Flyers make a trade; Rasmus Ristolainen and Owen Tippett set to return on Thursday

For Flyers defenseman Justin Braun, it’s easy to tell when defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen is on the ice for practice. Even in drills, Ristolainen brings his “heavy game,” challenging his teammates with physical puck battles and hard hits.

“You can get him going,” Braun said. “I think when him and [Nick Seeler] get going against each other in one-on-ones, sometimes it gets a little aggressive, but that’s good. He’s not going to lose those battles, which is good.”

» READ MORE: Travis Konecny, Kevin Hayes benchings show that no Flyer is immune to John Tortorella’s brand of accountability

But Ristolainen’s physical presence at the Flyers’ blue line has been missing as he has been sidelined with a lower-body injury since training camp. He joined the team for his first practice on Friday while in Sunrise, Fla., and participated in practices Tuesday and Wednesday in Voorhees. Now, according to coach John Tortorella, he will make his season debut on Thursday at home against the Florida Panthers.

Especially after dealing with two upper-body injuries last season — one to start the season and one sustained in early February — Ristolainen wanted to be careful as he worked his way back.

“It happened first time early in training camp, and then I got better after a few days, and then I felt it again,” Ristolainen said of his injury. “But last week or so, I’ve been feeling pretty good.”

Winger Owen Tippett also will return to the lineup after sustaining an “upper body” injury in the home opener on Oct. 13 against the New Jersey Devils. Tortorella implied that Tippett is working back from a concussion when he said the 23-year-old winger still needed to clear protocols on Tuesday.

While Tippett will slot in on the second line alongside winger Noah Cates and center Scott Laughton, Ristolainen’s utilization will be more fluid. The Flyers will play seven defensemen and 11 forwards against the Panthers with center Tanner Laczynski out because of a family matter. But regardless of whom Ristolainen is paired with in any given situation, Tortorella is looking forward to watching him simplify his game and play to his strengths.

“We need a big man back,” Tortorella said. “It’s a really good team we’re playing against, and I think one of the weaknesses of our team right now is, as I’ve said to you guys many times, is stopping plays offensively. I’m hoping he can do that with his big body.”

Tortorella noted that one of the issues the Flyers are working to address is watching the opposing team in the defensive zone instead of stopping the play quickly. The Flyers play a layered defense, but the initial contact on the puck is crucial to winning it back and helping the team break out of the zone.

Ristolainen has the potential to help with that initial contact when the Flyers play against a skilled team on Thursday in the Panthers, according to Tortorella.

“Talented people find people,” Tortorella said. “And the longer they have the puck, and it’s nonstop, it’s better for the other guys without the puck to get away from their check. It gives them more of an opportunity. That’s why we want to stop it as quickly as possible.”

General manager Chuck Fletcher announced Wednesday that the Flyers acquired forward Evan Barratt from the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for defenseman Cooper Zech. Barratt, 23, spent the last two seasons and the start of this year playing for their AHL affiliate, the Rockford IceHogs. He will report to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.

Barratt hails from Bristol and played for Penn State for three seasons from 2017-20. In 98 career games with the Nittany Lions, Barratt tallied 95 points (39 goals and 56 assists) and recorded 117 penalty minutes. He also set a record by registering a point in 11 consecutive games (Oct. 12, 2018 to Nov. 23, 2018). Barratt played AAA hockey for Team Comcast, which was based in Pennsauken.

In 92 career AHL games, Barratt has collected 42 points (19 goals and 23 assists) and racked up 95 penalty minutes. The Blackhawks selected Barratt in the third round (No. 90 overall) of the 2017 draft.

Zech, also 23, played last season with the Phantoms after spending the previous three seasons in the Boston Bruins organization. The undersized defenseman (5-foot-9, 161 pounds) tallied one goal, 11 points, and 12 penalty minutes last season in 53 games with the Phantoms.

» READ MORE: Philadelphia gives Oskar Lindblom, former Flyer and cancer survivor, a hero’s welcome home

With winger James van Riemsdyk out of the lineup (fractured finger), Tortorella reconfigured the Flyers’ power-play units. In practice on Wednesday, Tippett, Laughton, winger Travis Konecny, center Kevin Hayes, and defenseman Tony DeAngelo skated on the first unit. Defenseman Ivan Provorov, winger Joel Farabee, center Morgan Frost, winger Wade Allison, and Cates comprised the second unit.