STOLARZ OUT INDEFINITELY
The Flyers announced yesterday that goaltending prospect Anthony Stolarz underwent surgery on Thursday to repair a meniscus tear in his left knee. He is out indefinitely.
Several media outlets reported in April that Stolarz underwent MCL surgery on his right knee following a season-ending injury shortly after his return to the AHL's Lehigh Valley Phantoms. However, Phantoms reporter Tony Androckitis, who covered the game in which Stolarz got injured, said that it was a left knee injury.
In seeking clarification from the Flyers yesterday as to the type of injury Stolarz suffered in April, the organization said that the initial surgery was not an MCL procedure. There was no additional information provided.
Stolarz signed a one-year contract extension with the Flyers as a restricted free agent this summer. He was looking forward to a vital season for his placement on the long-term depth chart -- with one or both of Carter Hart and/or Felix Sandström likely to claim a spot on the Phantoms in 2018-19 -- while competing with second-year pro Alex Lyon for playing time and potential NHL callup duty. This week's surgery is clearly a setback.
It is not, however, the end of the world for the Flyers' 2012 second-rounder. Meniscus tears are usually a relatively manageable injury, even when it must be treated surgically. Among many other pro goaltenders, former Flyers goaltender Steve Mason has had meniscus issues of varying severity during his career.
For the time being, Lyon will once again have a chance to run with the Phantoms' starting job, as he did last season during Stolarz's various recalls to the Flyers. The Stolarz injury also elevates recent Phantoms acquisition Leland Irving to an AHL roster player rather than an ECHL goalie. The Phantoms also have another veteran depth option available in John Muse, who likewise has his share of AHL experience. Muse will likely be assigned to the ECHL's Reading Royals. The Phantoms re-signed Mark Dekanich yesterday to serve as Muse's likely backup in Reading.
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QUICK HITS
* With Flyers rookie camp slated to start on Monday, the organization's junior prospects are putting in their final preseason outings for their CHL clubs before heading to Voorhees. On Friday night, 2016 first-round pick German Rubtsov notched a goal and had three shots on goal as his Chicoutimi Sagueneens club blew out the host Shawinigan Cataractes, 5-1, in QMJHL preseason action. Chicoutimi hosts Shawnigan on Saturday in the return match of the home-and-home set.
* Flyers 2017 first-round pick Nolan Patrick did not play on Friday as the Brandon Wheat Kings downed the visiting Regina Pats, 4-2, in a preseason meeting. The Wheaties play in Regina on Saturday.
* MHL (Russian Junior League) regular season: Goaltending prospect Kirill Ustimenko notched a 16-save shutout of Atlant Moscow in a 4-0 victory for his team on Saturday. He was also called for a delay of game penalty for accidentally flipping the puck over the glass midway through the second period. Ustimenko's JHC Dynamo St. Petersburg team is now a perfect 4-0 through four games. Ustimenko has started two of the matches. He stopped 16 of 20 shots in his first regular season start but St. Petersburg overcame Chaika, 5-4.
* Sept. 9 Flyers Alum birthday: Len Hachborn (1961).
* Sept. 9 in Flyers History: In 1993, the Flyers acquired 23-year-old defensive defenseman Stew Malgunas from the Detroit Red Wings for a 1995 5th-round pick (David Arsenault). Malgunas went on to start 67 games for Terry Simpson's Flyers in 1993-94, posting four points (one goal, three assists), 86 PIM and a plus-two ranking.
Multiple knee injuries and the emergence of higher-ceiling young defensemen such as Chris Therien and 1995 trade acquisition Karl Dykhuis curtailed Malgunas' time in Philadelphia. He played in just four games under Terry Murray during the lockout-shortened 1994-95 season and otherwise spent most of the year with the AHL's Hershey Bears (32 regular season games, six playoff games). He moved on after the campaign, signing with the Winnipeg Jets as a free agent in the summer of 1995.