Jackson Cates
The Flyers claimed center Patrick Brown off waivers, putting the final piece into the puzzle for the 2021-22 opening-night roster. The Flyers final roster consists of 20 healthy players, the minimum 12 forwards, six defensemen, and two goalies.
The Flyers return to the ice on Friday night for one final tune-up ahead of the regular season against the Washington Capitals.
On Wednesday, the Flyers made 10 roster cuts, bringing the roster to 24 healthy players and 32 overall. Five players were assigned to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, headlined by forward Morgan Frost. Four more, including Connor Bunnaman, were placed on waivers.
On Tuesday night, it will be more of a ‘B’ team lineup for the Flyers against the Islanders, as cuts have started to begin, but another chance to see some new faces like Derick Brassard, Rasmus Ristolainen and Martin Jones.
Thursday’s lineup in Boston for the Flyers second preseason game will feature a bunch of new players who did not suit up on Tuesday night. Only two players will return to the lineup: veteran defenseman Nick Seeler and prospect Tyson Foerster. Foerster had a solid rookie camp and has turned heads so far, clearly drawing the eye of Vigneault to include him among the regulars.
After a busy offseason, is there still a chance for young players to make their impact on the Flyers roster this season? The possibility exists for sure. It always does. The road to get there is just going to be much more difficult this time around.
The Flyers dropped Tuesday’s game to the Devils by a score of 6-4, snapping New Jersey’s 10-game winless streak. Coupled with a win for the Boston Bruins, it reduced their tragic number to be officially eliminated from playoff contention to a combination of three points gained by the Bruins or lost by the Flyers.
Now with nine games to go, the countdown is on until the end of the season. The Flyers sit 11 points out of the final playoff spot. Their tragic number is down to seven. It’s not a matter of if, it’s when. Friday’s game was just another example of all of the problems this team had over the course of this grueling schedule and this prolonged stretch of games without stringing together wins.
Flyers development camp wrapped up with a 3-on-3 tournament on Friday evening and a 5-on-5 scrimmage and shootout on Saturday evening.
