Flyers goaltender Carter Hart returns to practice while dealing with lower-body injury

From top-line center Sean Couturier’s unrelenting back injury to top-pairing defenseman Ryan Ellis’ multilayered hip issues, Flyers general manager Chuck Fletcher has had a myriad of long-term injury woes to worry about at any given point over the past year. Starting goaltender Carter Hart, at the moment, isn’t contributing to one of them.

Hart returned to training camp on Tuesday after missing Sunday’s practice with an undisclosed lower-body injury. He participated in two sessions of on-ice drills with groups that are not competing in Tuesday night’s road game against the Buffalo Sabres. Each session lasted roughly 50 minutes and Hart took plenty of shots in net.

» READ MORE: John Tortorella directs another punishing practice at Flyers camp

“I was happy to see him out there, and happy to see him with a smile on his face,” Phantoms coach Ian Laperrière said.

However, the Flyers are still being cautious with Hart and his “day-to-day” ailment. According to Fletcher, Hart has not been cleared to return to action and he will not play in Wednesday night’s game at the Wells Fargo Center against the Washington Capitals.

The 24-year-old goaltender saw his season end prematurely in 2021-22 when he suffered a lower-body injury on April 12 against the Capitals and was pulled midgame. Hart did not disclose the nature or severity of the injury during his exit interview, but he said that if the Flyers made the playoffs, he would have been able to play. He played 45 games last season, posting a .905 save percentage and a 3.16 goals-against average.

» READ MORE: Carter Hart ‘fully cooperating’ with NHL investigation into sexual assault allegation involving Canada’s 2018 World Juniors team

Flyers winger Isaac Ratcliffe remembers the good old days of junior hockey when he measured 6-foot-6 at just 19 years old, towering over 16-year-old opponents who hadn’t hit puberty yet. He created space for himself in the offensive zone with ease, not needing to engage much physically, and led the Guelph Storm in scoring in 2017-18 (41 goals, 27 assists).

But those days remain forever frozen in Ratcliffe’s past. They aren’t representative of his professional hockey career, in which the Flyers have required him to fill out his frame and use it effectively against more offensively-skilled, grown men in a bottom-six role. Through 136 AHL games with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms and 10 NHL games over the course of five seasons, Ratcliffe’s identity is still a work in progress.

“I’m not up here full-time yet,” said Ratcliffe, the 35th overall pick in the 2017 NHL draft. “I’m still trying to earn a spot here. I’m trying to earn a roster spot. But I just want to bring that [physicality] consistently.”

Ratcliffe, 23, dealt with a fractured rib and a collapsed lung during the 2020-21 season, which limited him to 22 games with the Phantoms and hindered his development. When he was finally healthy last season, Ratcliffe got a 10-game taste of NHL action from late January to early March. He skated primarily on the fourth line at left wing with bruiser Zack MacEwen at right wing.

While playing with MacEwen, Ratcliffe learned firsthand how to bring energy to the lineup while also making plays to set teammates up for scoring chances. MacEwen’s powerful one-timer and his relentless puck battles in the corners struck Ratcliffe. Halfway through the season, Ratcliffe said he felt like his ability to be consistently physical started to click.

» READ MORE: Flyers GM Chuck Fletcher provides updates on Sean Couturier, Ivan Fedotov and more

“Rat should take a page out of [MacEwen’s] book,” Laperrière said. “He was a good junior player, too. That’s a perfect example on this team. He was a good junior player, put numbers up, and now, he realized that at this level, you need to do something that the guy next to you is not willing to do. What is it? Well, be physical every night.”

On Tuesday night in Buffalo, Ratcliffe and MacEwen will reunite on a line centered by 20-year-old Elliot Desnoyers. With a familiar, inspiring face on his opposite wing, Ratcliffe looks forward to showing that he can a consistent contributor at the NHL level.

“I just want to be a Flyer this year,” Ratcliffe said. “I want to represent what this city represents. I’ve been here for long enough and I’ve been working towards this goal for a long time and I want to wear that orange and black.”

Goalie Troy Grosenick will get the start in goal against the Sabres (7 p.m., streaming on the Sabres’ website). He will play two periods, then Samuel Ersson will take over for him for the third. ... Bobby Brink (hip surgery) participated in a rehab skate alongside J.R. Avon and Ryan Fitzgerald on Tuesday.