The Philadelphia Flyers have an abundance of experienced goaltenders ranging from the NHL level down to the “AA” minor league ECHL. The presence of so many goalies with NHL and American Hockey League (AHL) experience provides valuable depth at the position for a club that is in rebuild mode.
Flyers Goalies
The starting job with the big league club belongs to 25-year-old Carter Hart. A five-year veteran in the NHL, he signed a three-year contract with the Flyers worth $11.937 million on Aug. 9, 2021. In 213 games over parts of six seasons with the Flyers, he has 90 wins with 585 goals against. Last season, he had a goals-against average (GAA) of 2.94 and a save percentage (SV%) of .907 in 55 games. In 12 games this season, Hart has six wins with a GAA of 2.53 and SV% of .911.
Behind Hart is the 24-year-old Swede Samuel Errson. In his second season competing at the NHL level, he has four wins in eight games with a 2.78 GAA and .881 SV%. Last season he appeared in 12 games for the Flyers, winning six games and earning a 3.07 GAA. He also played in 42 games for the Flyers’ AHL affiliate the Lehigh Valley Phantoms last season, winning 24 of those appearances.
Felix Sandström – Lehigh Valley Phantoms (AHL)
Felix Sandström’s playing time this season has been cut short due to injuries. The 26-year-old Swede played in three games this season with the Phantoms on a conditioning loan from the Flyers. He suffered an upper-body injury during the first period of a Nov. 3 game against the Hartford Wolf Pack. The Flyers placed Sandström on the injured reserve to recover from his injury and was returned to the Phantoms on loan on Nov. 20.
Sandström was drafted 70th overall in the third round of the 2015 NHL Entry Draft. He appeared in goal for the Flyers 20 times last season, recording a 3.72 GAA and .880 SV%. In three games this season with the Phantoms, he has given up nine goals.
Cal Petersen – Lehigh Valley Phantoms (AHL)
Drafted 129th overall in the fifth round of the 2013 NHL Entry Draft by the Buffalo Sabres, Cal Petersen was a standout player in the juniors and college ranks. A 51-game winner for parts of three seasons with the Waterloo Black Hawks of the United States Hockey League (USHL), he played college hockey for the University of Notre Dame from 2014 to 2017. At Notre Dame, he wore the captain’s “C” during the 2016-17 season when he recorded a 2.22 GAA and .926 SV% during his 23-win campaign in goal.
The 29-year-old broke into the NHL with the Los Angeles Kings during the 2018-19 season. In parts of five seasons with the Kings, he won 44 games. During the 2021-22 season, he appeared in 37 games for the Kings, winning 20 and ending the season with a 2.89 GAA and .895 SV%.
On Jun. 6, 2023, Petersen was traded to the Flyers as part of a three-team trade that involved the Los Angeles Kings and Columbus Blue Jackets. He was called up to the Flyers in early November to help fill in for the injured Hart. In two games with the Flyers this season, the Iowa native gave up seven goals and won one game. Much of Petersen’s time this season has been spent in Lehigh Valley where he has three wins in seven appearances, compiling a 2.85 GAA and .904 SV%.
Parker Gahagen – Lehigh Valley Phantoms (AHL)
The Phantoms signed 30-year-old Parker Gahagen to a one-year AHL contract in August 2023. The Amherst, New York native is a veteran of five minor league seasons, playing in the ECHL, AHL, and SPHL before landing a contract with the Phantoms this summer. A 2021-22 ECHL Kelly Cup champion with the Florida Everblades, Gahagen won 20 games in support of the team’s title run. Before turning professional, he played four years for the Army West Point Black Knights hockey team. Considered one of the finest goalies in Army hockey’s 120-year history, he amassed 988 saves during the 2016-17 season and recorded a college career-high 18 wins.
This season, Gahagen has appeared in eight games for the Phantoms. He has a 2.48 GAA and .914 SV% for the team. Gahagen’s GAA places him in the top 20 for AHL goalies.
Nolan Maier – Reading Royals (ECHL)
Reading Royals’ goaltender Nolan Maier has played in eight games this season with the Royals and Phantoms. With Reading, he has two wins on the season with a 3.97 GAA and .876 SV%. He got one start, a win, with the Royals’ AHL affiliate, giving up one goal on the way to a Phantoms victory against the Hershey Bears on Nov. 12. The Yorkton, Saskatchewan native has played ten games in the AHL over the last two seasons, winning six of these appearances. Prior to turning professional, Maier played parts of five seasons in the Western Hockey League (WHL) with the Saskatoon Blades. He won 122 games with Saskatoon and holds the WHL’s league record for all-time wins. He signed a one-year AHL contract for the 2023-24 season with the Phantoms this past summer.
Maier is backed up by Will Cranley in net. Cranley, whose NHL rights are held by the St. Louis Blues, has one win in six games for Reading. Carolina Hurricanes’ prospect Jacob Kucharski also saw time in goal for the Royals this season. Drafted by the Carolina Hurricanes in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft, he had one win in three games for Reading before being released on Nov. 21.
Keep an Eye on Petersen and Sandström
The Flyers have built a solid group of goaltenders at all levels of the franchise. In the event of injuries at the NHL and AHL levels, there are options for veteran players to tend the net. Flyers fans should especially keep an eye on Petersen and Sandström’s starts in the AHL, as it is likely both men will see more time in goal at the NHL level as the 2023-24 season progresses.
