Flyers place Samuel Ersson on injured reserve; Helge Grans set to make NHL debut

The Philadelphia Flyers announced Monday that goaltender Samuel Ersson has been added to the injured reserve after sustaining a lower-body injury.

Ersson has been sidelined with the ailment for four of the past six games, while on the season he has made 11 appearances in which he has notched a 5-2-2 record with a .902 save percentage and 2.70 goals-against average.

The 25-year-old Ersson is in his third campaign with the Flyers, having assumed the starting duties a year ago. Ersson finished the 2023-24 season with a winning record of 23-19-7 coupled with an .890 save percentage and 2.82 goals-against average coming in 51 appearances.

In Ersson’s absence, the Flyers and head coach John Tortorella will turn to netminder Aleksei Kolosov when the team takes on the Colorado Avalanche on Monday. A 2021 third-round draft choice of the Flyers, the Belarusian-born goaltender is in his first season with Philadelphia. He remains winless through three appearances in which he has combined for an .863 save percentage and 3.92 goals-against average. Kolosov has also seen four contests this season with the AHL’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms in which he has notched a 1-2-1 showing with an .875 save percentage and a 3.29 goals-against average.

Meanwhile, the Philadelphia blue line on Monday will see the debut of defenseman Helge Grans, who has been recalled on an emergency basis from the Phantoms. Grans has skated the past two seasons with the Phantoms, including the 2024-25 campaign in which he has registered three points through 14 outings. The Swedish rearguard was originally chosen 35th overall by the Los Angeles Kings in the 2020 NHL Draft before he was moved to Philadelphia in 2023 as part of a three-way trade involving the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Grans has been recalled in place of fellow blue-liner Emil Andrae who will not play Monday versus Colorado due to a mid-body injury.