Sam Ersson keeping the same ‘earn it’ mentality despite now being the Flyers’ No. 1 goalie

Sam Ersson is in John Tortorella’s crosshairs. But in a good way.

Entering the 2024-25 season, the Swede is penciled in as the Flyers No. 1 goalie and, according to Tortorella, is expected to play between 55 and 60 games. It’s a tall task for a guy who has never started more than the 49 games he did last year and puts him in the stratosphere of perennial workhorses like Igor Shesterkin, Connor Hellebuyck, and Sergei Bobrovsky — all Vezina Trophy winners.

“For me, my mindset stays the same. I know, like, whatever is said, nothing is given. You have to earn it still,” Ersson told The Inquirer. “I’m going into it with that kind of mentality. It doesn’t change for me from last year.”

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Last year was an interesting one for the young netminder. He entered the year with just 12 NHL games to his name but beat out Felix Sandström and Cal Petersen in camp to become the proverbial No. 2 goalie behind Carter Hart.

After a less-than-impressive start, Ersson was among the NHL’s top goalies by mid-January. In 18 games between Nov. 3 and Jan. 20, Ersson compiled a 12-2-2 record, a league-best equaling 1.84 goals-against average, and the No. 2 save percentage (.930) among all goaltenders with at least 10 appearances.

But the weight of taking over after Hart was placed on indefinite leave from the team saw Ersson struggle down the stretch. He rebounded at the end and finished with a .973 save percentage over his last two starts.

“It’s a lot about just trying to stay in the present here and knowing a little bit more what to expect with how the season is going to evolve, and knowing that there’ll be ups and downs throughout the year, obviously,” Ersson said. “I think for me, just to compete every day in practice with Ivan [Fedotov] and just, you want the best [goalie] to play every day. So for me, it’s you’ve got to earn it.”

The expectation heading into next Friday’s season opener against the Canucks in Vancouver (10 p.m., NBCSP) is that Fedotov will serve as the backup to Ersson. Did Tortorella say recently that, “We have a whole new goaltending situation this year. It scares the crap out of me.” Yep. But it wasn’t because he doesn’t trust his guys; it’s because it’s an unknown quantity.

“He’s licking his chops here, right? He’s got an opportunity,” Tortorella said last week. “I just think the mental part of that position is the most important part. Sam’s got to realize now, ‘I’m the No. 1 guy, I’m not the backup.’ It’s a totally different mindset. That’s what’s encouraging to me with him, because I think he has a really strong mind.”

Although Ersson will use it as a learning tool, how last season ended is in the rearview window. This season he wants to work on his consistency. The soon-to-be 25-year-old knows that bad nights will come, but he needs to mitigate them. As he said: “When you don’t play as much, if you have a bad week, a bad week could be one bad game. But if you play a lot, one bad week could be three, maybe four games.”

This summer, he used the time off to reset — and to work with a veteran group of goalies back home in Sweden. He trains with Sandström (who is now with the Buffalo Sabres organization), Jonas Johansson of the Tampa Bay Lightning, former NHLer Johan Holmqvist, and new New Jersey Devils netminder Jacob Markström.

Ersson has leaned on Markström — a 14-year vet and Vezina Trophy runner-up in 2021-22 — for guidance on consistency.

“He’s very open in a way,” Ersson said. “He’s not a guy who will close off and be like, I’m not giving my secrets away. He’ll be very open and very easy to talk to with all those things.”

Now as the season quickly gets closer, Ersson will take everything he has learned and use it as fuel — and he’s ready to feed the fire as the Flyers No. 1.

“I’m not satisfied with anything. I want to get better this year. I think the whole team wants to,” he said. “We know that last year is last year, and we did some good things, but we got to keep on building here, keep on taking steps, and I think that definitely goes for myself included. So I got to push myself every day to get better.”

Where forward Jett Luchanko ends up is anyone’s guess right now, but NHL rosters have to be finalized by Monday. Will Luchanko, picked 13th overall in this year’s entry draft, be one of the last cuts and sent back to his junior team in Guelph, Ontario? Will he get a nine-game NHL audition?

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Guesses could go either way after the 18-year-old was among the main group at practice again Thursday. Does that mean he’ll be packing a bag for the West Coast? Or was it a last chance to skate with the big boys before heading north? For what it’s worth, he skated between Joel Farabee and Bobby Brink — two guys assured of a spot on the plane to British Columbia.

Stay tuned. …

Fedotov will start Thursday night’s preseason capper. Alexei Kolosov will split the game with him. … Tyson Foerster was back on the ice Thursday after missing practice Wednesday. Tortorella said Wednesday that Foerster was “swollen” after blocking a shot against the Boston Bruins. … Defenseman Nick Seeler was not on the ice despite practicing Wednesday after he blocked a pass late in the second period Tuesday night. Although Foerster did return that night, Seeler played one shift in the third and did not return. He is still dealing with some numbness. … Backup goaltender Petersen cleared waivers, after being placed there Wednesday.