Flyers make 20 cuts, could lose 6-6 winger to waivers originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
Isaac Ratcliffe was among the Flyers’ 20 training camp roster cuts Friday afternoon.
There’s a chance the 2017 second-round draft pick won’t be in the organization Saturday afternoon.
Ratcliffe, along with Linus Sandin, must clear waivers in order to report to AHL affiliate Lehigh Valley. If a team is to claim one of them, it must add the player to its NHL roster. The club can’t send a claimed player to its AHL affiliate without passing him through waivers again.
It’s plausible teams could be interested in Ratcliffe. He’s a 6-foot-6 winger who put a solid 10-game NHL audition on tape last season. The 23-year-old had a goal, three assists, a minus-1 mark, 14 shots, 16 hits and eight blocked shots in 10:45 minutes per game for the Flyers. He played mostly on the fourth line and saw one game on the first line.
“When I came up here last year, I thought I did pretty well,” Ratcliffe said Tuesday. “I showed a lot of energy, I kind of brought a physical element to my game, as well. I think that’s kind of something I’ve been trying to do for a long time now, too. To bring the energy to the club like that, it’s something I’ve got to work on consistently obviously. That’s what’s going to keep me up here for the long haul.”
In 59 games with the Phantoms last season, Ratcliffe recorded 11 goals and 17 assists. Before turning pro, he had a 50-goal junior season in 2018-19 with the OHL’s Guelph Storm. He has worked on developing a bottom-six type of game at the pro level.
“You come to this level, you’re playing against men, so you need to find your man’s game,” Lehigh Valley head coach Ian Laperriere said Tuesday. “Being physical on the forecheck with a good stick. He’s 6-foot-6, he’s a big man, he’s got a long reach, use it. He needs to be strong on his feet. I felt like by the end of the year last year, he was that man that everybody was hoping, that he was going in that direction.”
Ratcliffe, a restricted free agent last offseason, signed a one-year, two-way, $813,750 contract in July. He was drafted by the Flyers’ previous regime of Ron Hextall and Chris Pryor.
Sandin was also an RFA last offseason and signed a one-year, two-way, $750,000 contract in May.
While Ratcliffe and Sandin must clear waivers, the following 18 players were assigned to Lehigh Valley:
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Elliot Desnoyers
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Zayde Wisdom
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Cal O’Reilly
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Garrett Wilson
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Linus Hogberg
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Wyatte Wylie
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Mason Millman
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Cooper Zech
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Jordy Bellerive
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Jacob Gaucher
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Charlie Gerard
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Alex Kile
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Tye McSorley
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Colin Felix
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Will MacKinnon
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Jonathan Lemieux
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Nolan Maier
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Tyler Wall
The Flyers’ roster is at 45, including injured players. The team has three preseason games left. It opens the regular season Oct. 13.
Below are the players remaining in camp.
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