In a press conference this week, Flyers general manager Danny Briere said that right-shot defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen will not be ready to start the 2025-26 NHL season. To recap: Ristolainen played his final game of the season on March 11, just after the trade deadline, and about a month later underwent surgery to repair his triceps tendon. After the surgery, he was given a six month recovery timeline, which would have him returning to NHL action at some point in October at the earliest.
Briere said Ristolainen will meet up with the team in six to eight weeks into the season, so the good news is that Ristolainen is more or less on pace with the initial recovery timeline, if you add a few weeks to the initial six months for him to get into game shape after an offseason of recovery. The bad news is that, once again, he will be missing the start of the regular season.
On the bright side, that leaves a very obvious hole on the right side of the Flyers’ blue line–and there’s no shortage of players within the organization who could take on that role. Let’s break down who the favorites are and why they’ve got a shot.
The NHL Veteran Options
Noah Juulsen
We’ll start with the boring choice. Signed by Briere at the onset of free agency during the summer, Juulsen may be the favorite to replace Ristolainen in the lineup for myriad reasons. Firstly, he’s a right-shot, so there’d be no need to juggle the pairs; secondly, he’s a veteran player with over 150 NHL games; third, Rick Tocchet coached Juulsen while he was the head coach of the Vancouver Canucks. There’s also the fact that Juulsen is 6-foot-2 and over 200 pounds, so he mostly replaces the size of Ristolainen, too. If none of the prospects (who we’ll get to in a moment) step up in camp and claim the job, then it sort of falls to Juulsen by default.
Dennis Gilbert
Another one of Briere’s offseason additions, Gilbert could make a run at a roster spot. Like Juulsen, he brings size and some veteran experience but, unlike Juulsen, he’s the wrong handedness and wasn’t coached by Tocchet. While we understand why the Flyers would want to carry seven defensemen on their opening night roster (injuries do happen, after all), it sort of feels like all of the prospects would have to absolutely bomb in the preseason for Gilbert to win a spot. Gilbert’s a long shot, but we can’t rule him out entirely.
The AHL Prospects
Now, we get into the prospects who could replace Ristolainen, and none has as clear a path as Helge Grans. Grans and Ristolainen are both 6-foot-4, 200-plus pound, right shot defensemen–on paper, they have a lot of physical similarities, and adding Grans changes little of the physical makeup of the defense. What gives Grans a better chance than, say, Emil Andrae (sit tight, Andrae fans), is his contract: he signed a two-year extension with the Flyers and is no longer waivers exempt. Is it likely Grans would pass through waivers without issue? Probably; there was worry about one Ronald Attard not clearing waivers, and those concerns were unfounded; every team is sending their own version of Grans through waivers as they make roster cuts. Still, at 23 years old, now’s as good a time as any to see what Grans can do with an extended look in the NHL, and Ristolainen’s absence could be quite the opportunity.
Now we come to the most interesting option on the list: Emil Andrae. Andrae played 42 NHL games last year, which is more than any of the other prospects combined and, especially early on, showed he could handle it–so why isn’t he the favorite? Three things could keep him in the AHL: size, handedness, and waivers exemption. Sure, the Flyers could rejigger their defense pairs to put Andrae in a prime position, moving one of Nick Seeler or Egor Zamula to the right side, but why do that when there are other options available? With Cam York and Jamie Drysdale, both undersized defensemen, already in the lineup, perhaps the Flyers are unwilling to add a third smallish defenseman. Add in waivers exemption other players do not have, and the deck is somewhat stacked against Andrae. That all said, Andrae could put together a stellar preseason and knock the socks off the coaching staff; if he does that, they will surely find a way to fit him on the main roster.
Adam Ginning
Over the last three seasons, Ginning has played 11 NHL games with the Flyers–and he didn’t look too bad in them! At 25 years old, however, he’s likely been supplanted by younger prospects in the pecking order. It’s the last year of his contract and, like Grans, is not waivers exempt, which could give him an edge, but we’d be surprised if he makes it. Like Andrae, Ginning is a lefty and would require the Flyers to reorganize their pairings–but Andrae clearly has the higher upside and would make such an endeavor more worth the Flyers’ while. Ginning would have to have one of the most memorable training camps of all time to make the team, so we’re not holding our breath.
Considering how long the organization has been hyping up Hunter McDonald, it’s strange to realize he’s only 23 years old. Like Ginning and Andrae, he’s a left shot, which could make the pairings a bit wonky, but he does bring the size and meanness the Flyers so crave in their blueliners. McDonald has yet to play a game in the NHL and, entering the final year of his Entry Level Contract, the 2025-26 season would be a good time for the Flyers to see what they have in him. Replacing the physicality of Ristolainen isn’t easy, and McDonald may be the meanest player on this list–it’s just that he might not be as ready to play in the NHL as a few other candidates.
The Wildcard
Now we’re talking real outside shots. Oliver Bonk has the draft pedigree that many of the other prospects lack, but he’s also only 20 years old–quite early in his development curve. Yes, he’s the correct handedness, and yes, he’s big, and yes, the organization is high on him–but it would still be quite a surprise to see him make the Flyers out of camp. There’s also the injury concern that’s popped up, which means he may not even be ready for the start of the season if it’s serious. He’s labeled as day-to-day, but every day he misses makes it less likely he can crack the main roster. Bonk would have to have quite a camp in the days that remain to make the team and, even then, it would probably only be for a handful of games before being loaned back to the Phantoms.
There are, of course, other defensemen in the Flyers’ pipeline that would be options on the backend–but we would be gob smacked if any of Ty Murchison, Ethan Samson, or Spencer Gill actually became roster regulars in Ristolainen’s absence. Maybe one of them would get a game or two as a pat on the head for a good camp, but playing out the full six to eight weeks would be highly unlikely. The prospects on the cusp or the veterans will probably fill Ristolainen’s shoes in his absence, and the coaching staff will work with what they’ve got in the interim.
