By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 
German Rubtsov is coming to North America.
The Flyers 2016 first-round pick had his KHL contract terminated on Monday and will play for the Chicoutimi Sagueneens of the QMJHL. The club announced the transaction and believes Rubtsov could be in action as soon as Jan. 19.
Rubtsov was in Philadelphia over the weekend to be examined for a nose injury suffered in the World Junior Championships. Rubtsov does have a broken nose and had surgery on Monday.
In 15 games with his KHL team, Vtiyaz, Rubtsov had no points, six penalty minutes and was a minus-four in limited playing time. With his Russian junior team, Russkie Vityazi Chekhov, Rubtsov had seven goals and eight assists in 15 games.
Expect the Flyers to announce an entry-level contract with Rubtsov in the near future, which will allow him to make the move to the AHL in the next season or so and to be in attendance at Flyers development camp this summer.
ECHL
The Reading Royals have won four of their last five games, including their last game on Jan. 7 over the Adirondack Thunder. The Royals are in third place in the North Division, five points back of the division lead, held by the Manchester Monarchs.
Chris McCarthy continues to lead the way with 31 points in 30 games. Olivier Labelle and Justin Crandall are tied for second with 27 points.
In goal, Mark Dekanich leads the way with 21 games played, posting a 10-9-2 record with a 2.94 GAA.
The Royals have a pair of games this weekend on the road against the Elmira Jackals before hosting the Jackals on Monday afternoon.
Juniors
Oskar Lindblom continues to put up strong numbers for Brynas IF in the Swedish league. In 32 games, Lindblom has 10 games and 19 assists for 29 points, tied for the SHL league lead. More importantly, Lindblom is turning heads with his overall play.
He is likely to return to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms after the conclusion of Brynas' season and the 20-year-old could make a play for the Flyers roster in the 2017-18 season. Even if he doesn't make the team out of camp, he can play with the Phantoms full-time next season, putting him a step closer to the NHL.
In eight games with the Phantoms last season, Lindblom had two goals and five assists for seven points.
The World Junior Championships just came to an end this week with nine Flyers prospects participating. While we got an up-close look at those prospects for better or worse — Philippe Myers and German Rubtsov each suffered injuries that cut their tournaments short — we saw a lot of potential from all of the prospects.
Among the group of nine, the Flyers had three goalies in attendance. One of their other goalie prospects is putting up strong numbers in the college ranks.
Merrick Madsen is 11-2-1 with a 2.14 GAA in 14 games with Harvard this season. The sophomore won both games last weekend for Harvard, posting 34 saves in a 5-2 win over No. 15 Quinnipiac on Friday and 31 saves in a 5-2 win over Princeton on Saturday.
Harvard plays back-to-back games again this weekend against Rensselaer and No. 11 Union College and faces Dartmouth on Tuesday.
