With the 4 Nations Face-Off fast approaching, it’s being reported that Philadelphia Flyers netminder Samuel Ersson could be Jacob Markström’s injury replacement after it was announced the New Jersey Devils goaltender would miss the next 4-6 weeks due to an MCL sprain.
Markström was tending the twine Wednesday night against the Boston Bruins when he was forced out of the contest after Justin Brazeau crashed into him. Head coach Sheldon Keefe said that he would “miss time” immediately after the game but that they believe they avoided a worst-case scenario.
Joining Markström when the rosters were initially released were Linus Ullmark from the Ottawa Senators and Filip Gustavsson of the Minnesota Wild. Ullmark has been sidelined for several weeks with an injury of his own and has yet to return to the ice so the Swedes could very well be without their top two options.
That’s where Ersson enters the conversation, as it was reported by Jackie Spiegel of The Philadelphia Inquirer through the initial report from Swedish journalist Per Bjurman that the Flyers netminder would be the next man up in case of injury.
The Swedish goaltending pool isn’t as deep as some of their counterparts, however Ersson’s recent stretch has certainly helped put his name back on the international scene. Before Thursday’s 6-1 loss at the Rangers, he wrangled off 5 straight wins and 7 wins over his previous 8 games with a scintillating .935 SV% along the way.
The Falun, Sweden native represented his country during the 2019 World Junior Championships where he went 3-1-0 in 4 games to go along with a .922 SV% but was unable to leave the tournament with a medal as they crashed into a 5th place finish. He also participated in the 2024 Euro Hockey Tour and helped lead Sweden to a bronze medal at the 2024 IIHF Men’s World Championship.
On the season, Ersson is 14-8-2 with 2 shutouts, a 2.80 GAA, and a .891 SV%. It’s been a tale of two halves so far for the 25-year-old as he allowed 50 goals in his first 17 contests with a .872 SV% while also dealing with a couple injuries before recently righting the ship.
The 4 Nations Face-Off is scheduled to take place between the 12th and 20th of February in Montréal and Boston and will pit Canada, Finland, Sweden, and the United States against one another in a round robin tournament. It’s the first of its kind, putting the NHL’s best-on-best on the international stage for the first time since the World Cup of Hockey in 2016.
It remains to be seen if Ersson gets into a game if he is invited but if he goes, he’ll join Travis Konecny and Travis Sanheim (Canada), Rasmus Ristolainen (Finland), and John Tortorella (United States) as the Flyers’ representatives.
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