Danny Briere and Claude Giroux both saw the same thing during the NHL lockout in 2012-13.

Rob Zepp could play.

Zepp, the No. 1 goalie for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, is a 33-year-old who left North American hockey following the 2004-05 season in search of a better opportunity. Now he’s back, in search of an even better one.

The 6-foot-2, 200-pound goalie couldn’t catch a break in North America for four seasons, but he caught plenty of pucks and breaks when he signed with the SaiPa Lappeenranta of the SM-liiga in Finland in 2005-06.

He followed up two years in Finland by moving to the German Deutsche Liga Champion’s Berlin Polar Bears for the last seven seasons, leading the team to five DEL championships, a European championship and a German Cup championship, as well as playing goal for the German national team in three World Championship tournaments.

Briere, a former Flyer now playing for the Colorado Avalanche, and Giroux played for Berlin during the lockout and came away impressed with Zepp’s play.

“I’m not going to say that wasn’t a coincidence,” Zepp said of his situation during Flyers training camp in September. “Some dialogue started to occur during that time and it’s just kind of gone on from there. I’m hoping that one of those two guys might have had something good to say and kind of put me on the radar.”

The Flyers signed him to a one-year, two-way contract on July 1 hoping that he could mentor young Anthony Stolarz, the top young goalie in the system, who is the No. 2 goalie for the Phantoms, but what happened after he showed up in camp made everyone take notice. Not only did he play well in three NHL exhibition games for the Flyers, he looked like the best player on the ice each time.

Zepp, a Newmarket, Ontario, native, pretty much has done that for the Phantoms as well, making NHL-quality saves for the Phantoms, and he’s had to, facing 43.12 shots per game. He stopped 42 of 44 shots last weekend in a 3-2 win at Manchester and stopped 37 of 40 in a 3-0 loss to Portland.

“Yeah, there’ve been quite a few shots, especially as of late, but that’s the way it goes sometimes,” Zepp said.

The way it’s been going all the time is that Zepp impresses, keeping the Phantoms in games despite the team giving up turnover after turnover in its own zone.

He was originally drafted in the fourth round, 99th overall, of the 1999 draft by the Atlanta Thrashers. But after his contract didn’t get registered in time, he went back into the draft again and was picked in the fourth round of the 2001 draft by the Carolina Hurricanes. He played the 2001-02 through 2004-05 seasons with the Florida Everblades of the ECHL, earning a total of just seven games with the AHL’s Lowell Lock Monsters, registering a 1-4-2 record in those games over that span.

Then his agent, Neil K. Sheehy of Minnesota, suggested Europe as the best opportunity to develop.

“I had an opportunity to play in the Finnish elite league, and then obviously the German opportunity arose,” Zepp said. “I think it was a good decision. I was able to play at a higher level than I was. I was able to work with a lot of really good goalie coaches and played a lot of good, meaningful minutes.”

“When I went over to Europe nine seasons ago, it was my goal and passion to come back here and give it a shot at the NHL level,” Zepp said.

Teams called, but nothing caught his fancy.

And then Briere and Giroux went to Germany.

“Besides being the best goalie in the German league, what hit me with Rob was his attitude and professionalism,” Briere told the Philadelphia Daily News in September. “He was the hardest worker on and off the ice and I was convinced he could play in the NHL because of all of that.”

Zepp said that the Flyers had remained in touch with him since that lockout season, and when they offered a contract this summer, he could no longer refuse.

“I thought, given my age, this may be the last, if not last real opportunity, I’d have to get that chance. It was more of a ‘If I don’t try it now, I’ll never know,’ ” he said.

Flyers General Manager Ron Hextall is on the record as saying the team signed Zepp as a potential third goalie — in case anything happened to Steve Mason or Ray Emery — in addition to being a mentor to Stolarz.

Zepp said the North American and European games are much different because of the smaller rinks in North America.

“It’s a lot more physical here,” he said. “Things happen quicker. There’s a lot more traffic in front of the net and play happens quicker because of the smaller ice. Over there, there’s some more wide-open chances … It’s more of a skill game. Guys have more time with the puck.”