Photo Credit: AJHL.ca
With the Flyers recent struggles over the last couple of seasons and management’s apparent lack of direction and or plan moving forward on how to return this team to the perennial playoff contenders they once were. I think it’s fair to say that fans have lost faith in general manager Chuck Fletcher’s abilities to put a winning product on the ice moving forward.
One very feasible way he could do just that and prove his doubters wrong is by signing and or drafting three very talented players from an often-over-looked league known as the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL). All three of these prospects played for the very dominant Brooks Bandits team this season. In fact, after finishing the regular season with a record of 52 wins, six losses, and one OTL they earned the honor of being crowned as both the league’s regular-season champions winning the Dave Duchak Trophy as well as the league’s playoff champions, winning the Inter Pipeline Cup.
Let’s face it since trading Giroux the Flyers lack star power and currently have no one in the system capable of developing into the team’s next face of the franchise moving forward. Therefore, it is imperative that Fletcher finds the type of players with the kind of elite-level talent that can not only turn the fate of this franchise around but possibly keep Chuck out of the unemployment line as well.
Ryan McAllister
Who are these prospects mentioned above that could be the saviors of the franchise, you may be asking? The first one is a 5’10 183 pound forward by the name of Ryan McAllister. This now 20-year-old offense dynamo was able to total 57 goals and 82 assists for an incredible 139 points in just 60 games played for the Bandits this year. That equates to him scoring at a rate of 2.31 points per game (PPG) during the regular season. This frequency in which he was able to produce points continued as Ryan maintained this torrid net scorching pace during the playoffs, totaling 10 goals, and 19 assists for 29 points in 13 games played, which averages out to a 2.23 PPG average. With this type of production, it should come as no surprise as to why McAllister was named the Canadian Junior Hockey League’s Most Valuable Player this season which is comprised of nine different leagues throughout Canada. Now how he went undrafted is beyond me. Still, the Flyers would be wise to sign McAllister, who is set to attend and play for Western Michigan University next season, before the rest of the league finds out about this diamond in the rough and beats them to the punch.
TJ Hughes
As good as McAllister is, his linemate, 20-year-old TJ Hughes, is nothing to sneeze at either. Standing at just 5’11 and 185 pounds, Hughes was able to net 66 goals and 61 assists for 127 points in 60 games played during the regular season for a 2.12 PPG average. Hughes followed this up by scoring 12 goals and 11 assists for 23 points in 11 playoff games this season. A 2.09 point per game average. His play this year
was good enough for him to be offered a scholarship to play for the University of Michigan’s Wolverines next season, which he gladly accepted. Like McAllister (perhaps even more so, given TJ will gain much more attention playing for Michigan), Hughes will likely catch the eye of an NHL team’s general managers soon enough and will have a lengthy list of suitors vying for his services shortly after he reaches Ann Arbor, which is all the more reason why the Flyers should try and beat the crowd and offer this undrafted free agent a contract now.
Zach Bookman
The last Bandit of this trio we will mention is an American-born right-hand shot defenseman named Zachary Bookman. Unlike the other two, Bookman, who just turned 20-years-old in March, is still eligible to be drafted this summer. This over-ager, who currently stands at 5’10 and 176 pounds, was able to break a once thought to be an unbreakable record formerly held by Brooks Bandit alumni: Cale Makar. That record was for most points scored by a defenseman in a single season. Where in his draft year Makar was able to post an impressive 24 goals and 51 assists for 75 points which led him to be drafted 4th overall by the Colorado Avalanche back in 2017. Now, while Bookman managed to break this record playing most of this season a year older than Makar was at the time, his stats should still be viewed as remarkable, seeing that Zach not only was able to surpass Makar’s totals, he obliterated them scoring 21 goals and 81 assists for 102 points in 55 games played. Think about it, Flyers fans, a right-hand shooting defenseman who scored at a rate of 1.85 points per game this year who isn’t even thought to be on many teams’ radars yet. In the playoffs this season, Bookman played in 9 games where he scored two goals and eight assists for 10 points. Zach is set to attend Merrimack College next season, where his offensive prowess will undoubtedly help the Warriors win a few extra games next year. The only question is, by that time will Philadelphia holds his rights because they were smart enough to have listened to this writer when I suggested they take a chance on selecting him in the later rounds of this year’s NHL entry draft?
If you tend to read my articles, you know I spoke about these players in the past. The reason why I bring them up again is that they continue to impress. Currently, these three outlaws are competing in the Centennial Cup (Canada’s National Junior A Championships) to find out what Canadian providence will reign supreme in the end. Having had all three of these talented prospects under a microscope for most of the season, I’ve yet to find a weakness in any of their games besides the fact that they were all late bloomers. If I had to list all the things this trio does right, you would have to buy a book instead of just reading this article to find out about them. Therefore, the Flyers should use this to their advantage. Given their success playing together, Philadelphia should want to build upon their chemistry with each other and not settle for anything less than acquiring all three of these players. After you ink either McAllister or Hughes, the other should then be easily swayed to follow suit, and then all you have to do is make sure you’re the team that is calling Bookman’s name come June. Adding three impact players of their caliber would not only restore hope in the minds of the teams’ deflated fan base, but it would also reassure them that the organization is recommitted to winning instead of solely focusing on ticket and apparel sales. A man can dream, right?
