Flyers Place Noah Cates on Injured Reserve, Call Up Olle Lycksell

Ahead of their upcoming three-game road trip, the Philadelphia Flyers made a series of transactions. Defenseman Louie Belpedio was placed on waivers on Monday and cleared waivers on Tuesday, allowing him to return to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms in the AHL.

On Wednesday, the team officially placed forward Noah Cates on injured reserve, and recalled forward Olle Lycksell from Lehigh Valley in a corresponding move.

Cates, 24, broke his foot in the second period of the Flyers’ game against the New York Islanders on Nov.  25, per head coach John Tortorella. Cates finished the rest of the game before the full extent of his injury was revealed. At the time, he was expected to miss 6-to-8 weeks of time.

Flyers Call Up Lycksell

Olle Lycksell is a name some, if not most, Philadelphia Flyers fans should already be familiar with. The 24-year-old made his NHL debut last season, and picked up one assist across eight games played. Last year was also Lycksell’s first on North American ice.

In 53 games with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms in 2022-23, Lycksell racked up 14 goals, 31 assists, and 45 points in 53 games. He’s having another strong start this season, with 12 goals, seven assists, and 19 points in only 21 games played.

Tortorella had previously indicated that the Flyers were weighing a call-up if they were “not happy” with the current group, though it’s more likely that this is a case of a numbers game. The Flyers were carrying eight defensemen on their roster, but had no extra forwards available.

Finnish winger Samu Tuomaala was also an option, based on his performance, but the Flyers instead went with the older and more experienced Lycksell. It’s currently unclear as to whether or not Lycksell will get into any games on the upcoming road trip, but it is worth noting that he briefly played under Tortorella last year as well.

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