The puck-moving, offensive-minded defenseman that the Philadelphia Flyers have been lacking since Kimmo Timonen and Shayne Gostisbehere has arrived in the form of Emil Andrae.
Andrae’s 2024-25 season has come as a surprise and with Cam York nearing a return to the lineup, the Swedish defenseman has done more than enough to keep his placement on the every day roster.
The hierarchy of defensive prospects has changed over the years especially with Egor Zamula’s inconsistencies and Ronnie Attard being dealt to the Edmonton Oilers earlier this month. The jury is still out on Helge Grans, Adam Ginning had a solid stint last year but nothing out of the ordinary, and Hunter McDonald is finally getting his feet wet in the professional ranks.
Andrae has essentially outperformed them all and his recent stint with the Flyers has been eye opening for a variety of reasons. For starters, his composure, confidence, two-way game, and bite has been as advertised. What the Flyers needed the most out of him was his aggressiveness with the puck, power play quarterbacking, and offensive mindset.
While they still hold Jamie Drysdale for his offensive prowess, Andrae has done just as much, and maybe more than the former Anaheim product. With Drysdale on IR – some believing it could be for a decent chunk of time – Andrae should be keeping his spot in the lineup even with York’s impending return.
Called up ahead of last Sunday’s matchup against the Montreal Canadiens, Andrae has delivered 2 assists, an even rating, 11 shots, 13 hits to 9 blocked shots, and has averaged 17:59 TOI. In Monday’s shootout victory over the San Jose Sharks, Andrae played 25:40, recorded an assist, and blocked 2 shots.
To put into perspective what he has accomplished in his 8-game stint to date, Alexander Appleyard broke it down with analytics. He ranks first on the team in GF, CF, iCF/60, and iXGF/60, and second in xGF – behind only York. The sample size may be small but he has outperformed his counterparts and deservedly earned a promotion to the top pairing with Travis Sanheim.
Andrae has had an interesting road to show that started off as being a second round pick in 2020. He struggled in his draft+1 season in the Swedish Hockey League with HV71 and found himself relegated to Sweden’s second-tier with Västerviks IK, and later HV71 again, before rejoining the SHL with HV71 as he tallied 26 points in 51 games in 2022-23.
He then made the jump to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms and tallied 6 points in 10 games in his first taste of North American hockey before a 32-point rookie campaign in 2023-24. He made four appearances with the Flyers in 2023-24 without recording a point but has found his way back as the first recall to the big club this year.
What Andrae has brought to the table is essentially what the Flyers hoped they would see from Drysdale but with more bite. He also reminds me of what the Flyers had in Gostsbehere but with more snarl in his game. Despite his 5’9” stature, Andrae has always played a bigger game and has been lauded for his physicality, his awareness to get into the dirty areas, and his bone crunching hits.
If the last few games have been any indication of what the Flyers will be doing for the foreseeable future, we know that Sanheim and York will continue to command the largest chunk of minutes but Andrae can now be added to that category as a solid top-4 option.
Rasmus Ristolainen has had a great resurgence this year and has averaged over 23 minutes a night since York’s IR placement. Nick Seeler has also seen an uptick in minutes ranging between 16-18 a night, giving the Flyers five options to run over 18 minutes a night if they see the need.
Once York is back and the Flyers wait on Drysdale’s return, Erik Johnson and Egor Zamula will assuredly split time, considering Andrae has left them with no other real alternative.
When Daniel Brière said that one of the reasons they chose not to draft Zeev Buium this year was because they already had York, Andrae, and Drysdale in the system, many were left shaking their heads. At the very least, Andrae has proven his chops and the confidence that his general manager had in him.
The soon-to-be 23-year-old has essentially forced his way into everyday play and considering his on-ice intangibles, it’s a breath of fresh air from the norm.
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