VOORHEES, N.J. – Sam Ersson’s outstanding goaltending performance in Sweden’s 2-1 win over the United States in last Monday night’s 4 Nations Face-Off game might have raised his stock in the eyes of some.
But the way he played in last season’s final 15 games for the Flyers might have been a more meaningful way of gauging his future prospects in the NHL.
Although the Flyers fell apart down the stretch –at one point, a 1-8-1 in the 2023-24 season’s final weeks and missed the playoffs after holding a postseason spot for 124 days — it certainly wasn’t Ersson’s fault.
In fact, it really wasn’t anyone’s fault. The Flyers have a young roster and last year’s disappointing finish had one upside: It gave these players some experience of what to do and what not to do at crunch time.
After Thursday’s practice at the Flyers Training Center, Ersson said going through last year’s debacle can show everyone how to play at crunch time in these last 25 games of the 2024-25 season.
“A lot of it, myself included, we have a lot of young guys on the team,” Ersson said. “I think that whole journey that it was last year, with the ups and downs, we were in the fight the whole way.
“Also, we played a lot of meaningful games for the whole year. So I think for us as a team, especially the young guys going into this part of the season, this is big for us.”
Defenseman Cam York agreed with his teammate.
“That experience was huge,” York said. “You want to carry that into the next season. That’s what we have in front of us. You want to have a good stretch here, if we put ourselves in good position we’re right there.”
Both York and partner Travis Sanheim have played enough in the NHL to know what works and what doesn’t. Now the idea is to get the rest of the team is to follow their example.
“That’s something we learned from last year,” York said. “I think we all did and that’s something we want to put to good use this year. Communication is the biggest thing for us. If we communicate well, everything else seems to fall into place.”
With Flyers coach John Tortorella serving as an assistant coach on the United States bench in Thursday night’s 4 Nations Face-Off championship game vs. Canada, assistant coach Rocky Thompson did the media session chores.
Thompson believes his team has a fighting chance.
“It’s going to be a grind for us,” he said. “Last year we were different. We were in it all year long and then started to fade. This will be a challenge because we lost two good players (Morgan Frost and Joel Frost in the Calgary trade).
“We have two players (Andrei Kuzmenko, Jakob Pelletier) we just don’t know about yet, what that’s going to look like. If it will be positive or it will be negative. But our guys are resilient no matter the situation.”
It won’t be for lack of effort.
“I thought they tried their hearts out last year,” Thompson said. “And it just didn’t work out for us. We’ve played playoff hockey since Game 1 because we’ve had to. Other teams don’t necessarily have to do that every night. That’s why our fans support us the way they do. They’re frustrated but they see the effort being put forth. How our guys have each others’ backs.
“There’s never a lack of desire to be better. That’s what makes them special. Now we just have to find a way to push through. Hopefully these new guys (Kuzmenko, Pelletier) will add something that was missing.”
>Goalie ready for challenge
Ersson is hoping he’s saved his best work for last. He looked in peak form in the game against the United States, allowing just one goal while facing 33 shots.
He looks and sounds ready to play at least 20 of the 25 games down the stretch.
“I want to play as much as possible,” he said. “Last year, with that experience, I think I’m ready for that.”
Ersson was asked if he thinks the win over the United States will perhaps boost his confidence heading into this crucial stretch.
“It’s big for me,” he said. “Not just be a part of the tournament but also get to play. It was fun and a big experience for me.”
