Emil Andrae, a 2020 second-round draft pick by the Philadelphia Flyers, has signed a tryout agreement with the Flyers’ American Hockey League affiliate, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.
Crossing Broad’s Anthony SanFilippo originally reported the news on Wednesday evening.
Andrae will wear #6 for the Phantoms, per the AHL’s website.
Andrae, a defenseman, comes over from the Swedish Hockey League where he played in 51 games for HV71 this season, racking up 6 goals and 20 assists for 26 points to accompany 67 penalty minutes and a -3 rating.
The 21-year-old Västervik, Sweden native was originally drafted in 2020 by Philadelphia after a stellar season with the HV71 J20 squad, notching 11 goals and 27 assists for 38 points in just 40 games while also recording 82 penalty minutes and a +12 rating.
Andrae appeared in two World Junior Championships for Team Sweden in 2021 and 2022. He captained the 2022 squad to a bronze medal this past summer while scoring 4 goals and 4 assists for 8 points in 7 games for the Juniorkronorna.
He was second in points (7) by a defenseman and tied for first in goals (4) by a defenseman in the tournament, and his 8 points landed him in a six-way tie for eighth among all scorers, which included consensus top 2023 draft prospect Connor Bedard.
Andrae joins a Phantoms team that is pushing for a spot in the Calder Cup Playoffs. With 12 games remaining in their season, Lehigh Valley sits 5th in the Atlantic Division, one spot shy of a playoff berth as the Springfield Thunderbirds occupy the fourth and final spot in the division. Both teams have 60 points but the Thunderbirds have played two less games than the Phantoms.
Lehigh Valley has won 5 of their last 6 and Ian Laperrière’s club has found themselves looking for their first Calder Cup Playoffs run in 5 years. Andrae will join an impressive young blueline led by fellow prospects Adam Ginning, Egor Zamula, Ronnie Attard, and Wyatte Wylie.
The Phantoms have not made a playoff appearance since 2018. They missed out in 2019 and 2022, and the 2020 and 2021 playoffs were wiped out by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Lehigh Valley’s next game, and Andrae’s presumed North American professional debut, comes on Friday night (7:05pm ET, Service Electric/AHLTV) against their rival Hershey Bears at PPL Center in Allentown.
