Stellar Breakout Season with Phantoms and Flyers
August 5, 2023
The Philadelphia Flyers have signed goaltender Sam Ersson to a two-year contract extension through the 2025-26 season, according to General Manager Daniel Briere.
Ersson, 23, split the 2022-23 season between the Philadelphia Flyers and the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. The 6-foot-2, 176-pound native of Falun, Sweden, went 24-17-1 with a 2.84 GAA, a .900 SV% and one shutout in 42 games with Lehigh Valley and posted a 6-3-0 record with a 3.07 GAA, a .899 SV% and one shutout in 12 games with Philadelphia.
Ersson ranked sixth among AHL goaltenders in wins and minutes played (2,511) and seventh in games and ranked second among rookie goaltenders in games, wins, minutes played, and saves (1,070). He earned his first AHL victory Nov. 5 at Laval and his first AHL shutout Feb. 11 vs. Bridgeport. Ersson posted a career-high five-game win streak from Nov. 5-19, stopping 142-of-151 shots in that span. He is 24-20-2 with a 2.85 GAA, a .899 SV% and one shutout in 47 career AHL games with Lehigh Valley in two seasons (2021-23).
The left-glove backstop made his NHL debut on Dec. 23 at Carolina and earned his first NHL victory Dec. 29 at San Jose. He earned six wins in his first seven NHL starts to become the 12th goaltender in NHL history and second Flyers goaltender (Bob Froese, 1982-83) to win each of his first six career decisions (NHL Stats). Ersson stopped all 28 shots faced Dec. 9 at Buffalo to earn his first NHL shutout to become the 14th rookie goaltender in team history to record a shutout, first since Anthony Stolarz on Jan. 29, 2019. He recorded a career-high four-game win streak from Dec. 29-Jan. 9. The four-game win streak ranked T-4th in franchise history for longest road win streak by a rookie goaltender and T-13th among Flyers rookie goaltenders overall.
It was a tremendous bounce-back season for Ersson following a 2021-22 campaign in which he mostly watched from the press box due to injury. Ersson made three starts in October 2021 but after that he was removed from single starts in December and February as his injury issues continued to hamper him. He underwent groin surgery over the summer and then proved he was ready to make a big splash with a strong training camp with the Flyers in September including a 35-save performance in a Rookie Series victory at PPL Center against the New York Rangers.
Prior to his North American debut, Ersson spent parts of three seasons (2017-18, 2019-21) with Byrnas IF Gavle of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL) and represented Sweden at the 2019 World Junior Championships in Canada. He was originally selected by the Flyers in the fifth round (143rd overall) of the 2018 NHL Draft.
The NHL returns to PPL Center with the second annual Rookie Series in September. The Philadelphia Flyers take on the New York Rangers in a renewal of their great rivalry as the team’s top prospects square off for a pair of games in the Lehigh Valley.
Tickets for the Rookie Series are available at PPLCenter.com
ROOKIE SERIES
Friday, September 15 (7:05 p.m.) – Philadelphia Flyers vs. New York Rangers
Saturday, September 16 (5:05 p.m.) – Philadelphia Flyers vs. New York Rangers
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