3 Defensive Prospects Who Could Make the Philadelphia Flyers This Season

To be honest, the Philadelphia Flyers defense looks to be pretty set. Travis Sanheim is coming off of a good, solid season and is poised for another one.  If Jamie Drysdale stays healthy, the team can see what they have in him. Cam York is hoping to improve on a fairly successful sophomore campaign, as is Egor Zamula. Nick Seeler has the spot of the savvy vet role while Erik Johnson plays the role of the old, mentor-veteran. That's six men there. 

Then, there is the X-Factor which is Rasmus Ristolainen. Will he be healthy? Will he be good? Will he be the stud of the 2022-23 season or the flop of the 2021-22 season? Who knows? We'll find out.

So, with that in mind, what's left? If someone gets hurt, who could fill the hole on the roster? What if Drysdale or Seeler falter? Sure, you could probably go to veteran stop-gap Louie Belpedio or the oft-called up/sent back-down Ronnie Attard. Maybe Adam Ginning gets more than a quick look. Is there someone in the rookie camp who could crack the roster this year? Which prospects look as if they could appear as a Flyer sometime this season

Emil Andrae

After Belpedio and Attard, Andrae is probably the first man up in case of a long-term serious injury to someone on the defensive corps. Andrae played in four games to start the season last year before being sent back down to Lehigh Valley. He has a lot of room to grow.

During rookie camp, he has been impressive. Andrae had made some mistakes, like coughing up the puck that led to a score in a rookie game vs the Rangers. But he also made a great defensive play later on and fed Samu Tuomaala for the eventual game-winning goal. He may be short at 5'9", but so was Kimmo Timmonen, to who Andrae is drawing a lot of comparisons.

More importantly, he has heart. John Tortorella loves a guy with good hockey instincts but also has a lot of heart. I can see him being called up at some point this year.

Hunter McDonald

This kid is flying under the radar and coming out of nowhere. A sixth-round pick isn't supposed to make this much noise, but he is. McDonald is getting physical at rookie camp. He played in just 11 games for the Phantoms last year after playing for Northeastern University. More importantly, he looks hungry.

He is not NHL-ready. He has a lot of raw talent. But talent like that can be nurtured and grown. He wants to play. If he has a strong training camp, he could turn some heads. He's impressed during the summer session and in the recent rookie camp. He is making his case to make this team. He probably won't make it now, but he's leapfrogging some other guys on the long-term depth charts. If there is an injury or a trade, it wouldn't be surprising to see him get a shot.

Helge Grans

Grans is a former second-round pick. He came over in the Ivan Provorov trade as the Kings just kind of gave up on him due to injuries and inconsistencies. 

Last year for the Phantoms, he remained fairly healthy; appearing in 56 games. He scored one goal with seven assists. At the same time, he didn't hurt his team much while taking just 24 penalty minutes.

Grans is not a guy who is going to score often, but he has scored better in the past (24 points in 2021-22 for the Ontario Reign). He's also a big guy (6'4", 205 lbs) who could learn to use his size to his advantage a bit more.  

He won't join the team out of camp. However, if he has a solid rookie camp and training camp AND starts off well in the AHL, he could earn a call up later in the season. He is someone to keep an eye on.