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Quick Hits: Ellis & Ristolainen, Opening Night, Hall of Fame Game & More

October 13, 2021, 9:26 AM ET [139 Comments]
Bill Meltzer
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • RSSArchiveCONTACT
Quick Hits: October 13, 2021

1) The Flyers have an off-ice day today to do video meetings with the players on the opening night roster. The team will return to the ice at the Flyers Training Center in Voorhees on Thursday in preparation for their regular season opening night game against the Vancouver Canucks the next night.

2) Neither Ryan Ellis not Rasmus Ristolainen practiced with the club on Tuesday, marking their third "maintenance day" -- Saturday, Sunday, and Tuesday with a teamwide off-day on Monday -- since the preseason finale last Friday in Washington.

Flyers head coach Alain Vigneault insisted once again yesterday that the team is simply taking an abundance of caution with the two key offseason additions to the blueline and said he remains optimistic that both players will be in the lineup come Friday night. However, he expanded on his daily description of Ellis and Ristolainen having routine "bumps and bruises" to say that Ellis has a lower-body issue and Ristolainen has an upper-body issue.

Ellis, who blocked a shot in his final shift of Friday's game, does not appear to have been on the ice at all since that time. Ristolainen, who plays a very physical style as a matter of course and was credited with seven hits in Friday's game, skated with the rehabbing Kevin Hayes and Flyers skills coach Angelo Ricci, on Tuesday.

Top-line center Sean Couturier said that he doesn't know whether either of his new teammates will be in the lineup or not come Friday but that he's looking forward to their presence in the lineup as soon as possible.

Thursday's practice will be critical in seeing if one or both will be able to play in the opener. If not, the Flyers will have to do some immediate salary cap juggling. The easiest thing would be to put Hayes on LTIR (he's opening the season on the active roster, although he still could miss the first 9 or 10 games of the regular season regardless). The Flyers only have six defensemen on their opening active roster. So if either Ellis or Ristolainen are unavailable come Friday, the Flyers will have to create enough salary cap space for a recall (Cam York or Nick Seeler being the likeliest candidates).

3) The Lehigh Valley Phantoms are back in preseason action tonight, hosting the Hershey Bears at the PPL Center for the final game of the exhibition slate. Things will start for real on Saturday, when the Phantoms visit the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in the regular season opener.

The Phantoms are 1-2-0 in the preseason to date but won their lone game in which Lehigh Valley dressed something close to their likely regular season lineup (barring NHL recalls and internal injuries of course). Tonight, the Phantoms figure to have the likes of Morgan Frost (two goals, one assist in his lone Phantoms preseason appearance), Cal O'Reilly, Cam York, German Rubtsov (who did not dress in any of the first three exhibition games, but practiced in full on Tuesday), 18-year-old Samu Tuomaala (who scored a highlight reel end-to-end goal last Saturday), Nick Seeler, and 19-year old Tyson Foerster (two preseason assists) in the lineup.

Egor Zamula, who practiced with the Flyers on Sunday and whom Vigneault said had been cleared to play, is nevertheless opening the season on Philadelphia's injured list. At minimum, he seems close to being ready to play.

4) The Phantoms made multiple cuts yesterday to their preseason roster. Goaltender Kirill Ustimenko, who missed all of last season following hip surgery and is behind Felix Sandström and rookie Samuel Ersson on the organizational depth chart, has been assigned the ECHL's Reading Royals. Additionally, Broomall native and UMass-Amherst graduate Nick Master was released from his professional try-out (PTO) with the Phantoms. Defensemen Quinn Schiemann and Jackson van de Leest were released from their amateur try-outs (ATOs). The two 20-year-old blueliners are eligible either to play over-age junior seasons or possibly sign minor league contracts elsewhere, including with Reading.

5) Most of the living Flyers Hall of Fame inductees will be participating in the upcoming Flyers Alumni Hall of Fame Game at the Wells Fargo Center on Nov. 15. The participation will come in various capacities. Many are playing in the game, including new inductee Rick Tocchet captaining Team Tocchet. Fellow new inductee Paul Holmgren is coaching the "Team Holmgren" side. A number of Flyers Hall of Famers will be attending a person and be part of the pregame festivities and intermission festivities. Among those who cannot attend, several will be recording remote messages that will play on the scoreboard during stoppages in play.

Flyers Alumni Association president Brad Marsh has asked Flyers fans for help in filling the rosters for Team Holmgren and Team Tocchet (or as special guests, if not able to play but able to attend). Apart from anyone who is currently in the Flyers Hall of Fame, who would YOU like to see participate? (Yes, of course, the legendary Lou Nolan will be the public address announcer for the night, so you needn't request Lou to be be there).

Marsh said that he will accommodate as many requests as possible subject to the requested Alum's availability to come to Philadelphia for the night of Nov. 15.
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