The Flyers had a flurry of activity Friday and it concluded (we think) with announcing eight more players cut from their training camp, leaving 37 players remaining with four games left in the exhibition season.
Three of the eight were announced earlier when Ronnie Attard, Louie Belpedio and Rhett Gardner were placed on waivers. Meanwhile forwards J.R. Avon, Elliot Desnoyers and Massimo Rizzo were all assigned to Lehigh Valley Phantoms of the American Hockey League. And finally forwards Brendan Furry and Jacob Gaucher were returned to Lehigh Valley as both players are on AHL contracts. According to the Flyers site the roster now stands at 37 players. Doing the simple math, the original 58-man roster was trimmed by 22 players over the first two rounds of cuts, leaving 36 players. However the addition of goaltender Alexei Kolosov this week has bumped that number to 37.
Aside from the three placed on waivers this afternoon, perhaps a slight surprise was seeing Desnoyers sent back down. Of the other five players sent or returned to Lehigh Valley, Desnoyers made a stronger impression during training camp, particularly during Rookie Camp and in the first few days of training camp. Desnoyers was on a line with Matvei Michkov and Jett Luchanko and seemed to hold his own on the line in the offensive zone. However it might have also been a case of having your play improve simply by playing by quality talent thanks to Michkov and Luchanko. Desnoyers had a subpar 2023-24 with the Phantoms, getting 22 points (six goals, 16 assists) in 63 games, exactly half the offensive production (44 points) he did in 2022-23.
Meanwhile, Massimo Rizzo might have been expected to be in the conversation in early October to remain in the mix but he didn’t deliver much during training camp. A seventh-round pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, Rizzo was traded in August, 2023 from Carolina to the Flyers in exchange for David Kase. Rizzo has yet to play an NHL game and, with the amount of better, younger talent the Flyers have, it might be difficult for him to crack the big club. He certainly didn’t appear to stand out much in the opportunities he had the past week. However if he gets on a hot streak and proves himself in Lehigh Valley, he could be called up if injuries start mounting for the Flyers.
Jon-Randall Avon (hence the J.R.) was signed by the Flyers in 2021 and spent last season in Lehigh Valley. Avon had 18 points (nine goals, nine assists) for the Phantoms but at 21 years of age still has some time and room to develop into something more than an AHL player.
As for the other two players on AHL contracts returning to Lehigh Valley, Brendan Furry, 26, had a brief stint with the Phantoms in 2022-23, playing three games but had three points (goal, two assists). In 57 game last year Furry had 18 points in 57 games. Again, at that age Furry might get a call up if the bottom six or fourth line of the Flyers get severely banged up. Otherwise it would be highly unlikely Furry is near the top of the Phantoms list to end up getting spot time with the big club.
As for forward Jacob Gaucher, he seems to be in a little better position than Furry being only 23 years old. Gaucher had 68 points in 66 games for Baie-Comeau in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League back in 2021-22. The following year, spent in Reading of the East Coast Hockey League, Gaucher had similar stats with 61 points in 71 games. Last season was primarily spent in Lehigh Valley where he didn’t dazzle with 16 points in 58 games.
With now 37 players left, there’s more chances for the likes of Jett Luchanko, Oliver Bonk and Hunter McDonald to showcase their talent with what should be a better tier of primarily NHL-level players. Whether they’re able to get into position where it’s a very difficult choice to cut them is anyone’s guess. The fact they’re still here though is a sign they’re on the right path.
The Flyers fourth exhibition game takes place Saturday night against Boston at Wells Fargo Center.
-1719631508-q80.webp "Oilers sign G Calvin Pickard to two-year extension")
