One minute defenseman Emil Andrae isn’t sure he even has a steady place on the Flyers’ roster.
The next he’s getting high marks from coach Rick Tocchet.
Through the early part of the schedule, it appeared there was an open competition for a spot alongside Noah Juulsen on the third pairing.
Andrae was being judged along with Egor Zamula and Adam Ginning.
While there’s been no clear winner yet, Andrae’s stock appears to be rising.
“I like his confidence,” Tocchet said at a morning skate during a videotaped interview from Bridgestone Arena, Nashville early Thursday afternoon. “Probably he should get more minutes.
“In the time he played last game (a come-from-behind 5-4 shootout win at Montreal). “. . .My (defensemen), I like to see them wheel a lot. I think he can add that element.”
A player such as Andrae can make little plays on offense which can lead to positive developments.
“He made a hell of a play when he went to the net (vs. the Canadiens),” Tocchet said. “(Garnet) Hathaway had an unbelievable chance. If Andrae doesn’t do what he does, (Hathaway) probably doesn’t get the chance.
“He (Andrae) has really digested what we want from him. Now we just have to find some more minutes for him.”
>Fast start for Phantoms
The Lehigh Valley Phantoms, the Flyers’ top minor league affiliate, are off to a good start under new coach John Snowden. The Phantoms sit third in the Atlantic Division of the American Hockey League with seven wins and 15 points as of Wednesday.
A couple forwards are making their mark, namely Alex Bump and Denver Barkey. Each played well in Flyers’ training camp back in September.
Perhaps the major factor in the Phantoms’ quick getaway has been the play of their two goaltenders, Aleksei Kolosov and Carson Bjarnason.
Kolosov, currently filling in for the injured Sam Ersson as a backup to Dan Vladar, has a 3-2-0 mark with the Phantoms. That includes a 2.60 goals-against average and .918 save percentage.
Bjarnason has a 3-1-1 record, with a 2.52 goals-against average and .918 save percentage.
There’s really no statistical correlation between an AHL and NHL team’s success. But it’s likely that developing in a winning atmosphere can’t hurt the progress of young players learning the game.
>High shot counts good but must be accurate
After struggling a bit to record more than 25 shots in early games, the Flyers really broke out with a 42-shot effort at Montreal.
That’s what Tocchet wants but he also looks for the shots to be on net, to help create rebounds and so forth.
“We want shots on net but we also got to hit the net,” Tocchet said. “A lot of times you want to get a shot on net where the goalie has a tough handle, where there could be a rebound. And a lot of times we’re ripping the puck wide and then you’re missing an opportunity.
“Sometimes you’re not trying to score, you’re trying to put the puck where it’s an awkward save. Like Trevor (Zegras in the Montreal game) on the power play. He’s not trying to score, that’s by design. He hits the (goalie’s) pad and (Bobby) Brink gets the weak side goal.”
The coach wouldn’t mind seeing more goals like that.
“That’s a smart play by Trevor,” Tocchet said. “If he rips a puck from that angle, it’s hard to score. But he was ‘hey, I’m just going to get this puck on net.’ Awkward save. That’s the stuff I think is really intelligent hockey.”
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