As far as goalie careers go, Sam Ersson was put in a rough position to start his off. Going from backup, getting some experience, to starter on a rebuilding team designed to lose more often than win, Ersson has had the unenviable job of being the primary goalie for the last two Flyers seasons.
This year, he'll be in more of a split thanks to the addition of Dan Vladar, but thanks to his early career surge, Ersson isn't too far from shooting up the Flyers' all-time goaltending ranks.
Ersson is already top-five in games started
Right now, Ersson has 104 starts. This only recently became an official stat, and when compared to the Flyers' modern goalies, he's already 5th. The only goalies above him are Martin Biron, Brian Elliot, Carter Hart, and Steve Mason.
Biron (112 starts) and Elliot (118 starts) will both fall to Ersson this year. Mason and Hart are in the 200's and are both safe for at least 2 or 3 more seasons, but Ersson has the job for the forseeable future.
Games played is a different story, as Ersson sits 18th and it's a long way to Ron Hextall at 489.
Ersson could climb the wins list in a hurry
At 51 wins, Ersson is sitting 19th all-time in Flyers history. With just 1 win, he ties Ilya Bryzgalov and John Vanbiesbrouck. Yes, you read that right. If he manages to grab 9 wins this year, he'll tie Robert Esche, and an 11-win season ties him with Antero Nittymaki.
If Ersson can match his 22-win figure from last season, he vaults 7 goalies and ties Brian Boucher for 11th all-time, with 73 wins. The season after, he'll be very close to cracking the top 5, and in 3 he'll be 3rd all time as long as he's playing regularly.
The only Flyers goalies that aren't in Ersson's range are Bernie Parent and Hextall. Now, if Ersson can control the net for the next 5 years, that story changes, but right now, Ersson is fighting for the net.
Shutout record will be tough to beat
Ersson already has a pretty impressive 7 shutouts to his name. He's tied for 10th all-time in team history. Just 1 more puts him in sole possession and then tied for 9th. It isn't wholly unrealistic that he could be at 15 within the next two seasons, and if he is, then he's in the top 5 again.
But Parent's record of 50 shutouts should be safe for awhile. That one might be untouchable.
What Does This All Mean?
If you're impressed by Ersson, you should be. He's shown that he can hang, and he's had two of the worst Flyers lineups in front of him for his tenure. If he has an improved defense and some offensive support, he could really have serious number-one goalie numbers.
It also shows that the Flyers have an incredibly thin goaltending history. Outside of Bernie Parent and Ron Hextall, nobody has had significant success or an extended run with the franchise. When a player like Steve Mason has a statistical argument to be the third-best goalie in the history of the franchise, it says a lot about the lack of depth and stability at the position.
So, this season, let's pay a little more attention to Ersson, appreciate what he's doing, and his eventual place in Flyers history.