The Philadelphia Flyers will face the Montreal Canadiens for their second preseason game of 2025 with an entirely different roster, with the exception of two players.
Flyers head coach Rick Tocchet confirmed Tuesday morning that goalie Sam Ersson will start and play the whole game against the Canadiens, with Aleksei Kolosov serving as the backup.
As for the skaters, only Rodrigo Abols remains from the 3-2 shootout win against the New York Islanders on Sunday night.
“I love big guys that can skate. Can he fit a role? When you get a guy like that, I want to see how you can play two, three games in a row,” Tocchet said of Abols. “I think it’s an important game for him to see if he can be real consistent for us, and you never know. I just wanted to see him. That was kind of my call.”
Joining Abols at the forward position will be veterans like captain Sean Couturier, star winger Travis Konecny, Owen Tippett, and Bobby Brink.
Center Christian Dvorak, the club’s top free agent addition this offseason, will also be making his Flyers debut.
Flyers Stock Up, Stock Down Heading into Training Camp Week 2
Heading into the second week of Philadelphia Flyers training camp, a number of key players have boosted their stocks and chances of making the NHL roster. Others? Not so much.
Three roster hopefuls are set to take the ice for the Flyers, too, in what will be a crucial game for them early on in training camp.
Winger Alex Bump is set to make his Flyers debut, partaking in a preseason game (and an NHL training camp) for the very first time.
Is he nervous? Is it a big moment for him in his fledgling career?
“Not really,” Bump said sheepishly Tuesday. “The bigger moment would be the real season debut.”
Flyers fans tuning into Tuesday night’s game against the Canadiens will also want to keep an eye on 2024 first-round pick Jett Luchanko, who was interestingly listed on the game roster as a right wing instead of center, and defenseman Helge Grans.
Luchanko is in a precarious position as a player who will have to fight for an NHL spot or return to the OHL for another season, so showing growth in a competitive game setting will be key for his prospects of suiting up for the Flyers in October.
As for Grans, real opportunity exists at his position, but he has work to do in order to beat out players like Egor Zamula, fellow countrymen Emil Andrae and Adam Ginning, and newcomer Noah Juulsen, among others, for a place on the team.
Flyers Training Camp: Potential Defensive Changes Could Be for the Best
If the first few days of training camp are anything to go by, the Philadelphia Flyers could have a new-look defense under first-year head coach Rick Tocchet.
“When you’re trying to make something, you got to separate yourself from other guys,” Tocchet said of Grans and the other roster hopefuls. “Ideally, three rights [defensemen], and three lefts.”
What Tocchet does with Travis Sanheim regarding playing the left or right side could improve or reduce Grans’s chances, but the best thing the 22-year-old can do for himself is to start the preseason off with a strong performance against the Canadiens.
The same is true for Bump, who is perhaps facing unexpectedly strong competition from Nikita Grebenkin on the left wing. Luchanko and Denver Barkey are certainly in the mix, too.
Lane Hutson, Cole Caufield, Nick Suzuki, and Juraj Slafkovsky are all expected to play on Tuesday night, so a tough challenge is certainly in store for the young Flyers.
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