Sam Ersson’s unflappable mindset to be tested as he takes over for Carter Hart in net

Midway through the Flyers’ 6-2 loss to the Boston Bruins on Jan. 27, John Tortorella pulled aside Sam Ersson on the bench.

Ersson had just been yanked for Cal Petersen after allowing four goals in less than five minutes in the first period. To be fair to Ersson, he’d had very little help, having to contend with screens, wide-open Bruins in front, and even some friendly-fire deflections. But a loss like that — the team’s fifth in a row — was not how the Flyers had hoped to enter the All-Star break.

So Tortorella approached his No. 1 goalie, who a week before hadn’t been No. 1, and a year before hadn’t been number anything.

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The Flyers coach doesn’t like to divulge what goes on in those conversations. But, from what was caught on camera, it was a positive talk, punctuated with an emphatic thump on Ersson’s chest. (“Don’t put this on Sam,” Tortorella would later tell media.)

The rookie had been catapulted into the Flyers’ No. 1 goalie spot days before that game, after incumbent starter Carter Hart took a leave from the team and was later charged with sexual assault in connection to a 2018 Hockey Canada incident. Ersson lost his next three starts, which also came at the tail end of a grueling January schedule.

“You go through adversity throughout your career, and it’s never fun to go through tough stretches, but you definitely feel how much you grow from it and how much you learn from it,” Ersson said.

“It does make you stronger.”

And it was that stretch of adversity, and how he has responded since, that encapsulates who the 24-year-old is as a player, according to the people who know him best.

Tortorella remembers Ersson’s first NHL game. It hadn’t started well.

On Dec. 23, 2022, Ersson made his debut against the Carolina Hurricanes after being called up from Lehigh Valley to deputize for an ill Felix Sandström. Carolina scored on its first shot, then netted four more, and Ersson was pulled midway through the second period.

But his night wasn’t actually over. Hart, who had come in to replace him, went down with an injury at the end of the period. So Ersson had to go back out.

“It was such a crazy game for a goaltender. It didn’t bother him at all. He just played,” Tortorella said. “And as he got more and more work, you could see just how he carries himself during a game. That nothing affects him. And I think he has a hardness. I think that’s a really good hardness for a goaltender to have.”

Ersson didn’t allow another goal after returning to the game, and although the Flyers couldn’t quite complete the comeback, he went on to win his next six NHL starts.

“It takes a lot from a mental capacity standpoint,” Flyers goalie coach Kim Dillabaugh recently told The Inquirer. “That’s something Sam’s brought in here from a young age, from the time we drafted him. And I think that’s something, just like his game on the ice, that’s grown over his time here.”

The Boston loss was the first time Ersson was pulled from a game this season, after starting the year full-time with the Flyers. And since then — after an opportunity to reset on vacation with his girlfriend in Tulum, Mexico — Ersson has won three starts in a row. He played a major part in each of the wins, too.

His play during the Flyers’ 2-1 win in Florida on Feb. 6 was the only reason the Flyers had a fighting chance at all after a ghastly opening period. Ersson said postgame that he’d been trying to avenge the Boston loss.

“Erss was great, especially in that first period,” winger Joel Farabee said following the Panthers game. “A lot of shots coming his way and he’s just so solid. He provides that trust out there that we all need, and when he’s playing like that, it gives us a chance to win every night.”

In 28 appearances, Ersson has posted a 15-9-3 record with a .901 save percentage and 2.49 goals-against average. But subtract two bad outings to start the season and he ranks No. 2 in the NHL in goals-against average (2.21) and 11th in save percentage (.913) since Nov. 1.

“He’s the backbone,” Flyers winger Garnet Hathaway said. “And I hope he knows it, too.”

Ersson’s Flyers coaches weren’t the first to notice his mental fortitude. That observation can be traced to Pecka Alcén, his coach back in his native Sweden.

“He must go forward all the time. And he’s good about that. He learned from the mistakes and he’s humble,” Alcén said.

Alcén, the former Brynäs IF goalie coach, has known Ersson since he was an overlooked teenager. But Alcén knew immediately that the 15-year-old Ersson would make it to the NHL one day. He compared him to Calgary’s Jacob Markström, who also came through Brynäs.

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“When I look at a goalie, I want to see humbleness and I want to see their attitude,” Alcén said. “I want to see the eyes. The rest, you can train.”

Ersson said he tries to focus on things he can control. While he has his routines, he’s not big on pregame rituals because he doesn’t want to be derailed if something goes awry. That’s a lesson he learned from his old coach — when he was younger, Ersson used to wear a pair of lucky socks. Until Alcén threw them out.

Alcén considers himself a resource for Ersson, but he doesn’t want to interfere with the coaching he’s receiving from the Flyers staff. The two keep in touch while Ersson is stateside, and in the offseason, they get back on the ice together. They skate, Ersson faces a lot of shots, and they play with the kids from Alcén’s goalie school.

“We don’t work together. We have fun together,” Alcén said.

One place where Ersson’s mental approach has really shined this season has been the shootout.

In the shootout, a single save can mean an extra point in the standings. When Ersson has had those opportunities to help the Flyers, he has risen to the occasion almost every time. He is 4-1 in shootouts this year, and is nearing the Flyers’ single-season shootout win record of five set by Steve Mason in 2016-17.

“He takes the lead on that,” Dillabaugh said. “He likes to be competitive with his teammates. He’s a competitive individual; I think every athlete at this level is competitive, but he loves to be in that type of environment. He likes to challenge himself that way.”

In addition to playing shootout games with his teammates after practice, Ersson will sometimes study opposing shooters’ tendencies. He said it helped him shut down Sidney Crosby in a shootout win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Dec.2, and later turn away Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki of Montreal on Jan. 10.

But Dillabaugh and Ersson both said over-preparation can also put a goalie at a disadvantage. If he’s expecting a player to make his signature move and then he doesn’t, that can lead to trouble. In that sense, it’s better for him to react rather than make predictions.

It’s a fine balance. But for Ersson, it really just comes down to remembering why he is there.

“You have a big chance to have impact on the outcome of the game. And you have to enjoy that,” Ersson said. “Those are the moments, when you were a kid, you were thinking of when you’re playing. Definitely having that in the back of your mind that you also enjoy it, and it’s just a game.”

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Success in those areas has translated to confidence in other situations, he added.

With 28 games remaining in the Flyers’ regular season, Tortorella and Dillabaugh are being cautious not to overload Ersson, which is where Petersen will come in. But if the Flyers are to hold onto a playoff position, a lot of the responsibility will fall on Ersson’s shoulders.

It’s worth remembering that Ersson’s only 24 and has played just 40 NHL games. There will be more saves, more goals, more good stretches, and more bad stretches. But most of all, there will be more opportunities.

“He hasn’t played the best game of his life yet,” Alcén said.