A good percentage of coach Terry Murray's Wednesday morning post-practice remarks was dedicated to the Adirondack Phantoms' recent roster moves and the status of two ailing defensemen.

Marc-Andre Bourdon missed his third straight day of practice with an illness, while Oliver Lauridsen missed his second straight day to see a doctor about a lingering upper-body injury.

The Phantoms have another day of practice before they play another three-in-three and Murray didn't rule either Bourdon or Lauridsen out of Friday's game at Rochester, but he didn't say they would play.

“I can’t forsee that you get one practice under your belt and get back into the lineup and feel good,” Murray said. “It might be a little bit more of practice time, a few more days before (Bourdon) can start to play again. With Oliver, he did go to the doctor (Wednesday morning). We’ll get an update on him, see where he’s going to be at. Then we have to decide on the lineup.”

There's a lot of coachspeak in there and Murray said he didn't have any further updates on Bourdon's illness or Lauridsen's appointment. Based on what I've seen this week, I'd list Bourdon as "doubtful" and Lauridsen as "questionable," so set your fantasy AHL lineups accordingly. I'd also list formerly-injured defensemen Jeff Dimmen and newly-called up rookie blueliner Matt Konan as "probable".

Dimmen hurt himself reaching for a puck in Adirondack's Nov. 13 practice and hasn't played since.

"He’s getting better," Murray said. "I talked to Dimmen on the ice after the practice was over there. He participated in all the drills, feeling more comfortable in that twisting motion. That’s what was nagging him all the time. He said he’s good and excited about getting going. He’s ready to play.”

Konan rejoined the team Wednesday morning after getting called up from ECHL Trenton. Murray didn't explicitly say this, but Trenton is traveling to South Carolina and Georgia this weekend and it'd be tough to call someone up on short notice when the team is far away. Bringing him in the fold now provides insurance if some of Adirondack's other defensemen, like Bourdon and Lauridsen, can't go.

“He’s happy about coming back and the possibility of playing games rather than getting all that extra skate at the end of practice,” Murray said. “It’s good for him. It’s an opportunity for him. I know he’s got five games under his belt down there. I understand he played pretty well. We’ll see where he’s at as we get going.” 

It's Konan's second stint with the Phantoms this year. He skated with the team for about a month while recovering from offseason sports hernia surgery, but was never technically on the roster. He was assigned to Trenton in late November and posted one assist in five games with the Titans. They were his first games since his junior team was eliminated from the playoffs last spring.

“It wasn’t bad at all,” Konan said. “I enjoyed it. It was fun to get in some games. Played hard. We lost a couple, but it was good to play again and get my feet under me again.”

Konan skated defensive pairing with Cullen Eddy Wednesday morning. The 21-year-old California native, said that month of practice with the Phantoms has sort of eased his transition to the AHL.

“I think it is a lot easier,” Konan said. “I know the drills. I know the guys. I know how the team works and it’s a little easier, but jumping into some games here might be a little different. I just have to do my best and that’s all they can ask for.” 

The full lines at today's practice:

Zolnierczyk-Couturier-Akeson
McGinn-Schenn-Wellwood
Holmstrom-Roe-Ford
Rinaldo-Bordson-Brown
Ex: Testwuide, Harper

Gustafsson-Syvret
Manning-Dimmen
Eddy-Konan
Lilja*-FitzGerald

* Wednesday was Flyers' defenseman Andreas Lilja's last scheduled day of a rehab assignment with the Phantoms. He didn't seem to be feeling any of the effects of an offseason hip surgery, even faking out Ben Holmstrom with a nifty spin move during a drill. I'd suspect he'll be cleared soon.

A link: This story out of Tampa Bay seems to indicate Phantoms defenseman Jeff Dimmen received his Calder Cup championship ring earlier this week. I'll try and follow up on that tomorrow. My personal favorite aspect of the ring would have to be the fantastic "Wedding Crashers" reference. I assume they didn't have enough room for "Make me a bicycle, clown!" or "Ma! The meat loaf!"

Another link: There's a lot of optimism about the NHL season coming back. I think I'll probably follow this post up with a look at the Flyers' organization depth chart later this afternoon. It's pretty obvious that Schenn and Couturier will go right back to Philadelphia if the season is held, but there are some guys who may have shuffled around a bit through the first months of the AHL campaign.

Until next time,
MC