Flyers forwards Kevin Hayes and Morgan Frost removed from COVID-19 protocols; defenseman Cam York recalled from Phantoms

Two days after the conclusion of the holiday break, which the Flyers placed five players in COVID-19 protocols (Sean Couturier, Ryan Ellis, Derick Brassard, Carter Hart, and Scott Laughton), the team welcomed centers Kevin Hayes and Morgan Frost back to practice.

Hayes, who was placed in COVID-19 protocols on Dec. 20, and Frost, who entered protocols on Dec. 14, returned Tuesday in advance of the Flyers’ West Coast trip, which begins on Wednesday night against the Seattle Kraken.

With Couturier, Laughton, and Brassard in protocols, each of whom has played at center for the Flyers this season, Hayes and Frost provide much-needed healthy bodies at the position. Even with Frost out for 14 days and Hayes away from the team for eight days, interim head coach Mike Yeo said both players will be in the lineup on Wednesday.

“We don’t have the luxury of waiting to see how things go or giving them a little extra time,” Yeo said. “These are important players for us and I haven’t had the opportunity to talk to them post-practice yet, but just obviously you’re watching as things are going, you’re watching the battle drills. We had a lot of compete, we had a lot of up and down the ice and I thought they held up fine for them.”

In practice on Tuesday, Hayes worked on a line alongside wingers Joel Farabee and Travis Konecny. Frost slotted in on the third line with wingers James van Riemsdyk and Gerry Mayhew.

“I feel fine,” Frost said. “To be honest, I thought I was actually gonna feel worse in the practice there, but I felt pretty good. Just tried to stay in shape as much as I could. Obviously, it’s a weird time to have that long off. But I feel good.”

Now, with the returns of Hayes and Frost, the activation of Max Willman from the COVID list on Monday, and with Mayhew and Jackson Cates added to the taxi squad from the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, the Flyers have 13 active forwards at their disposal.

Hours before the team’s flight to Seattle in advance of the four-game trip, general manager Chuck Fletcher recalled top defensive prospect Cam York and goalie Kirill Ustimenko from the Phantoms and assigned each player to the taxi squad.

With no new additions to the COVID-19 protocol list on Tuesday, York and Ustimenko serve as reinforcements as the Flyers embark upon a week of travel.

In 21 games with the Phantoms this season, York has one goal, seven assists, and is a minus-5. Late last season, York played three games with the Flyers. While York didn’t show up on the score sheet, Yeo said he was pleased with the defenseman’s contributions over that brief stretch.

“Obviously Yorkie, in seeing what he did for us at the end of the year last year and seeing how his game is progressing and coming along this year and we know what he’s capable of, he’s a guy that we’re comfortable putting in the lineup if that opportunity’s there for him,” Yeo said.

Ustimenko has spent the majority of the season with the ECHL’s Reading Royals, playing seven games with a save percentage of .893 and a goals-against average of 4.09. In two games with the Phantoms, Ustimenko recorded an .862 SV% and a 4.00 GAA.

Goalie Felix Sandström, who was recalled on Monday, is the likely backup to Martin Jones on the Flyers’ West Coast trip. Sandström could see a start with the team playing back-to-back games on Wednesday against the Kraken and Thursday against the San Jose Sharks.

The Flyers now have five players out of a maximum of six assigned to their taxi squad — Mayhew, Cates, Sandström, York, and Ustimenko. Players on the taxi squad are permitted to travel with their clubs, but they can only play in a game if the team places them on the active roster before 5 p.m. on the day of the game. Not all taxi squad players are required to travel with the team.

On Tuesday, Mayhew skated on the third line with Frost. Both played on a line as teammates with the Phantoms. Mayhew got the edge over Cates, who was used as an extra forward in practice. “When you’re looking to insert somebody on to that line, obviously a guy like Frosty, guys like Reemer ... you want to try to create something, obviously offensively,” Yeo said. “So those types of players [like Mayhew], it’s nice to have somebody that can shoot the puck, that can make a play.”