When the Flyers announced that Cam York would miss another short stretch of time with an upper-body injury on December 4, it seemed like the most likely outcome was that the team would just reinsert Yegor Zamula to fill the momentary void, and call up someone from Lehigh Valley with past NHL experience to sit as the seventh defender,
But on December 6, the Flyers made the somewhat surprising decision to call up the 22-year old Ty Murchison instead. Murchison had played 21 games with the Phantoms, amassing a goal and four points after making his AHL debut late last year. He brings physicality and 6-foot-2, 207 pound frame to a defensive corps that has skewed a bit on the smaller side, especially in the absence of Rasmus Ristolainen.
But it turned out that this was not just a paper transaction in order to have another body in case of emergency or further injuries; the front office and Rick Tocchet wanted to give the former Arizona State Sun Devil a real look, resulting in Murchison making his NHL debut in the December 9 win over San Jose.
Murchison would then get another game just two days later, when the Flyers lost to the Golden Knights 3-2 in overtime.
When looking at Lehigh Valley’s defensive options, there were much more seemingly straightforward options as a stop gap before you get to Murchison. Adam Ginning was recently waived, but has repeatedly been shuttled back and forth for short periods. Helge Grans also made a brief appearance in the NHL last season, and has a wealth more pro experience than Murchison does.
It seems as if the Flyers are changing how they view their depth options, and they no longer see names like Ginning and Grans as players they need to try and get up to the big club in the case of an injury. Not only does the Murchison promotion say a lot about how impressive the young defender has been in his first full pro season, it also brings into question the futures of players such as Zamula, Ginning, and Grans. Trades for Maxence Guenette, Christian Kyrou, and Roman Schmidt, along with the return of Oliver Bonk from injury, have greatly changed the makeup of the Flyers defensive depth in the minor leagues. Dennis Gilbert and Ethan Samson were both jettisoned, and it seems that Emil Andrae is finally establishing himself as an NHL regular. There is an obvious depth remodel going on, and it doesn’t seem like it’s particularly good news for the NHL futures of players like Grans and Ginning, who have gotten cups of coffee in the NHL and multiple training camps to try and secure an NHL role, to no avail.
Murchison’s spot on the Flyers’ depth chart going forward
With Ristolainen getting ready to return and York coming back any game now, the Flyers will soon have a solid eight man rotation to try and sort through on the back end, with York, Sanheim, Risto, Andrae, Juulsen, Seeler, Drysdale, Murchison and Zamula all fighting for NHL minutes. And while it may be early to proclaim Murchison a part of the future, the quotes coming out of Rick Tocchet seem to suggest that he views him as part of the discussion.
Sounds like there's a good chance Ty Murchison gets another game tomorrow. Tocchet said that "if he keeps playing well for us, we're going to have to make some hard decisions."
— Charlie O'Connor (@charlieo_conn)
December 10, 2025
That all but confirms that Murchison has jumped the queue in terms of depth defenders, at least for now. For the other defensive options stuck in the AHL who are aging out of the “prospect” tag, their time in the organization might be running thin. Ginning, Grans, and even Zamula, all have been given chances to increase their organizational standing throughout their last year and change, and failed to really make an impact.
There is a chance this desire to revamp the defensive depth kicked into overdrive after training camp, when Cam York was ruled out to start the season. There were NHL minutes up for grabs, but none of the players on the bubble really took advantage of the opportunity. It ended up that Ginning, Juulsen, and Gilbert all started on the opening night roster essentially by default. No one stood out in camp or the preseason, and it left the Flyers with some tough decisions to make as they tried and re-orient their AHL affiliate after John Snowden took over as Head Coach.
Ultimately, it seems like the Flyers have chosen to look down some more non-traditional routes in order to find some defensive support, and while it’s only been a handful of games, that strategy seems to bearing fruit. It also signals that there may be some more turnover to come as the Flyers continue to pivot away from their plethora of below-replacement level options.
Source
