Flyers make minor league trade; place goalie Sam Ersson on injured reserve

It’s starting to feel like Sam Ersson has no luck.

On Tuesday, Ersson made 24 saves in a 3-2 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins, including the game-winning save in the shootout. It was his second straight start and second consecutive win. But he tweaked something Wednesday and did not practice.

Coach Rick Tocchet said Thursday before the Flyers’ matchup with the Nashville Predators (7 p.m., NBCSP) that Ersson would be unable to serve as the backup to starter Dan Vladař. He added that it is “a day to day thing,” and that he didn’t “think it’s anything serious.”

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However, a few hours later, Ersson was placed on injured reserve with a lower-body injury and will miss at least a week. Aleksei Kolosov has been recalled from Lehigh Valley of the American Hockey League. The expectation is that he will start one of the Flyers’ games on the weekend, either against Scott Laughton and the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday (7 p.m., NBCSP) or when Joel Farabee, Morgan Frost, and the Calgary Flames visit on Sunday (7 p.m., NBCSP+).

Ersson has been plagued by groin injuries across his short career, and the newly 26-year-old made several stops on the injury shelf last season after missing most of the 2021-22 campaign following groin surgery. This season, the Swede is 2-1-1 with a 3.08 goals-against average and .876 save percentage.

After a disappointing first full season in North America, Kolosov has been impressive thus far for the Phantoms this season. He is 3-2-0 with a 2.60 goals-against average, a .918 save percentage, and a 35-save shutout against Cleveland on Oct. 17.

The Flyers haven’t been very high on Samu Tuomaala’s game for some time, and on Thursday, they moved on from the Finn, sending him to the Dallas Stars in exchange for defenseman Christian Kyrou.

Kyrou, a second-round pick of the Stars in 2022, will report to the Phantoms. Another small blueliner at 5-foot-11, 165 pounds, the 22-year-old has eight shots on goal in four games this season for Dallas’ AHL team, the Texas Stars, to lead the team’s blue line corps.

The Toronto native is the younger brother of St. Louis Blues star Jordan Kyrou, and has 12 goals and 38 points across 97 career AHL games. Christian Kyrou, who will be a restricted free agent this summer, is a former teammate of Porter Martone, the Flyers’ top pick in 2025, with Sarnia of the Ontario Hockey League, and Jamie Drysdale with the Erie Otters.

Tuomaala, who was a second-round pick of the Flyers in 2021, was expected to crack the roster at some point over the past two seasons. However, injury and lack of oomph in training camps have plagued him across his two full seasons in North America. This season, with the additions of Alex Bump, Karsen Dorwart, Devin Kaplan, and Denver Barkey in Allentown, Tuomaala has been a healthy scratch, skating in just three of the Phantoms’ first eight games.

Across 120 AHL games, Tuomaala had 75 points (26 goals, 49 assists). He also will be a restricted free agent this summer.

What were the Flyers wearing as kids for Halloween? No shocking answers here.

“I would always go as a hockey player,” Sean Couturier said. And yes, he would wear all his gear too.

“I was always big into dressing up as a hockey player, think I did that probably six of them,” said forward Bobby Brink, who had 10 jerseys and recalled he went one year as Patrick Kane and another as Sidney Crosby.

Tyson Foerster was a hockey player, pretending to be one of the guys he plays against, like Alex Ovechkin. Facing them as an adult is “a dream come true.”

Of course, some did venture out. In Sweden, defenseman Adam Ginning was a skeleton for one year, and Ersson was Spider-Man.

Noah Cates has dressed as a Teletubby — as a kid and an adult. “Went last year with a couple of the guys,” he said with a chuckle, adding that he thinks he was Tinky Winky, the purple one, both times.

“I had a good pirate one, one time. Clown, one time. I think those are probably my two best ones. Then, I just kind of went hockey player, always,” said defenseman Noah Juulsen, who often donned his own Abbotsford Hawks jersey.

Said Nick Seeler: “As a kid, I was in an inflatable sumo wrestler suit. So I blew it up. That was a hit in fifth grade or sixth grade. All the kids got a kick out of it.”

Added Owen Tippet: “I was Chucky a couple of years ago. I usually try and stick with the redhead theme. I would say that was one of my favorites.”

This year, the Flyers have off on Halloween. Will they be indulging in their favorite Halloween candies? Cates likes Snickers. Juulsen and Brink have Kit Kats while Tippett eats Skittles — even the purple ones — and Seeler and Foerster are Reese’s guys, the cups and pieces, respectively.

Couturier sticks with Canadian Mars Bars, and Ginning and Ersson are Swedish candy fans. The defenseman likes the Marabou Milk Chocolate, and Ersson goes for the sour skulls like Bubs. “Swedish candy, to me, is the best in the world,” he said.

If they could go dressed as a current NHLer? “Tipper or Seels,” Juulsen said. And why Tippett? “You can get a nice orange wig for [Tippett], and Seels is just a good guy.”

And what about any NHLer? “The late Bernie Parent,” Ersson said.

Emil Andrae will play on Thursday night on the third defensive pairing with Juulsen. Egor Zamula, Adam Ginning, and Nikita Grebenkin will be healthy scratches. Tocchet said he likes Andrae’s ability to be a puck-mover. The coach didn’t guarantee he will play every day — and he likes the rotation for the third pairing — but said Andrae has a shot to be a regular in the lineup. According to an NHL scout, Andrae has looked strong in Lehigh Valley, notching five assists in six games. He played one game this season with the Flyers, skating 10 minutes, 22 seconds against the Florida Panthers in the home opener.