Flyers finalize roster, keep Bobrovsky

With the season just a few days away, the Flyers finalized their roster, sending goalie Johan Backlund, defensemen Marc-Andre Bourdon and Erik Gustafsson, and forwards Jon Kalinski, David Laliberte and Ben Holmstrom to the Phantoms. With Bill Guerin also not given a contract, the Flyers roster has been whittled down to 25 players, with Michael Leighton and Ian Laperriere still likely to be placed on long term injury reserve.

The only player that could be considered a surprise to make the team is rookie goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, who used strong play in the preseason to take the backup job from Johan Backlund, who will have to clear waivers before he can play for the Phantoms. Of course, Bobrovsky would have never made the team had Leighton not been injured, so we'll see if the rookie can make a strong enough impression to stick around for the entire season.

Here is the Flyers roster at the start of the season:

Forwards (13): Daniel Briere, Mike Richards, Jeff Carter, Scott Hartnell, Nikolay Zherdev, James van Riemsdyk, Jody Shelley, Claude Giroux, Ville Leino, Blair Betts, Daniel Carcillo, Darroll Powe, Andreas Nodl

Defensemen (8): Kimmo Timonen, Chris Pronger, Andrej Meszaros, Matt Carle, Braydon Coburn, Sean O'Donnell, Matt Walker, Oskars Bartulis

Goalies: (2): Brian Boucher, Sergei Bobrovsky

Likely on LTIR: Michael Leighton, Ian Laperriere