Philadelphia Flyers‘ 3rd year net minder Anthony Stolarz(41) finally received his first NHL start, a win, after being recalled and sent back what seemed like a weekly trip through 2015/2016 and less as a rookie without so much as a sniff.
After playing a career high 47 AHL games with affiliate Lehigh Valley Phantoms last season (21-18-7) he came out of the gate strong posting a 6-2 mark with a 2.39 GAA and .927 SV% and one shutout.
In his debut, the giant-sized goalie stopped 29 of 32 shots for a 3.00 GAA and .906 SV% for a 5-3 victory.
The 22-year old is in the final run of his entry level deal and set to become a restricted free agent at the conclusion of the current calendar.
It’s very likely they will extend him for at minimum another short look, but if he can play more games with the parent club could be looking at a longer term and possible one-way contract.
Anthony Stolarz (41)
Philadelphia Flyers‘ 2nd round pick in the 2012 draft (#45 overall) gargantuan 6’6″ 232 lbs. goaltender Anthony Stolarz(41) is starting to grow into his game.
Taking a somewhat crazy but cool path through juniors first with Corpus Christi Ice Rays of the NAHL, followed by a year at University Of Nebraska-Omaha before settling in for a couple of seasons with London Knights, where he won the 2013 OHL Champinship and had a league best SV% at .926 in 2013/2014.
Reassigned to be the starting goalie with affiliate Lehigh Valley Phantoms, his workload looks to almost double from his rookie season, when he played in 31 AHL games.
He’s already tended the cage for 29 appearances in the current campaign giving his just over .500 team a chance to win every contest with a 15-10-3 record, 2.45 GAA and .915 SV%.
The just turned 22-year old has been recalled on numerous occasions without making his NHL debut but that moment can’t be too far off at this point.