Transactions: Five More Recalled to Flyers

Joining Black Aces Squad for Stanley Cup Playoffs

April 22, 2026

Allentown, PA – The Philadelphia Flyers have recalled five players from the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.

Goaltender – Carson Bjarnason
Defenseman – Helge Grans
Defenseman – Hunter McDonald
Forward – Oscar Eklind
Forward – Jacob Gaucher

Bjarnason, 20, finished his professional rookie season and is the youngest goaltender in the AHL. In 32 games this season, Bjarnason went 14-11-4, 3.43, .877. He also played in two games with Reading in the ECHL going 1-1-0, 3.57, .881. The 6’4″ left-catching goaltender was a second-round selection of the Flyers in the 2023 Draft. Bjarnason was recalled to the Philadlephia Flyers in February but did not dress in any games. The Carberry, Manitoba native played four seasons with the Brandon Wheat Kings of the WHL going 75-61-3, 3.14, .903 in 156 games played and also represented Canada at the 2025 World Junior tournament.

Grans, 23, is a 6’4″ right-shooting defenseman from Ljungby, Sweden. He scored 3-11-14 in 64 games with the Phantoms this season. The second-round selection of the Los Angeles Kings in 2020 is in his fifth season of professional hockey including three years with the Phantoms and two with the Ontario Reign totaling 298 career AHL games amassing 21-57-78. He also played in six games with the Flyers in the 2024-25 season recording one assist. He played in his 300th career professional game on April 11.

McDonald, 23, is a 6’4″ left-shooting defenseman from Fairport, NY who was a Round 6 selection of the Flyers in 2022 out of Northeastern University. He completed his second full season of professional hockey notching six assists in 65 games with the Phantoms while also making his NHL debut in Philadelphia’s regular-season finale on April 14, 2026 in which he recorded an assist. For his career, McDonald has played in 147 games with the Phantoms scoring 4-23-27.

Eklind, 27, finished his second professional season in North America scoring 9-16-25 in 49 games with the Phantoms. In his two years with Lehigh Valley, the 6’5″ right-shooting winger has played in 113 games scoring 14-23-37. He signed as a free agent with the Flyers in 2024 following three seasons in the Swedish Hockey League with Lulea IF and Brynas IF Gavle. This is the first NHL recall Eklind.

Gaucher, 25, is a 6’3″ right-shooting center from Longueuil, QUE who has played for the PHantoms for three seasons. Gaucher has scored 20 goals in back-to-back seasons finishing second on the team in 2025-26 behnd only Lane Pederson while tying for the team lead two years ago in 2024-25. Gaucher played in four games with the Flyers in the 2025-26 season and has played in eight NHL games with Philadelphia in his career. Gaucher has scored 48-42-90 in 198 career games with the Phantoms and has two hat tricks placing him in an elite group of only six players to score multiple trifectas with the Orange and Black. The older brother of Nathan Gaucher of the Anaheim Ducks and San Diego Gulls, Jacob Gaucher signed as a free agent with the Phantoms out of Baie-Comeau Drakkar in the QMJHL. He received an NHL contract midway through the 2024-25 season in January and made his NHL debut a few days later.

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