyers are about to go on an extended road trip. Without Andrae, the lineup has seven healthy defenseman: Cam York, Travis Sanheim, Jamie Drysdale, Rasmus Ristolainen, Nick Seeler, Egor Zamula, and Erik Johnson–plenty to take on the road. The forward group, meanwhile, has only 12 healthy players, as Nic Deslauriers is on injured reserve. Considering the Flyers are going to continue carrying three goalies for the foreseeable future, adding a 13th forward tracks. We got a long look at the 11 forward, seven defensemen experiment last season, and it’s probably not something we need to go through again.
As for Lycksell, he’s had a solid season with the Phantoms, posting 24 points in 25 games. He’s coming to the Flyers red hot, too: he scored a natural hat trick in his last game with the Phantoms, the second hatty of his career.
THIS. MAN. IS. RED. HOT. 🏒#LVvsTOR | #LVPhantoms pic.twitter.com/AaVSOX3siN
— Lehigh Valley Phantoms (@LVPhantoms) December 21, 2024
Also, these Phantoms uniforms–how do we feel about ’em, fam? They’re reminiscent of the Dallas Stars’ all-white reverse retro jerseys from a few years back, slick but kinda difficult to see on the ice.
Anyway, Lycksell’s had a couple cups of coffee with the big club the past two years, playing eight games in the 2022-23 season and 18 in 2023-24, scoring one goal and six points across all 24 games. At 25 years old, Lycksell is in the final year of his contract, and it may be too late for him to prove himself as an everyday NHLer with this team. Regardless, it’ll be fun to see a fresh face in the forward group, and maybe–just maybe–this stint will get him to stick.
