Philadelphia Flyers Prospects: Swedish Leagues Update

A couple of Philadelphia Flyers prospects have looked very solid in their respective Swedish leagues this season.

Stop me if you’ve heard this before, but the Philadelphia Flyers have a pretty deep farm system. We know, or should know, about the Morgan Frost’s and Issac Ratcliffe’s of the world, so I’m going to take a look at how some of their Swedish talents have faired overseas thus far.

Forward Olle Lycksell has held his own for Linköping HC in the Swedish Hockey League, netting nine points (2 Goals, 7 Assists) in 43 games for the club. That may not sound like much, but keep in mind Lycksell is only 19 years of age and playing in a league amongst grown men. The fact that he’s keeping some sort of scoring pace in the very best hockey league in Sweden speaks to his decent offensive skill-set.

Fellow Linköping teammate and Flyers 2018 second round pick Adam Ginning also hasn’t found the scoresheet that often this year. The bulky, 6’4 defenseman’s scored a mere five points (1 Goal, 4 Assists) in 39 games, but it’s worth noting that he’s more of a defensive-defenseman and likely won’t chip in on offense every single time he’s on the ice. Still, he’s very good at covering his own zone, which is something this current Flyers team could definitely use.

2018 seventh round selection Marcus Westfält saw some action in the SHL, creating just one assist in 19 games, but has done most of his damage in the SuperElit league for Brynäs IF J20. Westfält’s potted 10 points (4 Goals, 6 Assists) in 12 contests on the season, showing he can still stand out when opposing players more close to his age. He turns 19 in March and will obviously have plenty of time to get it together when facing higher competition in the future.

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Defenseman Linus Högberg, like Lycksell, has kept his head above water during SHL competition. With 43 games played this year, Högberg’s increase his scoring total by one point from last season. Sure, it isn’t much right now, but any amount of progress is progress and there is still plenty of games left to play. He plays a very disciplined style of hockey, too, taking the fifth least amount of Penalties in Minutes among players who’ve seen 20 games of action for the Växjö Lakers. I like players who can keep themselves out of the penalty box, unless they’re fighting, and it’s honestly one of my favorite aspects of Högberg’s game.

A somewhat of a forgotten Flyers prospect, 2016 seventh round pick David Bernhardt’s seen his point production dip a bit in his third SHL season. Scoring 11 points in 51 games last year, Bernhardt has a mere four in 27 during his 2018-19 campaign. One reason behind this could be because of a mid-season trade to the Växjö Lakers. It takes time to learn a new system, but I will say it’s slightly concerning to see the 21 year-old’s production take a hit.

Focusing more on the goaltending side of things, Felix Sandström has begun to turn his season around after a rough start. Sandström’s posted a 2.13 Goals-Against Average with a .908 save percentage in 16 games with Husqvarna Vätterstad 1971 (HV71) on a loan. The one-time budding top Philadelphia goaltending prospect has slipped the memory of some Flyer fans with the emergence of Carter Hart on the main roster and now has another young net-minder breathing down his neck.

Samuel Ersson played light-out in the 2019 World Junior Classic and has continued to do so for Västerås HK in the Allsvenskan league. Ersson’s dominated with a 2.00 GAA and a .931 save percentage in 31 games seen. Those stats rank fifth and tied second in said league, while playing in the fifth most matchups as well. Yes, the Allsvenskan league isn’t the SHL in terms of talent, but at 19, he’s still going against players who are slightly older than him. I’m personally very excited to see Ersson face higher competition in the future, because he’s more than impressed me so far.

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Fans more than likely won’t see any of these players in an Orange and Black uniform for at least a few years. I wouldn’t be too surprised to see Sandström in Lehigh Valley next year, but outside of him and maybe Högberg, most of these prospects will be in the system for some time.

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