As the NHL announces its return to international competition, the Philadelphia Flyers netminder has a chance to put himself in consideration.
The NHL announced on Friday that it will send players to the Olympics for the first time since 2014. In February 2026, the world’s greatest will meet in Milan, Italy, to battle for gold. The NHL also revealed that in 2025, All-Star Weekend will be replaced by a four-team international competition involving Canada, the United States, Finland, and Sweden.
Samuel Ersson has had a tumultuous year, to say the least. The Flyers netminder began the season unproven, having only played 16 NHL games. Yet, halfway through the season, Ersson has been given the same amount of time in the crease as Carter Hart and has performed at the same level. And now that Hart has been moved to the non-roster list, Ersson has the net.
Ersson, at 24 years old, is still improving and putting up respectable numbers in his early days as an NHL goaltender. He leads all rookie goaltenders in victories (12) and is second in goals against average (2.60). Even while his.898 save percentage isn’t particularly impressive, he has been bombarded with shots, ranking second among rookie goalies with 536 stops. His excellent rookie season earned him a spot on the NHL All-Rookie Team, and with the additional reps he will receive, his name is in the running for the Calder Trophy.
Because Hart is no longer with the team, Ersson will receive the vast majority of starts going forward, and the Flyers organisation believes in him.
There are obviously more experienced goalkeepers who may start ahead of him. Calgary’s Jacob Markstrom has had a strong season and is a confirmed No. 1. Linus Ullmark of Boston is a Vezina Trophy winner and one half of a great pair that has helped the Bruins lead the Eastern Conference for the previous two years. Apart from those two, the third goaltender place could be up for grabs.
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