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Emil Andrae is back with the Philadelphia Flyers.
On Sunday, the team announced they recalled the 23 year old defenseman from the Lehigh Valley Phantoms of the American Hockey League. They also loaned defenseman Dennis Gilbert to the Phantoms as a corresponding move.
With Cam York’s status still uncertain heading into tomorrow’s home opener, it would seem Andrae would seem to have a real chance to draw into the Flyers line up. In the Phantoms’ 5-2 home opening win against the Belleville Senators, Andrae picked up two assists and was a plus two.
Why Andrae Now?
At the end of September, Andrae was sent to the Phantoms after playing just two preseason games. At the time, Flyers management seemed underwhelmed with his early performance. With two smaller statured offensive defensemen in York and Jamie Drysdale, the team seemed reticent on having a third.
“Emil had some struggles in camp,” Flyers general manager Danny Briere told reporters at the time. “He’s still a very good prospect for us. I think the best thing for him is to play a lot of heavy minutes rather than sit on the sideline and watch at the moment, at his age.”
However, once York went on injured reserve with a lower body injury prior to the team’s final rosters being set, the Flyers knew they were going to be facing a difficult spot on their defense. Especially since they are still waiting on the return of Rasmus Ristolainen from his triceps tendon rupture surgery recovery.
Following their opening two games (and really going back to the end of preseason), Flyers head coach Rick Tocchet hasn’t received consistent play from his depth defensemen. Egor Zamula struggled mightily in that time, Adam Ginning made the roster as a long shot, while Noah Juulsen has been relatively nondescript in his play.
Gilbert, who had been waived prior to the York injury announcement, was scratched in both regular season games.
So with options being what they are, it seems like as good a time as any for Andrae to get a chance.
Andrae’s Fit
With York still potentially out for tomorrow’s opener, Andrae’s profile fits the closest to him compared to anyone who could’ve been recalled. Last season, he played 42 games with the Flyers and was impressive during his early games with the team. However, it seemed the NHL pace did catch up with him during the latter portion. He had one goal and six assists for seven points.
The 5 foot 9, 190lb defenseman has a rock solid build and is a willing offensive defenseman. In his two seasons with the Phantoms, he scored a combined 46 points in 86 games played.
Consequently, he could draw in for any one of Zamula, Ginning, or Juulsen, pending Monday’s morning skate.. Considering how much Zamula has struggled in the first two games, there’s a possibility he might be the one facing a healthy scratch.
Coming Up:
Coming off a short season opening road trip in Florida and Carolina, Philadelphia is set to rematch the defending Stanley Cup champions tomorrow at the Xfinity Mobile Arena. The Flyers have a 0-1-1 record heading into their 2025-26 home opener. They lost to the Panthers 2-1 on Thursday, then suffered a heartbreaking 4-3 overtime loss to the Hurricanes. Owen Tippett scored Philadelphia’s first power play goal of the young season. That’s something the team will need to do a lot more often in 2025-26.
