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With the NCAA’s season nearing an end- and the Frozen Four scheduled to take place on April 7th and 9th at TD Gardens in Boston, Massachusetts- the time to sign undrafted college free-agents is once again upon us. This year, there’s some good ones to be had. The Pittsburgh Penguins knew this and, like most years, have already managed to strike first by agreeing to a deal with Princeton University’s senior Corey Andonovski who had quite the breakout season this year. Lucky for the Flyers, he’s not the only prize to be had. If they so choose, the Philadelphia Flyers could gain a number of quality prospects in the coming weeks who could bring aid to their struggling franchise.
Ben Meyers
One such player that could help with the Flyers’ offensive struggles is Ben Meyers, a 23-year-old left winger/center who not only plays for the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers but wore the C for them this season. Meyers, who is 5’11 and 194 pounds, has both the mental and physical fortitude to be able to step immediately into the Flyers’ American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate the Lehigh Valley Phantoms’ lineup and contribute starting day one. Ben would be able to succeed immediately because he is already used to competing on a big stage with wins this season against Notre Dame, Ohio State, Penn State, North Dakota, Michigan, and Michigan State where he managed to post 15 goals, and 19 assists for 34 points in 29 games played this year (a 1.17 point-per-game average) with most of those goals being game winners or coming on the power play. More impressive still is that he was able to achieve 2 goals and 2 assists for 4 points a few weeks ago while representing the Red, White, and Blue at the Olympic Games in China.
Jake Livingstone
If the Flyers would rather sign a defenseman, there’s one free agent that plays for the Minnesota State University, Mankato who they should be contacting. That blueliner’s name is Jake Livingstone. He is a 22 year old who possesses a right hand shot, something that the Flyers so desperately covet. Like the newly re-signed Rasmus Ristolainen, Livingstone (who stands at 6’3 and weighs in at 205 pounds) enjoys the physical side of the game and isn’t afraid to drop the gloves with the opposition if needed. Now, as good as Jake has been at playing judge, jury and executioner for the Mankato this season, that is not the only way that he can be counted on to contribute towards his team’s success. Livingstone has also been able to produce offensively as well, scoring 9 goals, and 19 assists for 28 points over the course of 38 games played this season- all while maintaining a +25 average this year. Now, if the Flyers wish to sign Livingstone, they better act quickly because a big-bodied R.H.S. defenseman, who can both provide offensively and lower the boom in his own zone, won’t last very long on the open market.
Dryden McKay
The last player on this list of undrafted free agents that the Flyers should look to sign is goaltender Dryden McKay who also plays for Minnesota State University. Why Dryden has gone unsigned to this point is beyond me. Through his four seasons, the now 24-year-old netminder has been able to break a number of NCCA records during his time playing with the Mankato. Some of those accomplishments include becoming the NCAA’s all-time Shut Out leader with 33, which surpassed Ryan Miller’s record of 26. McKay also has the record for most wins in a single season with 33 Ws to his credit which he achieved this season. Miller’s former record was 31. Then, there’s the all-time win record which is debatable by some. McKay holds that as well with 108 total wins to his credit, but it is debatable because the great collegiate goaltender Marty Turco recorded 127 wins in his time with Michigan, when they were still just part of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) before officially joining the more prestigious Big-Ten Conference. McKay was able to accomplish all of this because of his consistent play over the years. Over the four seasons his career averages are as follows: 1.47 goals-against-average, a .931 save percentage and a .805% win percentage. To no surprise, this has seen him be named a Hobey Baker Award Finalist twice before with his third nomination likely coming after this season. The Flyers have two underperforming prospect goaltenders (Kirill Ustimenko, and Felix Sandstrom) who are due to become restricted free agents at this season’s end, and another unsigned goalie named Ivan Fedotov who will be hard to bring over from Russia with the ongoing war. Therefore, the Flyers would be wise to ink this impressive prospect (McKay) who has the talent to become a force in the NHL as early as next season.
If Philadelphia could acquire any of these undrafted free agents in the coming weeks their prospect depth would grow immensely. The Flyers just have to decide: Do they want/need a proven leader like Meyers, an intimidating force on the blueline like Livingstone, or a future star in-net like McKay. This writer says why not just sign all three? But we will just have to wait and see what- if anything- the Flyers’ general manager Chuck Fletcher has up his sleeve.Â
