Patrick WilliamsTheAHL.com Features Writer
This is what the Lehigh Valley Phantoms would look like if the gang (mostly) got back together.
The Phantoms defeated the Belleville Senators, 3-1, on Saturday and won 6-1 in Toronto on Sunday. Tied 1-1 in the second half against the Marlies, Oliver Bonk scored a shorthanded goal – his first goal as a professional player – to put the Phantoms ahead before scoring four more goals in the third.
Carl Grundströmwho had posted 15 points (six goals, nine assists) in 19 games with the Phantoms, moved up to the Philadelphia Flyers and produced seven goals in 14 games there. Rookie Denver Barkeywho gave the Phantoms 16 points (seven goals, nine assists) in 26 games, remains with the Flyers and has settled in well.
That’s two big losses for Lehigh Valley, but they’re back to a more reasonable version of themselves. Forward Alex Bumba rejoined the team on Saturday after missing four games. Anthony Richard returned to compete against Canada in the Spengler Cup. And on New Year’s Day, the Flyers made their fourth trade of the season with direct effects on the Phantoms, sending a defenseman. Egor Zamula to the Pittsburgh Penguins going forward Phil Tomasinowho brings 218 games of NHL experience to Allentown.
There is also a goalkeeper Alexey Kolosovnamed the Howies Hockey Tape/AHL Player of the Week after stopping 60 of 61 shots in two starts last week.
First year head coach John Snowden his club sits in third place in the Atlantic Division thanks to its current six-game scoring streak (5-0-1-0). That run included shootout wins over Hartford and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and a shutout of Hershey in Dec. 31.
The Phantoms also benefit from a stable situation in Philadelphia, where the parent club is 22-12-7 at the midpoint of its schedule. With the Flyers in a good spot, the top of the Lehigh Valley roster has had less disruption than before.
But that doesn’t mean Philadelphia’s assistant general manager Alyn McCauley he was not aggressive about the re-formation of the Phantoms.
At the beginning of this season they got defensive players Max Guenette, Christian Kyrou again Roman Schmidt recreating the Lehigh Valley back end. And the acquisition of Tomasino, a 2019 first-round pick by the Nashville Predators, also gives away a point-per-game player from the rival Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins’ roster. The 24-year-old Tomasino fits a clear offensive plan for the Flyers, an organization that has long been willing to make aggressive moves through both trades and free agency. It’s a classic low-risk strategy, one that could be bought from a player who recorded 24 points in 61 NHL games last season.
Kolosov, who turns 24 on Sunday, had a solid first season between Philadelphia and Lehigh Valley in 2024-25. This season, Philadelphia has a clear top tandem after signing Dan Vladar as a free agent fill-in Samuel Ersson. That mysterious absence from Kolosov’s role gave him a chance to focus on his development with the Phantoms, and he responded with a 9-8-1 record, 2.51 GAA and .910 save percentage in the rookie rotation. Carson Bjarnason.
Now comes the part of the season that really tests the development and shows what possibilities there are. With seven points left in the lead in the Atlantic Division, the Phantoms are back on the road this weekend where they will face New England in two games, where they will face Springfield and Providence. They currently look like a strong team to join the Calder Cup Playoff field in April, but they haven’t made a significant postseason run since their 2018 Eastern Conference finals charge.
Philadelphia has made development and wins at the AHL level a key part of rebuilding their entire organization. These next three-plus months in the Lehigh Valley will be one step toward achieving those goals.
In the American Hockey League for two decades, TheAHL.com features writer Patrick Williams and currently covers the league for NHL.com and FloSports and is a regular contributor to SiriusXM NHL Network Radio. He was the recipient of the AHL’s James H. Ellery Memorial Award for the league’s top scorer in 2016.
