Eric Wellwood's latest trip to the National Hockey League could be a short one.

The Philadelphia Flyers called up the winger from the Adirondack Phantoms Tuesday morning in advance of their game against the New York Rangers.

Phantoms coach Terry Murray said he couldn't speak for Flyers management, but it was his understanding Wellwood was called up to be the Flyers' 13th forward, insurance in case one of the other 12 could not go. He will likely stick around until former Phantom Matt Read returns from a rib injury, Flyers inside reporter Anthony SanFilippo reported, which could be as early as this weekend.

Barring the calamitous, Murray said it was his understanding Wellwood would be sent down to play in Adirondack's three-in-three this weekend against Springfield, Connecticut and Albany.

Murray was not concerned about only having 18 healthy skaters in practice for the time being (12 forwards), and also said he was unaware of any plans to bring an extra player into the fold -- either through a trade, or a free-agent signing -- as the team begins its final 21 games of the season.

“It’s not a part of any conversation I’ve been involved in," Murray said. "I think right now … we want to play our players that are here. Just keep within the system that we have, keep within the organization and play these guys. In my opinion, they’ve shown growth from the start of the year. Maybe not as a team, per se, but as an individual we’ve seen players getting better and we just want to keep that going.”

Until next time,
MC