Flyers send four, including Bobby Brink, to AHL’s Phantoms for playoff push
In addition to Brink, the Phantoms will welcome back top scorer Olle Lycksell and top-pair defensemen Ronnie Attard and Adam Ginning.
The Flyers won’t be playing playoff hockey this season, a harsh reality that was confirmed Tuesday night. But four members of the Orange and Black still could.
How you might ask? The Flyers announced Wednesday they have optioned young players Bobby Brink, Olle Lycksell, Ronnie Attard, and Adam Ginning to Lehigh Valley for the remainder of the season. The Phantoms (30-30-9), who have three remaining regular-season games, are one point away from wrapping up the final playoff spot in the Atlantic Division.
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The four Flyers will be welcome reinforcements, as Lycksell (38 points in 36 AHL games) was the Phantoms’ top scorer at the time he was first recalled in December, while Attard and Ginning have been mainstays on the blue line for most of the year in Allentown. Brink, the highest-ranked prospect of the bunch, spent most of the year with the Flyers but racked up six goals and 11 points in 11 games during his one demotion to the minors this year. While Lycksell, Attard, and Ginning played sparingly while with the big club, Brink was an impact player, tallying 11 goals and 12 assists in 57 games.
The move obviously shows the value the Flyers see in putting their prospects through more high-pressure games. Newly established NHLers Sam Ersson and Tyson Foerster were two players who benefited from similar experiences last year. The Phantoms this year have been led by a combination of veterans and youth, with players in their late-20s like Cooper Marody and Tanner Laczynski and young prospects like 21-year-old Samu Tuomaala, 22-year-old Emil Andrae, and Elliot Desnoyers, 22.