It didn’t take long for Emil Andrae to make his way back to the Flyers.
The 23-year-old defenseman was called up Sunday as the Flyers sent Dennis Gilbert to AHL affiliate Lehigh Valley. Gilbert had been the extra defenseman over the club’s season-opening two-game road trip.
One would think Andrae has a real chance to play in the Flyers’ home opener Monday against the Panthers (7 p.m. ET/NBCSP). Even going back to the preseason, Rick Tocchet hasn’t gotten consistent performances from his bottom defensive pair.
With Cam York starting the season on injured reserve and Rasmus Ristolainen recovering from surgery on a second triceps tendon rupture, the Flyers’ depth on defense has been challenged.
“We’re still trying to find a couple of guys to separate themselves,” Tocchet said a little under a week ago, “so there’s going to be a committee until Yorky gets back.”
York’s status remains uncertain. He has been considered day to day with a lower-body injury.
At the end of last month, Andrae was assigned to the Phantoms after playing just two preseason games. It was somewhat of a surprise considering the 2020 second-round pick played 42 games for the Flyers last season.
“Emil is still young, Emil had some struggles in camp, but we still believe in him,” Danny Briere said a little under a week ago. “He’s still a very good prospect for us. I think the best thing for him is to play a lot of heavy minutes rather than sit on the sideline and watch at the moment, at his age.”
Andrae had two assists and a plus-2 mark in Lehigh Valley’s season-opening win Saturday night over Belleville. He could draw into the Flyers’ lineup for either Egor Zamula, Adam Ginning or Noah Juulsen. We’ll see what the defense looks like when the Flyers hold their morning skate Monday at Xfinity Mobile Arena.