Gardner and Petersen Get the Call to Philly, Gahagen to Lehigh Valley
December 19, 2023
Allentown, PA – The Philadelphia Flyers have announced the following transactions according to general manager Daniel Briere:
- Olle Lycksell (F) has been returned to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms on loan
- Rhett Gardner (F) and Cal Petersen (G) have been recalled from the Lehigh Valley Phantoms to the Philadelphia Flyers
Additionally, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms have announced the following transaction:
- Parker Gahagen (G) has been recalled to Lehigh Valley from the Reading Royals of the ECHL
Lycksell, 24, is a left-handed shooting right wing from Oskarshamn, Sweden who was leading the Phantoms in scoring with 12-7-19 in 21 games at the time of his recall on December 6 but now rates third on the team. Lycksell is sixth in the AHL in goals and is one off the league-lead in power-play goals (6) and power-play points (12).
He played in one game with the Flyers on this NHL stint. Last season, Lycksell played in eight games with Philadelphia recording one assist while thriving as a rookie with Lehigh Valley scoring 14-31-45 in 53 games.
Gardner, 27, is a left-handed shooting center from Moose Jaw, Sask. The fourth-round pick of the Dallas Stars in 2016 out of the University of North Dakota is in his first season in the Flyers organization after four years with Dallas and the Texas Stars of the AHL. He has scored 3-1-4 in 21 games with the Phantoms this season.
Gardner has played in 40 career NHL games, all with Dallas, scoring 1-1-2. He has also played in 223 career games in the AHL, mostly with Texas, scoring 33-56-89.
Petersen, 29, is in his first season with the Philadelphia Flyers organization after six years with the Los Angeles Kings and AHL Ontario (Cal.) Reign. The lefty-style netminder has played in two games with Philadelphia going 1-1-0, 3.50, .896.
In eight games with Lehigh Valley, Petersen has gone 4-6-1, 3.20, .898. The Waterloo, IA product out of Notre Dame has played in 103 career NHL games with Los Angeles and Philadelphia going 45-43-10, 2.93, .904. He also has 167 games in the AHL with Ontario and Lehigh Valley registering career stats of 73-74-14, 3.20, .903.
Gahagen, 30, has played in eight games with the Phantoms this season going 4-3-1, 2.48, 914. With Reading this season, Gahagen has played in three games going 0-2-0, 2.37, .927. His win with the Phantoms on October 15 against the Belleville Senators was his first in the AHL in two-and-a-half years. The Army Black Knights product has played in 20 career games in the AHL going 9-7-1, 2.98, .898 and also 103 games in the ECHL going 58-28-5, 2.30, .920. Last year, with the Jacksonville Icemen of the ECHL, he played 33 games with an 18-8-3 record and 2.66, .912.
The Phantoms are back in action Thursday and Friday in a two-game series at the Charlotte Checkers. The Phantoms will return to PPL Center on Wednesday, December 27 against the Utica Comets, AHL affiliate for the New Jersey Devils. Join us for pregame $2 beers!
UPCOMING
Thursday, December 21 (7:00) – Lehigh Valley Phantoms at Charlotte Checkers
Friday, December 22 (6:00) – Lehigh Valley Phantoms at Charlotte Checkers
Wednesday, December 27 (7:05) – Utica Comets at Lehigh Valley Phantoms – Pregame $2 Beers
Saturday, December 30 (7:05) – Hershey Bears at Lehigh Valley Phantoms – Phantoms Knit Caps
Sunday, December 31 (7:05) – Charlotte Checkers at Lehigh Valley Phantoms – World’s Largest Puck Drop!