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How Flyers' Fourth-line Carousel Has Continued With Andy Andreoff Called Up, Mikhail Vorobyev Sent Down

The Flyers have given their kids a chance.

Now they're ready to give Andy Andreoff a shot.

The Flyers called up the 28-year-old forward Friday and loaned Mikhail Vorobyev back to AHL affiliate Lehigh Valley. Head coach Alain Vigneault and general manager Chuck Fletcher clearly didn't think Vorobyev showed enough to stay with the Flyers as he was sent back to the Phantoms after one game.

The Flyers want more consistent energy in limited minutes from Vorobyev, a 22-year-old center who has played six games with the club this season. The 2015 fourth-round pick played fourth-line center Thursday, a position the Flyers have opened up for the taking through 15 games.

"Our fourth line played seven, eight minutes, they're important minutes," Vigneault said after Thursday night's 3-2 OT win over the Canadiens. "I thought that line tried to get pucks deep and tried to spend some time in the other end."

The Flyers have played seven rookies so far this season. Vorobyev, Carsen Twarynski, Connor Bunnaman and German Rubtsov have seen auditions on the bottom unit.

Andreoff will offer the Flyers experience and positional versatility. He has played 242 career AHL games and 159 in the NHL.

"A key to my game is just being ready to play any position," Andreoff said during training camp. "Wherever they throw me out.

"They play tough, they play hard. ... That's my type of game."

His game has a blend of skill and physicality. If anything, he'll understand what the Flyers are looking for on their fourth line. The team also won't mind if he's its extra forward, rather than carrying a younger prospect and sitting him.

With the AHL's Syracuse Crunch last season, Andreoff scored 55 points (26 goals, 29 assists) and totaled 150 penalty minutes. Through 10 games with the Phantoms this season, he had seven points (three goals, four assists). Per Lehigh Valley radio broadcaster Bob Rotruck, Andreoff had been the Phantoms' most consistent forward.

"He's a physical, competitive, team-oriented kind of guy," Fletcher said during training camp. "There are some different elements he brings. ... We feel he's clearly a guy who can play."

Andreoff or Michael Raffl will center the Flyers' fourth line. Both can play center or winger. If Andreoff plays and shows well in a tough back-to-back set on the road this weekend against the Maple Leafs Saturday (7 p.m. ET/NBCSP) and Bruins Sunday (7 p.m. ET/NBCSP), he could stick for longer than just a few games.

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