From Sweden to South Philly, Samuel Ersson continues to impress
Falun, Sweden is about a three-hour drive northwest of Stockholm. It is a little smaller than Wilkes-Barre, but like most places in Sweden is infinitely more picturesque. Winter sports are a way of life in that part of the world, and of course hockey plays a big part in that.
But not many from Falun make it to the National Hockey League, which is part of the reason Samuel Erssons arrival in the NHL special for him. Only Jesper and Adam Boqvist, the brothers who play for New Jersey and Columbus respectively, have reached the NHL recently. It seems that Ersson is the first goalkeeper to do so.
“Obviously it’s a proud moment, not only for my family, but where I come from,” Ersson said. “My old hockey team where I grew up, it’s fun for them to see that someone from my town can reach the level that I have right now. I try to enjoy it and live in the moment.”
The road started in Falun, but then spent a good bit in Gävle, about 75 minutes due east, where he played several seasons in the Brynas HC system. He rode out the pandemic there, getting more games in than most non-NHL players; he made 42 appearances in the 2020–21 season in Sweden’s top division, his third following his fifth-round selection by the Flyers in 2018.
But for all European goaltenders, there comes a time when he must transition to North America and the smaller ice surface used by the NHL. Ersson made that trade in the summer of 2021 and was slated to join the Lehigh Valley Phantoms a year ago. But then the injury bug hit, and Ersson was limited to just five games in 2021-22, not an ideal situation for someone trying to make such an adjustment.
To his credit, Ersson hit last summer and had a very strong development camp followed by an equally strong training camp, one where head coach John Tortorella thought Ersson was the best goaltender in camp, albeit a statement with Carter Hart having missed all of camp with a nagging injury.
Ersson played 18 games with Lehigh Valley and continued to figure out the new environment, until circumstances dictated his call. The Flyers were going on a road trip and Felix Sandström was under the weather. It meant that Ersson was now working on that transition at the NHL level.
“It’s getting close,” he said. “It’s a transition. I have to get used to the level of play and the speed of the game up here. I feel like I’m getting better every game, and I like the way I’m playing more and more.”
The first game was really a bit of a shock. Ersson got the start in Carolina two days before Christmas, and it didn’t go as he had pictured in his head. The Hurricanes sprinted to a 5-2 lead eight minutes into the second period, and Tortorella reluctantly ended Ersson’s night early.
But fate works in funny ways sometimes. Later in the second period, Hart was injured on a collision in his crease. It sent Ersson back for the final 22 minutes, which was a complete turnaround – he looked like the goalkeeper from training camp who had so impressed Tortorella.
Although the game was still a loss, those 22 minutes may have completely changed Ersson’s trajectory. Instead of leaving Carolina to spend the Christmas break lamenting that the game’s first half served as his NHL resume to that point, he achieved instant redemption. It earned him more starts on the subsequent West Coast tour, where he was able to further establish himself. He almost got his first NHL suspension in Anaheim, and eventually got it a couple of weeks later in Buffalo. But if he doesn’t come back for that Carolina game, who knows where that trajectory would have taken him.
“It’s definitely important to look back on it, come in and kind of settle in and slow things down a little bit more, find my game at this level,” Ersson said. “That happens and you have to deal with it. When I look back on it now, I’m a little happy. It’s adversity. I can show the team and the organization that I can handle adversity, and that’s very important.”
Ersson has continued to ride the NHL train, at least for now, though the organization will have to make a decision soon — Sandstrom is in Lehigh Valley on a conditioning assignment, but he would have to clear waivers to be there once it’s over. Ersson does not need to clear exceptions to go back to the Phantoms. So the Flyers must either send Ersson down, roll the dice on Sandström, or carry three goaltenders. Whatever happens, Ersson is not focused on any of it.
“I can’t control everything around me,” he said. “I can only control how I play and take it to the games I get to play. So that’s what I focus on.”
As for Ersson, he has done everything he can to remain on the NHL roster. He has won five of his first seven NHL games after Tuesday’s win over Anaheim. So for now, he’ll be comfortable with where his career has taken him. He just hopes it leads to a point where his parents can come watch him play — they came over from Sweden in December and saw him with Lehigh Valley, but had just returned home when his NHL call-up came.
“Hopefully, maybe they can come over a little later,” Ersson said. “It’s something you want to share with them as well. They have such a big part in me getting to this level. So you really want to share with everybody.”