Philadelphia Flyers: Shayne Gostisbehere Will Be Back

One of the biggest outcries from Philadelphia Flyers fans during training camp was the decision by general manager Ron Hextall to send defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere back to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms instead of keeping him on the roster for opening day.

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And the fans have a good reason to be upset. Gostisbehere scored three excellent goals in a two-game stretch against the New York Islanders helping the Flyers to a 3-1 record in preseason (before being sent down) and giving Flyers fans some hope before the regular season starts.

Broad Street Buzz writer Marc Naples wrote that the AHL is the best place for the the 22-year-old defenseman and I agree with him. Ghost will have less pressure in the AHL and can work on his defensive game while playing a ton of minutes that he wouldn’t see with the Flyers.

But I believe this isn’t the last we’ll see of Gostisbehere in orange and black this season.

Hextall has preached patience with prospects, which I think is the right move, but he’s stated before to Craig Custance of ESPN that the young d-men will start to play this year:

"“We’ve got to be cognizant of not putting our young defensemen in too early. We have to be cognizant of not waiting too long, there will be too much overlap. We’re going to keep a close eye on all our young defensemen. They’ll start filtering in at some point this year.”-Ron Hextall, Craig Custance"

Gostisbehere makes the most sense to make the jump to the NHL among the Flyers’ young defensemen.

Samuel Morin is two years younger than Gostisbehere, with no AHL playing time yet. Robert Hagg is a year younger and while he’s had more playing time in the AHL, Ghost is a more refined d-man by most accounts.

The Florida native also played two games with the Flyers last year, but was held to only five with the Phantoms after an ACL tear knocked him out for the rest of the season.

Some extra time with the Phantoms will help Gositisbehere and his knee to adjust back to game action before any NHL games.

But the bigger question is when will Gostisbehere return to the Flyers?

It’s a tricky question because there are so many different possibilities for the Flyers, the players and the season.

Samuel Morin is another young defenseman that could see playing time with the Philadelphia Flyers this season similar to Shayne Gostisbehere. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

Philly’s already rumored to be trying to trade Luke Schenn, which would bring the team’s defensemen down to a more manageable seven if that happens.

Brandon Manning would then be the Flyer’s seventh defensemen, but if there’s a long-term injury on the blue line (knock on wood), Gostisbehere may be a better option given his potential future and depending on how he does with the Phantoms.

If the Flyers are out of the playoff race by the trade deadline, it’s possible Evgeni Medvedev, Mark Streit, Radko Gudas, Schenn (if he’s still on the team) and Nick Schultz all become trade chips, allowing one or more openings for Ghostisbehere and another young defenseman to make the jump.

So Gostisbehere could be with the Flyers in a month, or not until March of next year, but at some point this season the young defenseman will make his jump to the NHL.

Next: Chris Porter Making Strides to Make the Team

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