Philadelphia Flyers
Flyers Forwards Escape Waivers, Assigned to AHL… For Now
After the surprising news of Jett Luchanko making the NHL roster, the Philadelphia Flyers saw lightning strike twice as forwards Anthony Richard and Olle Lycksell both went unclaimed on waivers on Saturday afternoon.
The consensus heading into training camp, and throughout training camp, was that Lycksell and Richard would be battling it out for an NHL roster spot to become the Flyers’ 14th forward. As it turned out, neither of them won that spot.
Instead, Luchanko, 18, took it out from under their noses.
There were some concerns that, after impressive preseasons from both players, one or both of Lycksell and Richard would be claimed by another NHL team on waivers. I can personally say that, at each Flyers preseason game at home, there were scouts from other teams in attendance.
Off the top of my head, the New York Islanders, Washington Capitals, and Vegas Golden Knights were among the teams in attendance at Wells Fargo Center.
Vegas eventually signed veteran forward Tanner Pearson, who was with them on a professional tryout offer, to a one-year contract anyway.
The Lehigh Valley Phantoms, who are currently in their preseason and training camp, are suddenly deep at the forward position, which is only good news to the Flyers. Lycksell, Richard, Oscar Eklind, and Rodrigo Abols will be able to support the younger forwards, such as Samu Tuomaala, Massimo Rizzo, Elliot Desnoyers, Alexis Gendron, and J.R. Avon.
Whether Lycksell or Richard return to the Flyers after a few weeks, however, remains to be seen.
If Luchanko plays 10 or more games with Philadelphia in the NHL this season, he will burn one year off his entry-level contract, which may not be considered to be a wise move since the contract can “slide” for two years.
In the event that Luchanko is returned to the Guelph Storm of the OHL, the door will open for one of Lycksell or Richard to come back up.
And at the moment, there seems to be a strong likelihood that this is how the situation will play out.
Juggling the roster is sometimes like playing chess…..Danny B and Jonesy gambled correctly and assumed Lycksell and Richard would pass thru waivers since most teams are set on their 23….and they can keep Jett for a 9 game further evaluation.
Jonathan – I was wondering if the timing of our cuts helped Lycksell and Richard clear waivers. I think I read that teams had until 5pm on Monday to make their cuts, and we made ours early on Friday. Maybe that caught some teams that might have otherwise had an interest off guard, and put them on the spot without knowing who else might be sent down and available from other teams.
In any event, I hope Luchanko is able to continue to impress and remain with the team beyond the 9 game tryout period. There’s something to be said for having two young talents (him and Michkov) grow and (possibly) develop some chemistry together as the season goes on. And it’s not like we’re overstocked with fast-skating centers on the team.
Finally, wouldn’t bringing Lyksell or Richard back create a problem if they had to be sent back down? They’d have to clear waivers again, right?
Yes, that is a possibility! I personally did not expect the Flyers to make such early cuts myself. I think Jett’s rookie camp chemistry with Michkov may have played a factor in him staying, even if it’s only temporary. It puts another card in Torts’s hand if he needs it. Lycksell and Richard would indeed have to clear waivers again if they are sent down again later in the season, but that’s assuming Jett gets only the nine games. One important wrinkle in the system is that players only have to clear waivers again if they have been on the NHL roster for more than 30 days.
Good to see Kolosov had a good start at LHV Friday night….stopped 20 of 22 in the pre-season victory over the Hershey Bears. If for some reason Fodotov struggles , Kolosov will be the first call-up I assume.
Yep, meanwhile Petersen allowed 5 goals on 30 shots in a AHL preseason loss today. It would take a true disaster to see him put a Flyers jersey on again.
Will the Phantoms carry three goalies or send Petersen to the Royals?
So, my expectation is that Petersen will stay with the Phantoms, especially since there’s no roster limit (to my knowledge) at the AHL level. Briere mentioned in his press conference today that there’s a pretty high likelihood that Kolosov plays some NHL games this year, depending on his play, which would open up a spot for Petersen to play. The Royals have Gahagen and Petruzzelli under contract for now.