One minute, defenseman Emil Andrae isn’t sure he has a steady place on the Flyers’ roster. The next he’s getting high marks from coach Rick Tocchet.

Through the early part of the schedule, it appeared there was an open competition for a spot alongside Noah Juulsen on the third pairing. Andrae was auditioned along with Egor Zamula and Adam Ginning.

While there’s been no clear winner, Andrae’s stock appears to be rising.

“I like his confidence,” Tocchet said at a morning skate during a videotaped interview from Bridgestone Arena in Nashville Thursday afternoon. “Probably he should get more minutes. … My (defensemen), I like to see them wheel a lot. I think he can add that element.”

A player like Andrae can make little plays on offense which can lead to positive developments.

“He made a hell of a play when he went to the net (vs. the Canadiens),” Tocchet said. “(Garnet) Hathaway had an unbelievable chance. If Andrae doesn’t do what he does, (Hathaway) probably doesn’t get the chance.

“He (Andrae) has really digested what we want from him. Now we just have to find some more minutes for him.”

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The Lehigh Valley Phantoms, the Flyers’ top minor league affiliate, are off to a strong start under new coach John Snowden. The Phantoms sit third in the Atlantic Division of the American Hockey League with seven wins and 15 points.

A couple forwards are making their mark, namely Alex Bump and Denver Barkey. Each played well in Flyers’ training camp back in September.

Perhaps the major factor in the Phantoms’ quick getaway has been the play of their two goaltenders, Aleksei Kolosov and Carson Bjarnason. Kolosov, currently filling in for the injured Sam Ersson as a backup to Dan Vladar, has a 3-2-0 mark. That includes a 2.60 goals-against average and .918 save percentage.

Bjarnason is 3-1-1 with a 2.52 GAA and .918 save percentage.

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After struggling a bit to record more than 25 shots in early games, the Flyers broke out with a 42-shot effort at Montreal. That’s what Tocchet wants. But he also looks for the shots to be on net, to help create rebounds.

“We want shots on net but we’ve also got to hit the net,” Tocchet said. “A lot of times you want to get a shot on net where the goalie has a tough handle, where there could be a rebound. And a lot of times we’re ripping the puck wide and then you’re missing an opportunity.

“Sometimes you’re not trying to score, you’re trying to put the puck where it’s an awkward save. Like Trevor (Zegras in the Montreal game) on the power play. He’s not trying to score, that’s by design. He hits the pad and (Bobby) Brink gets the weakside goal.”

The coach wouldn’t mind seeing more goals like that.

“That’s a smart play by Trevor,” Tocchet said. “If he rips a puck from that angle, it’s hard to score. But he was ‘hey, I’m just going to get this puck on net.’ Awkward save. That’s the stuff I think is really intelligent hockey.”