A roster move that felt like it had been brewing became a reality Monday.
The Flyers sent Bobby Brink to AHL affiliate Lehigh Valley. To fill his spot, the club called up Olle Lycksell.
Brink, a rookie winger, was a healthy scratch for four of the Flyers' last six games. On Sunday, with the Flyers missing Owen Tippett (lower-body injury), Brink still didn't draw into the lineup. Head coach John Tortorella went with Nicolas Deslauriers' size and experience, while playing 11 forwards and seven defensemen.
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Over his last five games, Brink had played only 10:34 minutes per game.
More: Relating to Brink, Farabee gives rookie teammate advice from his experience
The 22-year-old made the Flyers' season-opening roster with an eye-opening preseason. He has put up 18 points (seven goals, 11 assists) in 38 games, but his role had started to diminish this month.
NHL
If Tortorella wasn't playing him, the Flyers had to make a decision. Playing is imperative for Brink's development.
"If some of the young players, we feel it’s a bit of a struggle after a certain amount games or this and that, I do believe we’re going to see quite a few guys from Lehigh and just alternating them through," Tortorella said before the start of the season. "If guys play, they stay. If they don’t and it’s a struggle, we do not want to stop them from growing by force-feeding the National Hockey League to them. Those are decisions we’re going to have to make probably after each and every game."
Lycksell is back with the Flyers for the second time this season. The 24-year-old forward played 6:11 minutes in his season debut during early December.
For the Phantoms, he has scored a team-leading 16 goals to go along with 12 assists through 33 games.
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