PHILADELPHIA, Pa – The 2019 NHL Entry Draft has come and gone and that means it is that time of year again when PHN does its yearly prospect rankings at each position for the Philadelphia Flyers. We begin our five part series with the Flyers goaltending prospects.
Since last year’s rankings, Anthony Stolarz has since been traded to the Edmonton Oilers for Cam Talbot (who was not be resigned by the Flyers) and Matej Tomek has signed a one-year contract with HK Dukla Trencin in his native Slovakia.
These are the top five goaltending prospects in the Flyers system according to PHN.
Carter Hart – No shocker here. Hart will start the season as the Flyers starting goaltender with Brian Elliot backing him up. After a series of injuries to the Flyers never-ending goaltending core, Hart finally got his chance with the big cub. After playing 18 games with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, Hart played in 31 games with Philadelphia and had a 2.83 goals against average and a .917 with a 16-13-1 record. Not bad considering the poor defense in front of him. The Flyers were 22nd in shots allowed per game and were outscored 63-94 in the first period.
Unless Hart gets off to a very bad start to this season, it is his starting goaltenders job to lose.
Felix Sandstrom – A third round pick in 2015, the Flyers have shown why they targeted him in the first place. Sandstrom played for Team Sweden in the World Junior Championships, and had a great season playing for Brynas in the Swedish Elite League. If he stays on his current trajectory, Sandstrom could challenge Hart for the top job in Philly in 2-3 years.
Alex Lyon – The former Yale goaltender was never drafted by the Flyers but Lyon has been given some opportunities to win the starters job. Unfortunately, Lyon has not earned even the Flyers backup goaltender position. Brian Elliot resigned with the team on a one-year contract and that is not good for Lyon going forward with the Flyers.
Lyon has only played in 13 games over the past two seasons with the Flyers and with Samuel Ersson coming over next season, and Kirill Ustimenko about to start this season in the ECHL, Lyon’s future will most likely be with another franchise next year.
Samuel Ersson – Ersson is a fifth round pick in the 2018 draft. He played for Vasteras IK in Hockey Allsvenskan, Sweden’s second highest professional league in the country. Ersson had a stellar season not only for Vasteras where he posted a 1.95 goals against average and a .933 save percentage, but he also played in four games for Team Sweden in the World Junior Championships were he had a 1.95 goals against average and a .933 save percentage.
Next year Ersson will play for Brynas in the SHL, Sweden’s top professional hockey league. Brynas is the same team that Sandstrom and current Flyer Oskar Lindblom played on.
Kirill Ustimenko – Ustimenko was selected 80th overall (third round) in the 2017 draft, and will start his pro career in the ECHL this season. His size and skill could make him a dark horse for the top spot on day. This season Ustimenko had a 1.78 goals against average and a .927 save percentage playing for Dynamo St. Petersburgh in 46 games in the MHL, a minor youth hockey league in Russia.
Honorable Mention: Roddy Ross – Ross was selected in the 6th round this year and played in only 25 games this year for the Seattle Thunderbirds in the Western Hockey League where Ross had a 2.76 goals against average and a .919 save percentage
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