The Flyers may have a fourth player at the 4 Nations Face-Off.
A team source for Sweden recently confirmed to The Inquirer that Sam Ersson is next in the pecking order if any of the nation’s three selected goalies cannot participate due to injury. And things are not looking good for Tre Kronor.
Projected starter Jacob Markström left Wednesday’s New Jersey Devils game with an injury after Boston’s Justin Brazeau slid into his crease. According to ESPN, Markström suffered a knee sprain and will miss some time, which could fall into the two-week tournament.
» READ MORE: Flyers takeaways vs. Red Wings: Sam Ersson steady again; Couturier line clicks in OT win
Meanwhile, Ottawa Senators netminder Linus Ullmark recently traveled with the team but according to The Athletic, he was placed on long-term injured reserve on Thursday. He has missed the past 13 games with a back injury suffered on Dec. 22. Minnesota’s Filip Gustavsson is the third goalie on Sweden’s initial roster.
“Absolutely,” Sweden coach Sam Hallam told Sportbladet about Ersson’s potential addition after watching him battle back from a two-goal deficit in the Flyers 4-3 win against the Florida Panthers on Jan. 13.
Ersson has represented Sweden before, most recently at the 2024 World Championships. He went 3-1-0 with a 1.44 goals-against average and .891 save percentage. Hallam was Sweden’s the coach in the tournament.
After a poor start to the season, Ersson has been red-hot coming out of the Christmas break. The 25-year-old was 14-7-2 with a .892 save percentage for the season entering Thursday’s game against the New York Rangers, including a 7-1-0 record with a 1.56 GAA and .935 save percentage since Dec. 28. He had won his previous five starts before allowing five goals on 36 shots in the Flyers’ 6-1 loss to Rangers.
The fact that Ersson would be Sweden’s first alternate doesn’t come as a huge surprise, as he is the only other Swedish full-time starting goalie. Ersson’s top competition among active NHL goalies would be Ottawa third-stringer Anton Forsberg and Chicago’s Arvid Söderblom.
» READ MORE: Travis Konecny, Travis Sanheim, and Rasmus Ristolainen named to 4 Nations Face-Off rosters
The best-on-best international tournament begins on Feb. 12 in Montreal with Sweden facing off against Canada. Flyers forward Travis Konecny and defenseman Travis Sanheim will play for the Canadians. Defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen will suit up for Finland and coach John Tortorella will serve as an assistant on Mike Sullivan’s USA Hockey staff.