Rodrigo Ābols earned his spot on the Flyers’ opening-night roster with his offense

SUNRISE, Fla. — Trevor Zegras is “pumped.” Nick Seeler is “excited.” For Rodrigo Ābols, who will be skating in his first season opener in the NHL, it’s just the beginning.

Last season, the Latvian split time between the Flyers and Lehigh Valley of the American Hockey League, and at 29 years old, made his long-awaited NHL debut at the end of January before finishing with five points in 22 games.

This summer, he signed another one-year deal and, after going again and again and again like T.J. Oshie in the shootout at the 2014 Olympics, he skated in six of the seven preseason games. After an impressive preseason, he earned his spot on the 23-man roster.

“It’s obviously a little bit rewarding, because that was my goal coming into the camp,” said Ābols. “Last year, I was kind of dipping my toes, it felt like, in camp. But this year, I had a clear set goal and kind of was working toward it. So it’s definitely rewarding, but the hard work begins now.”

The only bad part about making the roster? He wasn’t the one who told Maiga.

“She already knew,” he laughed when asked what grandma said after he told her he made the team. “She was on top of the news. She saw; someone posted it in the news in Latvia before the practice ended. So I already had a congratulatory message from her.”

All the way from Riga, Latvia, despite the time difference, Maiga got up in the middle of the night to watch games last year — including when Rodrigo played for the Phantoms — and every preseason game this year. And, in case you’re wondering, she may be his toughest critic. Last year, Ābols joked that if he doesn’t get a shot on goal, she’ll text him to shoot more.

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Now Ābols has one job: “Just to give her a heads up if I’m playing or not, so she doesn’t wake up middle of the night for nothing.” The 29-year-old will be sending that text, on tap to skate in his 23rd career NHL game Thursday when the Flyers take on the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers (7 p.m., NBCSP).

He is slotted at center on the fourth line between grinders Nic Deslauriers and Garnet Hathaway, but the 6-foot-4, 206-pound forward also can play wing.

“Obviously supplied some offense. When your fourth line can supply offense, that’s big,” coach Rick Tocchet said of Ābols, who had two goals in the preseason. “[I] think he’s a responsible guy. There’s some things that he knows he has to get better at. But you’ve got to get him in early to see what he can do for us. Can he hold down that fourth-line job? There’s a lot going into it. He’s a smart guy, so I think he’s earned the opportunity to make the opening night roster.”

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As Dan Vladař skated off the ice, Sam Ersson headed to the net to get more reps. Vladař, the offseason acquisition, will start Game 1 of the fresh season.

“Well, Erss could have played,” Tocchet said. “It’s just that you have to pick a goalie. So we decided to go Vladař, and we’ll go from there.”

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It is just the first game of the season, but many naturally will read something into who is in net. Historically, both goalies have played well against the Panthers, with Ersson posting a 3-0-1 career record with a .924 save percentage. Vladař is 1-1 with a .933 save percentage.

During the preseason, however, there were stark differences, despite each goalie getting two full games and at least a period in another.

“I thought they both had good camps,” Tocchet said. “I think Vladdy did a nice job, and that’s why we decided to go [with him].”

Ersson played a few ticks over 135 minutes and allowed 4.44 goals against with a .841 save percentage in the preseason. By comparison, Vladař played almost 150 minutes and had a 2.41 goals-against average with a .878 save percentage.

The Czech netminder did play well during his starts. Against the Boston Bruins on Sept. 30, his first full game, Vladař stopped countryman David Pastrňák on a wraparound attempt in the first period, and later Casey Mittelstadt twice in quick succession on a Boston power play in the second period.

“Vladar was good in net, solid, and I think the energy of the players was good,” Tocchet said postgame.

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According to Natural Stat Trick, which tracked all of Ersson’s appearances and 129:28 of Vladař’s, Ersson faced twice as many high-danger chances (22-10). In his final preseason game, he allowed three goals on 10 high-danger shots with the tallies coming off a nifty deflection, a short-handed two-on-none, and after a breakdown that allowed / Anthony Duclair to saucer a pass to a streaking Emil Heineman.

Said Tocchet, who noted that Ersson wasn’t the reason the Flyers lost the game: “The Grade A’s, the two-on-ones, the breakaway after the power play, they’re just freebies. You might give about three freebies a month. You can’t give them two or three a game. It just can’t happen. You can’t give free goals in this league.”

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Travis Konecny is ready: “It’s Game 1, but I’m more just excited to focus on details and get more into the team atmosphere. I’m done with the camp stuff and battling against your own buddies, so, yeah, just looking forward to getting out there again.” Konecny is on a line with Zegras and Owen Tippett. … Cam York is on injured reserve and will not play in the season opener. It looks like Egor Zamula and Noah Juulsen will be the third pairing.