Very bold prediction: Brink and Foerster make the Flyers
Well, given the other two were cut and traded, this isn’t much of a surprise, is it? These two have played their tails off in the preseason on the heels of an uninspiring rookie camp for the Flyers. Brink was the most impressive of the two – no doubt – but the Flyers simply won’t be able to play both him and Foerster all of the time.
The reality is that each is waivers-exempt and can be sent down to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms in the AHL at any time. There will probably be times where Andrae comes up and replaces one that isn’t playing, or one is just sent down to get minutes. Perhaps one of Brink or Foerster hits a slump and heads to the minors to pad the stats.
If John Tortorella has been clear about anything during his tenure as Flyers head coach, it’s that he picks his lineup based on merit. Philadelphia was never ‘playing the kids’ just to play the kids, notwithstanding Tortorella’s recent comments acknowledging the next stage of a full-fledged rebuild. This is the same coach that made the Flyers play with five defensemen against the Boston Bruins because he was so vehemently opposed to watching Tony DeAngelo play hockey for this team.
Ultimately, it would be a near impossibility for neither Brink nor Foerster to make this team, but they might not play as many games as we think. The Flyers have a lot of mouths to feed and not a lot of food, but let’s wait until the restaurant officially opens before passing judgement.