PREVIEW: It’s Opening Night! Phantoms vs. Senators
Tonight
The Lehigh Valley Phantoms commence on their 12th season at PPL Center as they host the Belleville Senators on Opening Night! Fans are encouraged to arrive early for the pregame light show and they will also receive rally towels upon arrival.
Lehigh Valley is 7-4-0 all-time on Opening Night at PPL Center and the Phantoms franchise boasts a record 20-9-0 all-time in season openers. Tonight’s game also marks the beginning of the 30th season of the Phantoms franchise which began as the Philadelphia Phantoms in 1996.
The Team
The Phantoms begin the season with 27 players including 17 forwards, eight defensemen and two goaltenders. Nine players are entering their rookie season. 17 players played part or all of last season with the Phantoms. John Snowden enters his first season as head coach and makes his official AHL head coaching debut tonight.
Media Materials
Fans can browse rosters and Media Materials for tonight’s game here:
Who’s Back
17 returning players from the Lehigh Valley Phantoms’ playoff run last year include several top players and fan-faves. Emil Andrae, Helge Grans and Hunter McDonald are going to be key cogs on the blueline again. Ethan Samson will be getting it going in a few weeks but is sidelined with an injury from the preseason. Veteran captain Garrett Wilson brings his toughness to bolster the forward group along with experienced wingers Cooper Marody and Zayde Wisdom. Anthony Richard, Alexis Gendron and Jacob Gaucher were the top three goal scorers last year. Samu Tuomaala, Massimo Rizzo, Oscar Eklind and Sawyer Boulton are also back. Goaltender Aleksei Kolosov is aiming for a big campaign in his second professional season in the U.S.
Who’s New
Some exciting new prospects are jumping into the professional ranks as well. Forward Alex Bump and defenseman Ty Murchison already got their initial taste of the AHL at the end of last season.
Bump is part of the “Killer B’s” quartet of talented rookies also including forward Denver Barkey and goaltender Carson Bjarnason as well as defenseman Oliver Bonk (still in Voorhees with the Flyers due to injury).
Newcomer Tucker Robertson joins from Coachella Valley in California after a trade for his good friend and former teammate, J.R. Avon.
Lane Pederson is an AHL veteran center who is playing in the Eastern Conference for the first time after recent stints with Bakersfield, Abbotsford and Tucson. Carl Grundstrom made it here just a few days ago after he was acquired by the Flyers on Sunday in a trade with San Jose. Grundstrom has 291 games of NHL experience with San Jose and Los Angeles. Defenseman Artem Guryev also came to the Phantoms in that same trade.
Newly arrived AHL contract players looking to make an impression include defensemen Emile Chouinard, Carter Berger and Ben Meehan.
Who’s Out
Two Phantoms players remain at Philadelphia Flyers Training Camp due to injury.
- Ethan Samson – D
- Oliver Bonk – D
Coaching Staff
John Snowden was named the fifth head coach in Lehigh Valley history. He joined the Phantoms as an assistant coach in the 2022-23 season after spending two years as an assistant coach with the Toronto Marlies.
Nick Schultz is a 15-year NHL veteran as a player who is entering his first season with the Phantoms and first season as an assistant coach. He spent the last six seasons with the Flyers organization as Assistant Director of Player Development and as a player development coach.
Assistant coach Terrence Wallin enters his first season with the Phantoms arriving from the Maine Mariners of the ECHL where he served as head coach for the past three seasons. The Yardley, PA native grew up cheering for the Flyers and was a Flyers Cup and Pennsylvania State Champion with LaSalle College High School in 2008.
Big Bad Belleville
Appropriately named Head Coach David Bell begins his third season as Belleville bench boss. The B-Sens gave it a good run last year but fell two points behind Cleveland for the last playoff spot in the North.
22-year-old Tyler Boucher scored 5-5-10 in 47 games last season. The Ottawa first-rounder is the son of former Philadelphia Phantoms goaltender Brian Boucher who is now a television commentator with the Flyers and TNT nationally televised games.
Veteran Hayden Hodgson racked up 156 penalty minutes while scoring 5-6-11 in 43 games last year. Hodgson played 90 games in two seasons with the Phantoms in 2021-22 and 2022-23 and was second on the team with 19 goals in his first season with the team while also making his NHL debut and playing in six games with the Flyers.
20-year-old first-rounder Carter Yakemchuk is nmaking his pro debut after scoring 17-32-49 with the Calgary Hitmet in the WHL last year.
Hunter Shepard between the pipes is certainly a familiar presence in the opposing crease with his ever-recognizable flowing hair. He spent the last four seasons at Hershey where he led the Bears to back-to-back Calder Cups in 2023 and 2024 winning the Butterfield Trophy as postseason MVP in 2022-23 and then winning the Garrett Memorial Award for AHL Top Goaltender in 2023-24 going 27-4-3, 1.73, .929 in the regular season.
Olle Lycksell made the Ottawa Senators out of Training Camp so will not be making a return visit to PPL Center.
The Phantoms return the favor with a visit to Belleville, Ontario for the first game of the calenda ryear on January 3, 2026.
Opening Night
The first game in Philadelphia Phantoms history was October 4, 1996 when the Philadelphia Phantoms won at the Springfield Falcons 6-3. Peter White scored the new team’s first-ever goal.
Today marks the anniversary of the first-ever game for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. On October 11, 2014, a 5-2 win at the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins officially marked the debut of the new team in downtown Allentown. Chris VandeVelde scored the first-ever goal for Lehigh Valley.
The first Opening Night at PPL Center for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms was October 17, 2014. Scott Laughton scored the first goal in the new building as the Phantoms won in overtime 4-3 against the Adirondack Flames on Brandon Manning’s point-shot.
Last year’s season debut was a veritable fight-fest against the feisty Hartford Wolf Pack. Jacob Gaucher scored the first goal of the season. And Olle Lycksell capped the contest with his shootout winner in the third round.
Lehigh Valley is 7-4-0 all-time in season openers and 6-5-1 all-time in home debuts.
The Phantoms franchise is 20-9-0 in 29 previous season openers and is 19-8-2 all-time in home debuts.
Lehigh Valley Opening Night History (6-5-1)
10/17/2014 Adirondack Flames 4-3 Win (OT)
10/10/2015 Syracuse Crunch 3-4 Loss
10/15/2016 Springfield Thunderbirds 4-2 Win
10/7/2017 Hershey Bears 7-2 Win *(Danick Martel Hat Trick)
10/6/2018 Bridgeport Islanders 6-3 Win
10/5/2019 Providence Bruins 0-3 Loss
2/20/2021 Binghamton Devils 3-0 Win
10/23/2021 Hartford Wolf Pack 1-3 Loss
10/22/2022 Cleveland Monsters 3-4 OTL (OT)
10/14/2023 Cleveland Monsters 2-5 Loss
10/12/2024 Hartford Wolf Pack 4-3 Win (SO)
First Phantoms Goals at PPL Center
10/17/2014 Scott Laughton 11:59 of 1st (vs. Adirondack Flames)
10/10/2015 Aaron Palushaj 11:39 of 1st (vs. Syracuse Crunch)
10/15/2016 Mark Zengerle 0:50 of 1st (vs. Springfield Thunderbirds)
10/7/2017 Danick Martel 2:19 of 1st (vs. Hershey Bears)
10/6/2018 Greg Carey 5:52 of 1st (vs. Bridgeport Sound Tigers)
10/11/2019 Kurtis Gabriel 15:35 of 1st (vs. WBS Penguins)
2/20/2021 Zayde Wisdom 5:30 of 1st (vs. Binghamton Devils)
10/23/2021 Max Willman 19:24 of 1st (vs. Hartford Wolf Pack)
10/22/2022 Hayden Hodgson 7:13 of 1st (vs. Cleveland Monsters)
10/14/2023 Cooper Marody 7:49 of 2nd (vs. Cleveland Monsters)
10/12/2024 Jacob Gaucher 5:27 of 2nd (vs. Hartford Wolf Pack)
What’s Next
Opening Weekend continues Sunday, October 12 at 3:05 p.m. against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins back-to-back to kickoff the 12th season of Phantoms Hockey in the Lehigh Valley. Fans will get their own Phantoms Trading Card sets when they arrive for the October 12 game.
The Phantoms head to northeast Ohio next weekend for back-to-back games at the Cleveland Monsters on Friday, October 17 and Saturday, October 18 as part of Opening Weekend for the AHL affiliate of the Columbus Blue Jackets.
The Phantoms will be back at PPL Center on Friday, October 24 celebrating “Haunted on Hamilton” when they host the rival Hershey Bears.
Cleveland Monsters
Cleveland Monsters
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
