Flyers recall defenseman Egor Zamula for brief audition to gauge his progress

Egor Zamula can’t wait to play in the AHL playoffs with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. But with a break in their schedule until Saturday, he’s excited to be back with the Flyers and to show them how he’s improved.

Monday morning, the Flyers used their second of four allotted post-trade deadline AHL recalls on Zamula. The 6-foot-5 defenseman, who turns 23 this month, made the NHL team out of camp but got sent down in early November. Other than a brief return in December, Zamula has been with the Phantoms since. In 11 NHL games earlier this season, Zamula had two assists and was a minus-1.

Coach John Tortorella described Zamula’s time with the Flyers as a “struggle.” He still sees potential in him because of the way Zamula sees the ice, but Zamula has yet to show he’s ready for the speed of the NHL game. From what fellow defenseman Justin Braun saw, Zamula had the right ideas but needed to act with more urgency.

“You can get into some trouble at this level if you hold [the puck] too long,” Braun said. “Guys take good angles on you and put you in a bad spot.”

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The Flyers called Zamula up Monday because they want to see if he’s ready for the pace of the NHL yet, Tortorella said.

While with the Phantoms, Zamula said he was playing heavy minutes — around 27 per game — alongside defensive partner Louie Belpedio. It was exhausting, but he thinks that has helped him improve his decision-making, as he had to make split-second decisions while tired. Phantoms coach Ian Laperrière also gave him the freedom to make mistakes without fear of losing ice time. The Russian has one goal and 15 assists in 42 games for the Phantoms this season.

Zamula’s minutes are elevated because he has contributed in all situations, playing on both the power play and the penalty kill. He’s found success by focusing on making simple plays and keeping his stick in good defensive position.

The Phantoms have 10 games left until the playoffs. Zamula said he has already felt the intensity and competitiveness increase in recent games. Tortorella said he hopes this stint with the Flyers will help Zamula with the Phantoms once he returns for the stretch run.

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“You get a taste of [the NHL] and you feel like you can do some things,” Tortorella said. “Sure, you bring it down there. ... The experience that the kids, Zamula will get here now for a few games — we’re thinking about another defenseman down there, maybe next week — it could do nothing but help them as far as progressing.”

Tortorella doesn’t know the pairings for Tuesday yet, but he confirmed Zamula will play. He’ll be on the left side, although they might try him out on the right as well before returning him to Lehigh Valley.

As much as Zamula wants to be in the NHL full-time, in this situation he’s fine with the limit on his current stint with the Flyers. He wants to show them he’s improved. And then he wants to go back to helping his Phantoms teammates.

“I mean, it’s my dream. I never play in playoffs in [my] pro career,” he said. “I think it’s a great experience for everybody to fight for each other. Because in [regular-] season games, it’s like some people try to make points. But in the playoffs, you need to fight for your teammates, you need to fight for every puck, block shots. And so I want to see that this year.”

The Flyers host the Florida Panthers at 7 p.m. Tuesday. ... Winger Owen Tippett left practice within the first few minutes. Tortorella described it as a maintenance day and expects him to play Tuesday. ... Both Travis Konecny and Sean Couturier skated Monday in noncontact jerseys. Konecny practiced with the power play, but Tortorella said that’s just because Tippett was out and they wanted a right shot in there. He said he thinks Konecny is still further from a return than Couturier. ... While Tortorella has really liked what he’s seen from Tyson Foerster, he expects Foerster will return to the Phantoms along with Zamula before Saturday. His reasoning was the same — they’re prioritizing the Phantoms’ playoff run right now for the prospects. ... Tortorella is still upset about Saturday’s heartbreaking loss to the Carolina Hurricanes in the final seconds. However, he feels the positives from the game outweigh that negatives, and he and his coaching staff are trying to make sure the players feel the same. He was encouraged that the team took the ice Monday practicing hard and “with life.”

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