Flyers’ Prospects: York & Zamula Called Up, World Juniors Breakdown, Olympics

The Philadelphia Flyers are home from their West Coast road trip, but not everybody made it back Covid-free. With several players now in protocol, it’s time for prospects to plug lineup holes, especially on the blue line.

On the eve of his 21st birthday, defenseman Cam York played his first-ever NHL game in his hometown of Anaheim on Tuesday night.

Added to the taxi squad on Dec. 28, York drew into the lineup after Ivan Provorov was added to the Covid list — big skates to fill. Paired with Justin Braun and part of Philadelphia’s starting lineup, York delivered three shot attempts, three hits and two blocked shots in 20:20 of ice time — a solid performance.

Last season, York appeared in three games for the Flyers. He’s still looking for his first NHL point.

On Wednesday, Travis Sanheim and Travis Konecny became the latest additions to the Flyers’ Covid list. Egor Zamula and Connor Bunnaman were subsequently recalled from the Lehigh Valley Phantoms and placed on the taxi squad.

Zamula looks set to make his season debut when the Flyers visit the red-hot Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday.

Signed as a free agent by the Flyers in 2020, Zamula is another 21-year-old. He has spent the better part of the last two seasons with the Phantoms, and suited up for two games with the Flyers late last year.

This season, Zamula is one of Lehigh Valley’s top-scoring defensemen, with three goals and 14 points in 25 games.

Claude Giroux, Jackson Cates and Nick Seeler are also on the Covid protocol list.

World Juniors Prospect Update: Elliot Desnoyers

Last week’s cancellation of the 2022 World Junior Championship due to Covid-19 issues put an abrupt end to a big event for three Flyers prospects — Canadian forward Elliot Desnoyers, Swedish defenseman Emil Andrae and Swiss blueliner Brian Zanetti.

A fifth-round pick by the Flyers in 2020, Desnoyers’ stock has risen substantially since his selection, and his selection to the highly competitive Canadian team was a significant feather in his cap.

On Dec. 28, Desnoyers helped 16-year-old phenom Connor Bedard to a four-goal night in Canada’s 11-2 win over Austria, centering Canada’s fourth line. He went 15-for-19 in the faceoff circle and picked up three assists in the game.

In Canada’s tournament opener against Czechia, Desnoyers logged 10:22 and was 5-for-9 on the dot. He played on a line with big New York Rangers’ prospect Will Cullye and the Arizona Coyotes’ first-rounder, Dylan Guenther.

World Juniors Prospect Update: Emil Andrae

Over in Group B, Sweden matched the Canadians with a pair of wins in their first two games. The Swedes knocked off the powerhouse Russians by a 6-3 score, then shut out Slovakia, 3-0.

On a Swedish team that also featured high-profile first-round picks like defenseman Simon Edvinsson (6th overall, Detroit, 2021), Alexander Holtz (7th overall, New Jersey, 2020) and William Eklund (7th overall, San Jose, 2021), the Flyers’ smooth-skating defense prospect Emil Andrae was named captain.

In his two-game showcase, Andrae showed off his poise and his puck-moving skills while tallying a goal and an assist in 22:46 of action against Russia. He led his team with 23:22 of ice time in the shutout against the Slovaks.

Drafted 54th overall in 2020, Andrae’s game has impressed Flyers’ development coach Kjell Samuelsson.

“He plays with a lot of intensity and he works hard,” Samuelsson told Jordan Hall of NBC Sports Philadelphia on the eve of the World Junior tournament. “When you watch him play, you can’t say there’s ever any laziness in him at all. He never takes a shift off, he’s going full out all the time.”

Samuelsson also likes how Andrae’s game is evolving.

“He’s learned how to manage his games so it’s not all about offense, and is also playing a little bit simpler in his puck-moving game,” he said. “He’s not looking away the first pass option, he’s moving it up. Be simple but effective in that area. When he was younger, and this is like all younger players, they look away the simple play and try to make a more spectacular pass. He has learned a lot in that.”

World Juniors Prospect Update: Brian Zanetti

Over on Team Switzerland, we find the Flyers’ fourth-round pick from the 2021 draft, defenseman Brian Zanetti.

Officially, the Swiss went 1-1-0 in their two tournament games. But the team only got onto the ice once, dropping a 4-2 decision to Russia. Their win was a 1-0 ‘forfeit’ on Dec. 28, after Team USA reported two positive Covid tests. The tournament was cancelled one day later.

Zanetti was one of just two NHL-drafted players on Switzerland’s roster this year — and the only one to suit up for a game after original captain Simon Knak (Nashville) tested positive for Covid before the tournament began. Against Russia, Zanetti logged 18:23 of ice time on Switzerland’s top defense pairing and finished the game with an even plus-minus.

Noah Cates Could Be A U.S. Olympian

With last month’s announcement that NHL players won’t be playing at the Winter Olympics in February, national federations are now scrambling to implement their backup plans.

USA Hockey has been rolling along nicely, naming former New York Rangers bench boss David Quinn as its head coach for Beijing.

On Thursday, Frank Seravalli and Chris Peters of Daily Faceoff released a preliminary list of U.S. players in consideration:

Of interest to Flyers fans — forward Noah Cates. He’s currently a senior at the University of Minnesota-Duluth, and has served as his team’s captain for the last two years.

Cates was selected by the Flyers in the fifth round in 2017. He won a silver medal with Team USA at the 2019 World Championship, as well as an NCAA championship later that spring. His older brother Jackson, of course, signed with the Flyers as a free agent last April. He tallied his first-career NHL goal against Montreal on Dec. 16, and landed in Covid protocol last Monday.

The Olympic tournament can’t be a full do-over for World Juniors, but a good number of those players are believed to be in consideration for various teams. The U.S. list above, as you can see, includes American standouts Matty Beniers, Jake Sanderson and Brock Faber. Canada has reportedly secured a commitment from 2021 first-overall pick Owen Power.

Will Andrae be on Sweden’s radar? The Swedes have plenty of veteran homegrown talent from their own leagues to draw from, but Andrae’s leadership and hockey sense could make him a possibility. Switzerland also boasts a high-level national league. That means a roster spot for 18-year-old Zanetti is probably unlikely.

Because he signed his NHL entry-level contract with the Flyers last May, Desnoyers is ineligible for selection by Canada.