Ristolainen missed the Flyers' preseason finale due to an undisclosed injury.
The Philadelphia Flyers revealed their 23-player roster Monday evening, but instead of placing players on waivers to reach the roster limit, they added one to injured reserve.
Defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen will begin the season on IR, the Flyers announced. Ristolainen was held out of the Flyers' preseason finale due to an undisclosed injury. Players placed on IR are ineligible to play for a minimum of seven days, meaning the Flyers will be without Ristolainen for at least two games.
Ristolainen's placement on IR opened the door for young blueliner Emil Andrae to crack the opening-night roster. The 21-year-old Swede dressed for four of the Flyers' six preseason games, logging an assist and a minus-1 rating while averaging 20:20 of ice time per game.
Andrae isn't the only notable prospect who cracked the 23-player roster. Tyson Foerster and Bobby Brink also made the cut after very impressive showings in training camp.
Brink was particularly strong in the preseason with a goal and two assists in four appearances. He also scored a filthy goal in the shootout to help earn the Flyers their first win of the preseason. Foerster, while not nearly as flashy in his exhibition appearances, did turn heads during his brief stay with the Flyers last season, posting seven points in eight games.
The Flyers will be carrying three goalies to start the season, barring a sudden turn of events. Head coach John Tortorella named Sam Ersson the backup to Carter Hart to start the campaign, but Felix Sandstrom remains on the roster, likely because he is not waiver exempt and the Flyers do not want to risk him being claimed by a team in need of goalie depth.
Below is the final roster, listed by position:
Forwards: Cam Atkinson, Bobby Brink, Noah Cates, Sean Couturier, Nic Deslauriers, Joel Farabee, Tyson Foerster, Morgan Frost, Garnet Hathaway, Travis Konecny, Scott Laughton, Ryan Poehling, Owen Tippett
Defensemen: Emil Andrae, Travis Sanheim, Nick Seeler, Marc Staal, Sean Walker, Cam York, Egor Zamula
Goalies: Sam Ersson, Carter Hart, Felix Sandstrom
The Flyers will open the season against the Columbus Blues Jackets Thursday night at Nationwide Arena. The puck drops at 7 p.m. ET.