The name Sandin is well-known to those in Leafs Nation, of course because of 2018 1st-rounder Rasmus Sandin, but it is also generating some buzz in Philadelphia of late in the form of Linus Sandin, the elder brother of Rasmus.
Linus Sandin, 25, has earned himself a much deserved call-up from the AHL's Lehigh Valley Phantoms and has joined the Philadelphia Flyers' taxi squad on Monday according to AHL Insider Tony Androckitis.
Sandin is an undrafted forward who has played the bulk of his career in Sweden, but came over to North America last year, notching 10 points in his first 26-game season in the AHL for the Flyers' AHL affiliates. So far this season, after a bit of a slow start, Sandin has kicked it up a notch, producing 7 points in 13 games, including 5 goals over his last 7 games.
There's no guarantee that Linus Sandin will get an NHL look during his stint on the Flyers' taxi squad, but the fact that he was even considered speaks to the level of his game at this stage in his career.
We do know that the NHL tends to give the benefit of the doubt to a lot of players in the same bloodline as other NHL stars and prospects. We've seen it in the past with the Gretzky's, the Courtnall's, the Sutter's and the Neidermayer's and we're seeing it now with the Hughes', the Subban's and the Staal's, just to name a few.
