PREVIEW: Phantoms vs. Hershey Preseason
First Look at the Phantoms
TONIGHT – It’s the unofficial debut of the Lehigh Valley Phantoms as they take to the ice against the Hershey Bears.
Expect some camp invites in the lineup, with 12 tryout players on the roster looking to impress head coach John Snowden for a roster spot or position themselves as a depth option later in the season. Even though the games don’t count in the standings, fans can expect high-energy competition from players hungry for a longer opportunity in the American Hockey League.
Meanwhile, some familiar faces might join the lineup as well looking to shake off the rust and be in top form for Opening Night just seven days away.
Fans can browse rosters and Media Materials for tonight’s game at www.phantomshockey.com/media/media-materials/
LAST NIGHT – The preseason was supposed to commence last night in Wilkes-Barre but the game was cancelled. Mechanical issues at Mohegan Arena at Casey Plaza meant the Lehigh Valley Phantoms and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins would be unable to play their scheduled exhibition tilt. The unfortunate decision was made at 6:00 p.m.
ROOKIE SERIES –Hockey returned to PPL Center two weekends ago with the fifth annual NHL Rookie Series. For the second time ever, the Philadelphia Flyers swept the New York Rangers. Philly took Game 1 in a tight 3-2 contest and then the Flyers pulled away in the finale with a 4-1 victory. Fans saw budding stars Denver Barkey, Alex Bump, Porter Martone, and Cole Knuble all rack up goals while Jett Luchanko tacked on a pair of assists and Noah Powell impressed with his toughness including a pair of fights as well as an empty-net goal.
MEET THE PHANTOMS – The Lehigh Valley Phantoms began Training Camp on Tuesday with 26 players and have been growing ever since. Following recent moves from the Flyers, the roster now stands at a whopping 40 players. That includes 10 Reading Royals contract players among 12 total camp invites.
RECENT ARRIVALS – Coming off some strong camps and solid preseason performances with the Flyers are the four most recent cuts from Philadelphia’s camp. Forwards Jacob Gaucher, Cole Knuble, Jett Luchanko, and defenseman Oliver Bonk were all assigned to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms yesterday afternoon.
EYEING THE FLYERS – Training Camp continues in Voorhees, NJ and the Flyers picked up a preseason win over Boston on Thursday via Joseph Woll’s 28-save shutout. Denver Barkey has missed time with an injury and defenseman Helge Grans left with a lower-body injury during Thursday’s game as well.
Aleksei Kolosov is one of three goaltenders remaining in camp while Dan Vladar recovers from an injury last Tuesday.
Phantoms captain and last year’s Masterton Award Nominee Garrett Wilson dropped the gloves against Washington’s Dylan McIlrath last week and remains in the Flyers camp as well.
FAMILIAR FACES – Also returning to the Phantoms from last season’s team are Carson Bjarnason, Hunter McDonald, Ty Murchison, Devin Kaplan, Zayde Wisdom among others. Jackson Edward, Noah Powell, Riley Thompson, and Vincent Sevigny also had short stints with the Phantoms last season as well.
ROOKIE ENERGY – Here come the prospects!
22 Cole Knuble impressed in his seven games with the Phantoms last season. The son of former Flyer Mike Knuble also scored a pair of goals for Philadelphia during the preseason after also tallying for the Flyers in the Rookie Series.
42 Spencer Gill is a 6’4″ defenseman on the cusp of his pro debut. The 20-year-old righty shot and Flyers’ second-rounder missed most of his QMJHL season with an injury.
59 Oliver Bonk began his rookie season on the sidelines with an injury but the Flyers first rounder and son of former NHL’er Radek Bonk progressed from there to eventually make his NHL debut with the Flyers in the regular season finale
77 Jett Luchanko is back with the Phantoms after an end-season stint two years ago. The speedy, play-making center is set to stay in the pros full-time. He made the Flyers Opening Night roster the last two years but was slide-ruled back to Major Juniors both seasons to continue his development.
90 Ilya Pautov is a speedy forward who was a sixth-rounder in 2024.
13 Alex Ciernik is a 21-year-old fourth-round selection from 2023 who played three games for the Phantoms two seasons ago and is the son of former NHL and AHL defenseman Ivan Ciernik.
15 Noah Powell played 16 games at the end of last season after arriving from college. The Round 5 choice in 2024 played a physical game with big hits and two fights during the Rookie Series two weeks ago.
9 Riley Thompson is a big a center from Ohio State who played nine games for the Phantoms last season after signing as a free agent.
TRYOUTS AND AHL CONTRACT PLAYERS – Expect several tryout players in the lineup for the Phantoms tonight.
8 Brady Berard – F – AHL contract out of Boston College. Younger brother of former NY Ranger Brett Berard (now Montreal)
10 Kyle Haskins – F – 11 goals with Reading last season. Michigan State and Canisius product.
11 Dalton Bancroft – F – Free agent. Last year with Providence Bruins and Milwaukee Admirals
16 Jack Page – F – West Chester, PA native signed by Reading Royals. Boston University. Flyers Cup Champ with Bayard Rustin High School in 2017 and 2019 and also played for the Philadelphia Little Flyers.
26 Cooper Wylie – D – AHL contract entering rookie season. Captain at St. Cloud State last year
27 Owen McLaughlin – F – Spring Hill, PA native signed with Phantoms out of Boston University last year (previously at North Dakota) and played 13 games for Reading. Former Flyers Round 7 selection.
32 Mikael Robidoux – Signed with Phantoms for seventh pro season. Joined Reading from Bloomington last last year. 1,024 career PIM in ECHL.
38 Luke Reid – University of New Hampshire product signed with Reading for second pro season after playing for Adirondack Thunder last year. 5 AHL games with Utica two seasons ago.
41 Braeden Kressler – C – Joins Reading after two seasons with Cincinnati Cyclones (Toronto Marlies). Only 7 games last year due to injury
48 Wyatt McLeod – D – University of Alberta product enters third pro season after two years with Trois-Rivieres Lions
65 Andrew Perrott – Former Hershey Bears blueliner two seasons ago racked up career-high 117 penalty minutes for Rockford IceHogs last year.
1 Yaniv Perets – G – National Champion goaltender at Quinnipiac spent most of last season with Reading. Earned first AHL shutout with Phantomson April 18 at Charlotte
80 – Keith Petruzzelli – G – Enters third season with Phantoms organization and previously played three years with Toronto Marlies and ECHL Newfoundland Growlers
FREE AGENT ADDITIONS – Five free agent signees on two-way NHL contracts cleared waivers on Thursday and have been assigned to the Phantoms.
12 – Zach Aston-Reese – F – 32-year-old veteran of 416 NHL games with Pittsburgh, Anaheim, Toronto, Columbus. Split time between Columbus Blue Jackets and Cleveland Monsters last year.
18 – Danila Klimovich – F – 281 career AHL games and 70 goals in five pro seasons with Abbotsford Canucks including a Calder Cup Championship two seasons ago.
23 Jack Studnicka – F – Speedy forward has 126 career NHL games with Boston, Vancouver, San Jose, Florida. 75 goals in 392 pro games. Last year had 2 goals in 41 games with Charlotte and also 19 NHL games with Florida.
25 – Nolan Foote – F – Former New Jersey Devils and Florida Panthers forward has 245 AHL games with Binghamton, Utica, Charlotte.
44 Cam Dineen – D – Tom’s River, NJ native comes back east! 383 AHL games with Tucson and Bakersfield plus 38 NHL games with Arizona and Edmonton
COACHING STAFF – John Snowden enters his second season as head coach of the Phantoms and his fourth season on the team’s coaching staff. NHL veteran defenseman Nick Schultz is back for his second season as an assistant coach as is Yarley, PA native Terrence Wallin. Brady Robinson enters his 11th season as goaltending development coach for the Phantoms.
ON THE AIR – Catch the Phantoms, home and away, on the Phantoms 365 app and on Real Oldies 1470-AM, WSAN and also on FloHockey.TV.
Also available via the Listen Live link at the Phantoms website and on your Smart Speaker system at “Play Phantoms Radio 24-7.”
Bob Rotruck has the play-by-play action all season long.
Service Electric Network is the exclusive home of the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, providing extensive coverage of all home games. Steve Degler and Steven Swavely call the action from the booth, while Kristi Fulkerson and Dan Fremuth host pregame, intermissions, and postgame coverage, beginning with “Front and Center” live from Chickie’s and Pete’s at PPL Center.
LOOKING AHEAD – The Phantoms wrap up the preseason on Tuesday at PPL Center against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in the final exhibition contest of the campaign.
After that, we do it for real. Opening Night is next Saturday, October 3 against the Hartford Wolf Pack!! Join us at PPL Center for Rally Towels, Schedule Posters, and the beginning of the 13th season of the Lehigh Valley Phantoms!
