PHILADELPHIA – Further proof that things seem to be turning the Flyers’ way of late was on display heading into Monday night’s game vs. Colorado.
On the day the Flyers needed a replacement for injured defenseman Emil Andrae, they called up backliner Helge Grans from the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. Andrae is sidelined by a mid-body issue.
By just some sort of hard-to-believe coincidence, Helge’s parents happened to be here in the States on their annual visit so now they get to see their son’s NHL debut and perhaps provide an extra bit of inspiration.
In any event, Helge sounded pretty psyched up to play his first game for the Flyers and do it against a talented team like the Avalanche.
“They were already here on vacation,” Grans said after the Monday morning skate at the Flyers Training Center in Voorhees, N.J. “Perfect timing.”
Grans, 22, was acquired from the Los Angeles Kings along with Sean Walker in the June, 2023 Ivan Provorov trade. He was selected in the 2020 NHL draft (second round, 35th overall) by the Kings.
With the Phantoms, Grans has played 14 games this season with one goal/three points and minus-4.
As for Colorado, Grans really hasn’t had time to process that prospect.
“I’ve only seen them on TV,” said Grans, who stands 6-foot-4 and weighs 205 pounds. He’s a right-handed shot. “I don’t know exactly what it feels like. But I’m going to do my best to be ready.”
His work with the Phantoms has been noticed by scouts and coaches.
“I feel like my offensive game has gotten a bit better this year,” he said. “Some confidence. I would say I’m a two-way defenseman who can handle the puck.”
Coach John Tortorella said he planned to use a first pairing of Rasmus Ristolainen and Travis Sanheim as much as possible against Colorado so that might take a little pressure off Grans and others farther down the lineup.
“Just let him play,” was how Tortorella described his plan for Grans. “He’s not hearing anything (from coaches) in this type of situation. We’ve done a couple things this morning but not a whole bunch of information.
“It gives us a chance to look at a big right-handed defenseman here against one of the top teams in the league with some pretty good speed. He’s going to get acclimated, he’s going to see some stuff pretty quickly here.”
The coach said he’s a little concerned about the team’s back end because it’s “a little banged up.”
Playing Colorado, Carolina and Vegas in three of the next four games makes for an interesting challenge. Having Andrae and Jamie Drysdale out of the lineup just increases the level of difficulty.
“You’re always looking to have your best players play against them,” Tortorella said. “But also, in a rebuilding mode, it also gives you a chance to look at other players in these types of situations. We’ll take them as they come. Try to stay focused because I do believe we’ve built ourselves up here in our structure. Just try to ride it as long as we can.
“Grans, I watched him in camp, he had some really good moments. He has some length, he’s a right-hand shot. I’m anxious to see how he plays. It’s a tough one to come into right away. But it’s a big part of what we’re trying to do here.”
Andrae has been playing well himself since he was called up from the Phantoms. Having already put Drysdale on injured reserve, the Flyers are starting to get a little thin behind the blue line.
“I think he (Andrae) has helped our transition game,” Tortorella said. “He’s defended better than we thought he would. He’s had a good run here since he was called up so we’ll miss him.”
