The hits keep on coming to the Flyers' defense. With Emil Andrae the latest to be sidelined, Helge Grans was recalled from the Phantoms on an emergency basis.
A team can use the emergency recall when they do not have enough players to fill a certain position. In this case, the Flyers do not have enough healthy defensemen. Cam York is not ready to return, while Jamie Drysdale remains out. With Andrae now sidelined, Philadelphia only had five defensemen at their disposal. And since they did not put Andrae on IR, the emergency recall was the only way they could do it. Grans must go back down once the Flyers have another healthy defenseman.
The Flyers placed Sam Ersson on injured reserve, though. He has to be out a week, though the expectation was already that he would miss at least that amount of time. The move wasn't made retroactively, so the week would start today. Ivan Fedotov has been strong in his absence.
Grans came to the Flyers in the three-team trade with the Blue Jackets and Kings. Similar to Sean Walker, Grans was a player that the Kings were willing to move on from with other players in the system. He will make his NHL debut against the Avalanche and his parents happen to be in town on vacation and will be able to see their son play.
Grans called up, will make NHL debut
It's been a much better year for Grans in his second season with the Phantoms. He is getting top-line minutes and has quarterbacked the PK with Andrae up with the Flyers. He has already matched his goal total from last year (1) and has a total of three points in 14 games. Grans should hit a new high in points if he keeps his current pace.
Grans call-up is well-deserved.
— Alexander Appleyard (@avappleyard) November 18, 2024
Was EXTREMELY underwhelming last year for @LVPhantoms last year.
But to start this season? Looks a different player.
Driving play better than any Dman. Playing top pair minutes. Big part of their PK. #Flyers #NHL https://t.co/8MoKJ1C8VF
Entering the 2020 NHL Draft, Grans was described as someone who "can mitigate risk while maintaining an aggressive, space-consuming posture when defending the defensive blue line." He was also touted as a player with good footwork and his ability to easily walk the blue line in the offensive zone.
Grans hasn't been able to put it all together quite yet, but he will get a chance to show the Flyers what he can do at the NHL level. He will be paired with Egor Zamula, though he is likely to get limited minutes as John Tortorella has expressed his desire to lean on Travis Sanheim and Rasmus Ristolainen.
Who knows, maybe Grans puts the pieces together in the NHL. Maybe the Flyers are able to find another young player to build their blue line with. There won't be a ton of expectation thrust onto Grans, but it will be the Flyers' first look at him when the game