The Lehigh Valley Phantoms, American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the Philadelphia Flyers, have played 29 games in the 2023-24 campaign. The Phantoms returned to action on Dec. 27, refreshed from their holiday break, to defeat the Utica Comets 5-4. Currently sitting in seventh place in the Atlantic Division, the team has a record of 13 wins, 11 losses, four overtime losses, and one shootout loss on the season.
Phantoms’ Scoring Leaders
The Phantoms have relied upon offensive contributions from a number of forwards this season to keep the club competitive in the AHL standings. Forwards Samu Tuomaala, Cooper Marody, Tanner Laczynski, and Olle Lycksell all have 20 or more points, while defenseman Emil Andrae is developing into an important offensive contributor this season.
Related: Flyers’ Olle Lycksell Off to Strong Start in the AHL
Tuomaala has 25 points (eight goals and 17 assists) in 29 games for Lehigh Valley. The native of Finland was a second-round pick of the Flyers in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft. Now in his first season of professional hockey in North America, he is third in both the assists and overall points by a rookie categories in the AHL. In the Phantoms’ Dec. 21 overtime victory over the Charlotte Checkers, the 20-year-old had a goal and an assist.
Now in his second season with the Phantoms, veteran forward Cooper Marody has eight goals and 19 assists in 29 games. His one goal and assist performance against the Charlotte Checkers on Dec. 22 was replicated five days later on Dec. 27 against the Comets. The 27-year-old right-winger, who has NHL experience with the Edmonton Oilers, currently sits in the top 12 for AHL assist leaders and overall points.
Forward Tanner Laczynski is in his fourth season of professional hockey. The former Ohio State University standout was selected by the Flyers in the sixth round of the 2016 NHL Entry Draft. The 26-year-old, who suited up for the Flyers in parts of the last three seasons, has 22 points (eight goals and 14 assists) in 24 games for Lehigh Valley this season. He recorded a goal and assist for the Phantoms against Charlotte in the Dec. 21 and Dec. 22 contests.
In 24 games this season, right wing Olle Lycksell has 12 goals and nine assists. The 24-year-old Swede was called up to the Flyers on Dec. 6 and appeared in one game for the big league club, before being sent back down to Lehigh Valley on Dec. 19. He recorded an assist for the Phantoms on Dec. 21 against Charlotte and Utica on Dec. 27.
Defenseman Emil Andrae has become a significant offensive contributor with the Phantoms since joining the team in late Oct. 2023. Prior to that, the 21-year-old Swede started the season with the Flyers, appearing in four NHL games. In 20 games with Lehigh Valley, he has three goals and 12 assists. He has recorded at least one point in the Phantoms’ last six games.
Royals’ Five-Game Winning Streak
The Reading Royals, ECHL affiliate of the Flyers, have won their last five games, improving their overall record to ten wins, 12 losses, one overtime loss, and one shootout loss. After 24 games, the team has advanced from the basement of the ECHL’s Eastern Conference to 11th place in the 14-team field.
Forwards Shane Sellar and Brayden Guy have been important offensive contributors in the last five games. Sellar, 26 years old, has spent parts of the last two seasons with Reading after signing a contract with the team following a college career spent with Dartmouth College and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI). Last season, he had 39 points (18 goals and 21 assists) for the Royals in 70 games. This season, the Carlisle, Pennsylvania native’s 12 points in 24 games were highlighted by his six goals in the last five games. He recorded his first professional career hat-trick in the Royals’ Dec. 15 victory over the Worcester Railers.
This season marks Brayden Guy’s second season of professional hockey in the ECHL. Last season, the 22-year-old played 55 games for the Orlando Solar Bears, recording 29 points. He suited up for five games with the Solar Bears to kick off the 2023-24 season, before being assigned to Reading by the AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds (the team that currently holds his contract) in late Nov. 2023. Guy, a former captain with two different teams in the major junior level Ontario Hockey League (OHL), has six points (four goals and two assists) in the last five games this season for Reading.
Nolan Maier has a team-leading seven victories this season in goal, with four of these wins coming in the last five games against tough competition that included the Norfolk Admirals. The 22-year-old native of Yorkton, Saskatchewan, has a 3.13 goals-against average (GAA) and .888 save percentage (SV%) for Reading in 13 games this season. He also appeared in one AHL game this season for Lehigh Valley, a 1-0 victory over the Hershey Bears on the road.
Roster Moves at Goaltender
Cal Petersen is in his first season with the Flyers organization. The 30-year-old goalie played the last six seasons in the Los Angeles Kings’ organization, appearing in games at the AHL and NHL levels. So far this season, the Iowa native has been up with the big league club on two occasions. On Nov. 4 and Nov. 11, he appeared in goal for the Flyers, losing the first appearance and winning the second one. He was sent to Lehigh Valley on Nov. 14 when goaltender Carter Hart returned from injury.
More recently, Petersen was called up on Dec. 19 to the Flyers where he was treated as a potential back-up option to Samuel Ersson in light of Hart’s recurring illness. The former University of Notre Dame Hockey captain returned to the Phantoms on Dec. 26 without seeing any NHL action in goal. His current numbers in goal for Lehigh Valley are a 3.20 GAA and .898 SV% in 11 appearances.
Goaltender Parker Gahagen, 30 years old, was recalled to Lehigh Valley on Dec. 19. There, he appeared in one game for the Phantoms recording a shootout loss on Dec. 22 against Charlotte. He has appeared in nine games for the Phantoms this season, recording a 2.63 GAA and .909 SV% in the AHL. The former Army West Point Hockey standout was placed on loan to Reading by Lehigh Valley on Dec. 26. He previously appeared in three games for the Royals this season, recording a 2.37 GAA and .927 SV%.
The Royals added depth at the goaltender position by signing Tyler Roy to a standard player contract (SPC) on Dec. 20. College hockey fans in the greater Philadelphia area should be familiar with the 25-year-old who tended goal for parts of two seasons with NCAA Division III Neumann University in Aston, Pennsylvania. At Neumann, he appeared in seven games over two seasons, recording a 3.68 GAA and .872 SV% in six games during the 2019-20 season. The following season, he appeared in one game before transferring to NCAA Division III Manhattanville College to finish up the last seasons of his college career.
At Manhattanville, the Michigan native saw much more playing time, appearing in 16 games in 2021-22 and 11 games in 2022-23. Roy finished up the final season of his college career with a 3.99 GAA and .894 SV%, before joining the independent and professional Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs of the SPHL to end the 2022-23 season. With Roanoke, he appeared in two games and recorded a 3.89 GAA and .828 SV%. The 2023-24 season marks his first full season of professional hockey. Leading up to his signing with Reading, he bounced around multiple independent professional teams in the Federal Prospects Hockey League (FPHL) and SPHL.
Upcoming Games
The Phantoms return to action at home this weekend against the first-place Hershey Bears on Dec. 30 and Charlotte Checkers on Dec. 31. Reading closes out 2023 with a three-game road series this weekend against the Worcester Railers.