Phantoms fans are waiting to see if perhaps the next big name in Flyers hockey will be joining them for the rest of the season, or whether they’ll have to wait until next season to see Joel Farabee, the Flyers 2018 first-round pick in the NHL Draft.

Farabee signed an entry-level contract with the team that takes effect with the start of next season, though he is allowed to join the Phantoms for the duration of the 2018-19 season if the team decides to put him on the PPL Center ice.

It’s hard to call Farabee, 19, a product of Boston University since he played just one season with the Terriers, during which he wound up leading the team in scoring with 36 points. That was good enough to place him third among all freshmen in the college hockey rankings.

Farabee also played a big role in the World Junior Championships, with his personal highlight being a hat trick against Kazakhstan in the championship game. His other highlight came over the final 21 games of his college career when he overcame an adjustment period early in the season to score 13 goals and pick up 12 assists in the Terriers’ final 21 games of the season.

Some fans are thinking even higher achievements for Farabee, and that his speed and puck skills could take him straight to Philadelphia next season.

It will be interesting to see how the Flyers approach the 6-1, 170-pound winger. Hoping to have him avoid an adjustment to professional hockey — like the one he endured last season with Boston College — could lead the Flyers to have him start playing sooner rather than later with the Phantoms. There’s just one catch; Farabee is currently nursing what is termed a “slight” injury, and his rehab could dictate how he spends the rest of the season.

Meanwhile, the Phantoms aren’t focusing on having to break in a new guy right now. Instead, they’re focused on the final 10 games of the season.

Lehigh Valley won in Wilkes-Barre Scranton Friday night, before falling in overtime to the Penguins Saturday night in Allentown. While they added three points over the weekend, it’s all starting to look like it’s just too little, too late.

The top seven spots in the Eastern Conference playoffs are likely set, with Hershey mounting a late-season run that has them five points clear of the eighth and final playoff spot, and tied for sixth with Providence. Meanwhile, Cleveland, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and Belleville are all tied with 74 points for the eighth spot, with Lehigh Valley three points behind.

“It’s one of those series where games are tough. They’ve kind of gone both ways a little bit; they came into our building and beat us and we went into their building and beat them the last two times,” said interim coach Kerry Huffman. “It’s got a little playoff feel to it.”

The schedule isn’t a friend of the Phantoms, as they play five straight road games, with one in Rochester and two each in Cleveland and Charlotte.

Rochester is currently third in the Eastern Conference, Charlotte has clinched a playoff spot and the Monsters are in that scrum of teams looking for the eighth spot. After that, they have two home games against the Penguins, followed by a game in Hershey and another in Providence.

The regular season ends at home April 13 against Hartford, who is on pace to finish 15th out of 16 Eastern Conference teams.

ANOTHER NEW GUY ... Rob Michel, a 24-year old, joined the Phantoms on an amateur tryout contract given to players seeking to catch on with a professional team after finishing their college career. Michel played for the University of Maine, and was the team’s captain this season. In his four years of college hockey, Michel scored 17 goals and chipped in with 36 assists for the Black Bears. This season, he finished second on the team with a plus-12 rating, and amassed a team-high 55 penalty minutes.

BACK IN THE GROOVE ... Cole Bardreau returned to the lineup on March 8 in Charlotte and notched his first goal since returning on Saturday against the Penguins. His fifth goal of the season tied the game at 2-2. Friday night in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Bardreau had his first assist since returning in the Phantoms win against the Pens. The 25-year old missed exactly three months with an upper-body injury.