Quick Hits: December 27, 2021
1) Flyers general manager and president of hockey operations Chuck Fletcher updated the team's COVID-19 protocol list yesterday after practice: injury-rehabbing defenseman Ryan Ellis and top-line center Sean Couturier (on Dec. 21) as well as two unidentified team staff members were added to a list that already included Kevin Hayes (Dec. 18), Max Willman (Dec. 18) and Morgan Frost (Dec 14). Flyers head coach Mike Yeo indicated, however, that Hayes, Frost and Willman could all be available to play in Wednesday's scheduled game in Seattle.
2) The Flyers will hold a 12:30 p.m. practice at the FTC in Voorhees on Monday. The team will hold another practice tomorrow before leaving for Seattle.
3) The Seattle Kraken are currently dealing with an even more extensive COVID list than the Flyers, including the unavailability of defensemen Adam Larsson, Jamie Oleksiak and Vince Dunn. The team is missing four defensemen in all, with Carson Soucy also in protocol as of yesterday. Additionally, the Kraken placed forward Ryan Donato in protocol yesterday along with Dunn.
4) Yesterday, the NHL announced that taxi squads will return for teams leaguewide at least until the All-Star break. Teams can carry as many as six players on the taxi squad at a given time. With the Flyers about to embark on a four-game western road trip that will run from Dec. 29 to Jan. 4, the team may need to take along an extra goaltender (most likely Felix Sandström) and perhaps an extra position player or two in the event of additional positive COVID tests forcing players out of the starting lineup with insufficient time to get a replacement to the game venue in time.
5) On today's Flyers Daily, Jason Myrtetus and I discuss all of the aforementioned issues and more. To listen to the 26-minute episode, which features a listener question segment, click here.
6) World Junior Championships: Flyers prospect Emil Andrae scored a 5-on-3 power play goal, chipped in a third-period power play assist and logged 22:46 of ice time across 35 shifts in Team Sweden's tournament opening 6-3 win over Russia on Sunday. Elliot Desnoyers skated 10:22 in 16 shifts of fourth-line center duty for Team Canada in Monday's 6-3 win over the Czech Republic. Desnoyer won five on nine faceoffs and was minus-one at even strength.
Team Canada is idle today. Andrae and the rest of the Junior Crowns will play Slovakia this evening. Earlier in the day, Brian Zanetti and Team Switzerland will open their round-robin segment of Group play against Russia.