Flyers Goalie Dark Horse Candidate For Team Sweden
As the NHL announces its return to international play, the Philadelphia Flyers goaltender has the potential to play himself into consideration.
Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports - Flyers Goalie Dark Horse Candidate For Team SwedenInternational hockey is back.
The NHL announced on Friday they would be sending its players to the Olympic Games for the first time since 2014. In February 2026, the world's best will gather in Milan, Italy to compete for gold. The NHL also announced that replacing All-Star weekend in 2025, there will be a four-team international tournament featuring Canada, United States, Finland, and Sweden.
For Samuel Ersson, it has been a crazy year to say the least. The Flyers goaltender started the year unproven having only played 16 NHL games. And yet, midway through the season, Ersson has been getting the same amount of time in the crease as Carter Hart and has performed to the same standard. And now that Hart has been moved to the non-roster list, it is now Ersson's net.
At only 24 years old, Ersson is still developing and he is putting up solid numbers in his early days as an NHL goaltender. He leads all rookie goaltenders in rookie wins (12) and is second-best in goals-against average (2.60). And even though his .898 save percentage may not look great, he has been getting peppered with shots, ranking second in rookie goalies with 536 saves. His impressive rookie season has landed him on the NHL All-Rookie Team and with the reps he will further receive, his name is in the hat for the Calder Trophy.
Because Hart is now away from the team, Ersson will receive a large majority of starts going forward and the Flyers organization believe in him.
Is it crazy to think he could be a dark-horse candidate for Team Sweden in the future?
There are certainly more proven goalies who could start ahead of him. Calgary's Jacob Markstrom has had a solid year and is a proven No. 1. Boston's Linus Ullmark is a Vezina Trophy winner making up one half of a stellar tandem that has helped the Bruins lead the Eastern Conference for the past two years. But besides those two, the third goalie spot could be up for grabs.
The remainder of this season and next season will be paramount for Ersson's career. He will be given ample opportunity to prove he can be a No. 1 goalie for the Flyers. Should he continue to improve, there is no reason to think he could not represent the Swedes in international play.
Latest Flyers News