In all likelihood, the Philadelphia Flyers will open the 2024-25 regular season with 7 defensemen on the roster at the very minimum, which could bode well for Emil Andrae for the second consecutive year.
There are the obvious locks who ended the season injury-free in Travis Sanheim, Cam York, Nick Seeler and locks in Jamie Drysdale and Rasmus Ristolainen as long as they are healthy. That leaves Egor Zamula and Erik Johnson for the remaining two slots, but there are a few Lehigh Valley Phantoms defensemen who look poised to make their stance at training camp this year, specifically Andrae.
The Flyers opened last year’s regular season opener with 13 forwards, 7 defensemen, and 3 goaltenders. Alongside Sanheim, York, Seeler, Zamula, Marc Staal, and Sean Walker, Andrae surprisingly cracked the roster with Ristolainen on the mend.
In 4 games with the big club, Andrae went without a point, was -1, averaged 13 minutes a night, and blocked 6 shots to go along with his 5 hits. He made his NHL debut during the second game of the season against the Ottawa Senators, where he saw 16:27 TOI before appearing in games against Edmonton, Dallas, and Vegas to end his short stint.
After being sent down to the minors, Andrae stood out above the rest with a fantastic rookie season that saw him notch 32 points in just 61 contests.
It’s been a steady road for Andrae, dating back to when he was drafted in the second round of the 2020 NHL Entry Draft. He had a tremendous outing in his draft-season for HV71 Jr. of the Swedish Junior circuit, where he potted 11 goals and 38 points in 40 contests. He also played in 10 games at the highest level with HV71 without recording a point, but it was a big step in the right direction for the 18-year-old.
Unfortunately, he stumbled out of the gates over the next season before fine tuning his game in 2021-22 and 2022-23. He played in 31 games for HV71 Jonkoping in 2020-21 with just 7 points to his name as well as 15 games with Västerviks IK of the Swedish-1 – which a notch below the SHL. The following year he spent the entirety of that season in the Swedish-1 with HV71 and turned in a stellar performance with 33 points in 41 regular season games before adding 11 points in 10 postseason contests.
After taking care of business in the second division of the Swedish circuit, Andrae was promoted back to the SHL and delivered 6 goals and 26 points in 51 games to go along with 67 PIMs. At the end of the year he signed an amateur tryout contract with the Phantoms and played in 13 games, including 3 in the playoffs.
His performance with the Flyers was nothing to scoff at and it was always understood that it was going to be a short stint with 6 other able-bodied defensemen on the roster and one trying to make his way back from injury. While with the Phantoms, Andrae flexed his muscles, played his brand of hockey, and impressed everyone within the organization.
Although he stands in at just 5’9”, Andrae weighs in at about 190 pounds and plays very big for his size. He lowers the boom, makes big checks, isn’t easily beaten in the corners or in the dirty areas, and can stand toe to toe with almost anyone. His physicality has some resemblances to fellow Swedish defenseman, Niklas Kronwall, who was also played bigger than his size dictated.
While the Flyers needed defensemen near the end of the season with 3 regulars on IR and one traded ahead of the trade deadline, they chose not to call up Andrae and instead went with Ronnie Attard and Adam Ginning. I think based on what the Flyers needed at that time as well as Andrae carrying the back-end for the Phantoms, they decided to keep him in the minors.
Attard and Ginning could also have been seen as more “reliable” options because they played their roles well upon arrival. They needed able-bodied players to play a defensive game, eat around 12-15 minutes a night, and keep things tight in the defensive zone. Attard played in 12 games, was +1 , averaged 15:23 TOI, and finished 22 hits to 14 blocked shots, where Ginning played in 9 games, averaged 14:09 TOI, had an even plus/minus, and dropped 18 hits to 9 blocked shots.
Andrae learned the craft during his first North American professional season last year, understood there would be ups and downs along the way, but being able to battle through and find consistency was always the key. With that in mind, he never lost footing in the hierarchy and as we enter camp, he should have the strongest hold on a potential roster spot outside of the NHL regulars.
That level of maturity and willingness to make up for his mistakes was on full display during the second game of the Rookie Series against the New York Rangers. The Flyers were awarded a 5-minute power play and on the outset of the man advantage, Andrae coughed up the puck, which led to a shorthanded goal. However, by the end of the game, he would make up for it with his slick set up on Samu Tuomaala’s game winner in overtime.
After the game, head coach Ian Laperrière gave us a little insight on his thoughts about Andrae – something that is reverberated around the organization.
”That’s Emil for you. He’ll make mistakes, but he’ll never stop trying, and that’s something I love about him. We just need to cut down on the mistakes a little bit. And again, it’s rookie camp, it’s just the first couple of games for him, he’ll get better for sure”
With that in mind, a strong training camp will do wonders for the Swedish prospect. However, Drysdale and Ristolainen are expected to be ready for training camp and the subsequent start to the regular season after undergoing offseason surgeries on their respective ailments.
If they are ready to go, as Daniel Brière has predicted, that would then leave 1 spot open when you factor in Sanheim, York, and Seeler as well. It’s a big “if” when you consider the fact that Ristolainen has yet to make his Opening Night debut as a member of the Flyers, however all signs are pointing to 2024-25 being his first.
That leaves Zamula, who signed a 2-year contract worth $1.7 million per season over the summer, as well as Johnson who returned on a one-year deal worth $1 million.
There shouldn’t be too much expected out of Johnson, who should play a similar role as Staal played last year before injuries took over and he was forced into more playing time. Zamula has fought for his place on the roster over the last several years with 4 stints at the NHL-level dating back to 2020-21. He finally solidified a near-every day job last year with 66 games played and 21 points to his name, which makes him the one to beat for Andrae, should he be vying for an NHL spot this year.
Injuries will take it’s toll, as it usually does during a grueling 82-game season, meaning that even if Andrae starts with the Phantoms or has a short stint with the Flyers before being sent back down, he should be one of the first names brought back up during the regular season.
Andrae doesn’t have too much more to showcase at the AHL level, everyone generally understands what he brings to the table, it’s all about finding a spot for him at this stage of the rebuild. However, another year in the AHL will certainly help with his confidence and perhaps he can crack the 40-point mark if he plays a full slate of games in 2024-25.
The Flyers will certainly need his services sometime down the road this season if it isn’t right off the hop on Opening Night. Andrae’s power play prowess and physicality would be a boon for a backend that is lacking in both areas. It’s an exciting opportunity for both player and team as another prospect attempts to make headway into his professional career at the highest stage.
