Oct 9, 2008 - 8:26 PM
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The 19th overall pick of the 2008 draft, Sbisa saw his chances of making the team improve after fellow defenseman Ryan Parent was sidelined following shoulder surgery. Parent and veteran blue-liner Derian Hatcher were placed on injured reserve on Thursday.
Sbisa spent last season with Lethbridge of the Western Hockey League, recording six goals and 27 assists in 62 contests.
An Italian-born native of Switzerland, Sbisa participated in the 2008 CHL Top Prospects Game and represented the Swiss at the 2008 World Junior Championship.
Also on Thursday, the Flyers assigned goaltender Jean-Sebastien Aubin to the Philadelphia Phantoms, the team's American Hockey League affiliate.
The 31-year-old netminder went 0-3-0 with a 2.73 goals-against average in four preseason games. Aubin signed with the Flyers as a free agent on September 18.
The 36-year-old Hatcher suffered a fractured right tibia against the Boston Bruins on March 15 and missed the final 10 games of the regular season, as well as the first two contests of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals against the Washington Capitals. In 44 games last campaign, the veteran recorded two goals, five assists and 33 penalty minutes.
A native of Michigan, Hatcher was an All-Star in 1997, helped the Dallas Stars to the Stanley Cup championship two years later and represented the United States at both the 1998 and 2006 Winter Olympics. The 6-5, 235-pounder has registered 80 goals, 251 assists and 1,581 penalty minutes in 1,045 career games with the Stars, Detroit Red Wings and Flyers.
Drafted 18th overall by the Nashville Predators in 2005, the 21-year-old Parent was held without a point in 22 games with the Flyers last season.
