Over the past few years, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms blue line has been terribly depleted. All for good reason though: The coaching staff in Lehigh and the Flyers Player Development coaches have done wonders developing the talented young defensemen that have come through the Flyers system as of late.
Players like Travis Sanheim, Philippe Myers, Robert Hagg, Sam Morin, and now possibly Mark Friedman, are all moving on from their days manning the PPL Center’s (Phantoms rink) blue line to now playing on South Broad Street. There are only a few names left currently that are recognizable when you take the drive up to Allentown, PA for a game.
When you take away Mark Friedman (with the consensus that he may take the place of the 33-year-old pending-unrestricted free agent defenseman Justin Braun at season’s end) you are left with the Phantoms defense, consisting of names like Nate Prosser, Tyler Wotherspoon, Andy Welinski (UFA), Chris Bigras, and Reece Willcox (UFA) who all suited up for the Phantoms this season.Â
Yikes. That list left a lot to be desired when you think that these were the men who would have been assigned to help develop the remarkably young and talented goaltender who is 21-year-old Kirill Ustimenko. Kirill set the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL) on fire this season after coming over from his native Russia; So much so that he was promoted to the Phantoms of the American Hockey League (AHL) after playing in just 31 games with the Flyers ECHL affiliate the Reading Royals.
But do not fear- Flyers General Manager (GM) Chuck Fletcher took notice of this blatant hole in the Phantoms lineup, and started to make moves in order to begin the resurgence of this once great defensive unit. Take 20-year-old Yegor Zamula, for example. Zamula (aka Egor) who the former Flyers GM Ron Hextall signed as an undrafted free agent after an amazing year with the Calgary Hitmen of the Western Hockey League (WHL) in 2018, is set to turn Pro next year. Since being signed, Zamula has progressed so much that some experts thought he could have joined the Flyers this season after a phenomenal training camp, if not for the log-jam on defense in the NHL. However, Zamula’s season ended early after getting hurt a little before the World Junior Championships this year when he sustained a back injury. However, he is on schedule to be ready to play by the time training camp comes around. Egor was playing at a point per game pace (PPG) as a defenseman before his injury. With a play style much like Sanheim and Myers, it is easy to see why the Flyers were quick to sign him. Zamula will most likely start out in Lehigh Valley next year with the Phantoms, but don’t be surprised to hear him being called up at the trade deadline next season if the Flyers can move someone.
Another reinforcement being brought in to strengthen the Phantoms defense next year is Wyatte Wylie. A Flyers 2018 draft pick that Chuck signed during this break in play, Wylie played for the Everett Silvertips of the WHL for the past five seasons, and is a defenseman who can do it all! Wylie brings many facets to his game: pairing a scoring abilty that reached over a point PPG this season, with a defensive ability that helped goaltender Dustin Wolf win the CHL goaltender of the year award this season (something he helped Carter Hart do twice while the two played together in Everett). There is no doubt that Wyatte will help to re-solidify the foundation that the Phantoms were built on.
As stated before, Chuck Fletcher has taken no breaks during this stoppage of play. Most recently he added to the Phantoms arsenal of defense by signing the team’s 2016 5th round draft pick defenseman Linus Hogberg. This 21-year-old Swedish player has spent the last four seasons playing in his home country at their top level in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL) by playing for the Vaxjo Lakers. With Hogberg playing professionally for so long, there will not be any anxiety for him to get over, but rather a bit of a transition period will be needed going from playing on a much bigger sheet of ice in Sweden, to playing in the much smaller and faster rinks found in North America.
As if this list of additions was not great enough it is rumored that Fletcher is currently in discussions with the teams 2017 7TH round draft pick, 23-year-old defenseman Wyatt Kalynuk. Kalynuk has played the last three seasons with the Wisconsin Badgers of the NCAA. This year Wyatt even got the opportunity to lead the incredibly talented Badgers as their Captain. Although, Kalynuk appeared to love life playing in Wisconsin- and has one more year of eligibility left- it is hard to see just what else he must prove at the collegiate level. Seeing that Wisconsin already picked a new team Captain for next season, Kalynuk and his family decided his best decision was to turn Pro. With that being said it might only be a matter of time before the Flyers are making the announcement that they have signed this promising young prospect, as well.
With all the signings that have happened, and the ones still yet to come. It has become clear that when General Manager Chuck Fletcher sees a problem he is going to do whatever is in his power in order to fix it. He, like Flyers Head Coach Alain Vigneault, are not afraid to insert youth into their line ups. If a player has shown that they are ready to ascend to the next level, then (as these two have proved in the past) they will move mountains in order to make that happen. A youth movement doesn’t always mean inexperience; Rather, it should be viewed as it is in the eyes of Vigneault and Fletcher as an audition for a chance at stardom. With these four potential defensemen being inserted into the Phantoms lineup next year, the Flyers have not only restocked the cabinet (so to speak), but they have ensured that there will be no shortage of defenseman vying for their shot at the NHL any time soon.
