Add another goaltender into the backup competition. Felix Sandstrom, who made his NHL debut this past year, has agree to stay with the Flyers on a two-way/one-way, two-year deal. It’ll be worth $775K and will offer him the same amount of money during the second year regardless of where he plays.
Sandstrom would make his NHL debut for the Flyers on December 30th against the San Jose Sharks. An impressive debut, Sandstrom helped the team get to overtime, making 43 saves despite falling in overtime. It was the most saves by a goaltender making his debut in franchise history. And despite not registering his first career win, Sandstrom would make at least 30 saves in four of his five career games.
In those five games, Sandstrom registered a 3.23 GAA to go along with his .910 SV%. The latter number is fairly impressive for a goaltender who spent a majority of the season in the AHL. Speaking of, he appeared in 44 games for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms this past season. It was a tough season for the club, but Sandstrom still put up decent numbers during his fourth season in the AHL.
He posted a 16-18-5 record which went along with his 2.89 GAA and a .902 SV%. He also posted two shutouts with the Phantoms as well. This was Sandstrom’s first full season in the AHL. He had played a combined 13 games during parts of the last three years. He made his AHL debut during the 2018-19 season.
Sandstrom has also appeared at the ECHL level as well for the Reading Royals. The numbers weren’t as sharp during the 25 games he appeared in throughout the 2019-20 season. He went 13-11-1 and had a 3.27 GAA to go along with a .885 SV%.
After signing Ivan Fedotov to his entry level contract back in May, Sandstrom will have some competition when it comes to the backup goaltender position. He could have the edge since he has appeared in the NHL before. And this will be Fedotov’s first pro season in North America. It won’t be an easy fight, though.
Fedotov has looked like he could be a dark horse for the Flyers for quite some time now. It’s all a matter of how he adjusts to playing in the States for the first time in his career. He has spent his entire career thus far in various leagues in Russia. But the numbers he has put up playing against men have been impressive. The 25-year-old netminder will certainly be gunning for that backup spot.
So while the Flyers have their starting goaltender spot locked up in Carter Hart, they will have a healthy competition on their hands come training camp in a few months.