Stick a Fork in them: The Flyers’ Season is Done! Time to Bring up the Kids!

With the Philadelphia Flyers chances of still making the playoffs this year are dwindling (with other teams ahead of them in the standings still having games in hand) their season should be considered all but over at this point. No one single move is going to be enough to solve all of their current problems. Therefore, the team should just chalk this season up as a loss and get ready for next season. 

One way that the Flyers’ front office and coaches can do that is to call up the organization’s youth from their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. While the Flyers may be struggling (to put it nicely) this season, the Phantoms have not been. Lehigh Valley currently sits atop the Northern Division with 12 wins on the season. Their success largely comes from a group of rookies (prospects) that the team has been able to recently sign and bring into the fold over the course of this season. With still more (Cameron York) in which they are just waiting for to arrive.

With this new crop of prospects beginning to blossom in the minors, shouldn’t the Flyers at some point soon start to call a few of them up this season to the NHL ranks in order get them some experience and see what they may be able to offer the team the following season? 

Some Phantoms that may be deserving of said call-ups would be:

Wade Allison: This now 23-year-old winger stands at 6’2 and 205 pounds. He is a little older than the rest on this list because he was drafted all the way back in the second round of the 2016 NHL Entry Draft where, after being drafted by the Flyers, Wade chose to attend Western Michigan University where he spent the last four seasons. Although he showed great promise while he was in the Broncos lineup, Allison had the misfortune of suffering a series of unrelated injuries while in Kalamazoo. This bad luck  was something that would unfortunately follow him to Philadelphia after turning pro. He might have had a real shot at making the opening-night roster for the Flyers but he had to drop out of camp early due to a nagging ankle injury which he had to end up having surgery on. 

Having battled through all that, Wade has made the most of his short time with the Phantoms and is scoring at over a point-per-game pace in Lehigh Valley, netting 4 goals and 5 assists, for 9 points in just 8 games played thus far- all while managing to be a team best plus 9 on the season. If called up, Allison could show some of these lost Flyers how to play the game the right way again, by being willing to do all the little dirty jobs that no one else wants to do.

Another young forward who stands a real chance at receiving a call-up to the Flyers (if they decided their season is a wash) is Tyson Foerster. At just 19 years of age the Flyers’ 1^st round pick from last season already bears an NHL frame at 6’2 and 194 pounds; and, as it turns out, his skills may allow him to not be too far behind either. Philadelphia drafted Foerster after he had quite the impressive year with the Barrie Colts of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). There, he was able to total 36 goals and 44 assists for 80 points in 62 games played last season. While the Flyers may have thought/hoped that Tyson might develop rather quickly, I don’t think they had any idea that he would be able to put up points at the rate he has this season for the Phantoms: He has amassed 6 goals and 5 assists for 11 points in just 13 games played so far. Foerster could provide the Flyers with some much-needed scoring from the wing position. 

Another draft pick from the Flyers’ latest draft class who might be ready for a look at the pros would be Zayde Wisdom (a gem that they found in the 4^th round last season). Wisdom, who in a normal season would have probably found himself sent back to the Kingston Frontenac’s of the OHL, was given the opportunity to play in the AHL a year early. The league managed to bend the rules a bit in order to give teams a place for their prospects to play since a lot of leagues around the world either decided to not play at all this year or resumed play extremely late. Gifted with this opportunity, Zayde set forth to make the most of it playing with an unstoppable drive that left the organization’s management and fans alike no other choice but to sit up and take notice. While at only 5’10, Wisdom plays an aggressive style, skating like a bulldog out on the ice “short in stature but packed full of muscle”. Zayde could prove to bring some much-needed grit to the Flyers lineup.  

If we now transition to the position on the Flyers’ roster that is in need of the most help moving forward this season it would, of course, be the defense; and, lucky for the Flyers, it is the position where the Phantoms have the most depth to offer help. Perhaps the one player who could provide the most immediate help though is none other than Carter Hart’s former Everett Silvertips teammate, 21-year-old Wyatte Wylie. For he, out of all the wealth of defensive prospects who reside in the Flyers’ system right now, is the only one left that is a coveted right-hand shot! In fact, when asked, this versatile defenseman can play both sides of the ice. Wylie was drafted by the Flyers back in the 5^th round of the 2018 draft where, since his time of being drafted, Wyatte has made sure to reassure the Flyers that they had made a wise decision by doing so. Last year he had a break-out season with the Silvertips in which- as a defender- he was able to achieve over a point-per-game average on the season: scoring 14 goals and 50 assists, for 64 points in just 62 games played. With Wylie being able to turn out these kinds of numbers, it made the Flyers’ general manager Chuck Fletcher’s decision to sign this young defenseman to an entry-level contract an easy one. Since choosing to sign, Wyatte has not disappointed- scoring 1 goal and 4 assists for 5 points for the Phantoms this year. Wylie could prove to be yet another offensively-minded defenseman for the Flyers in the near future, who is a threat on a nightly basis to score goals and set up teammates with ease.   

Then, there is the 6’3 176-pound Egor Zamula who the team signed as an undrafted free agent not so long ago while playing junior hockey for the Calgary Hitman of the Western Hockey league. Egor, at just 21-years-old, has already spent time with the Flyers last season in the bubble in Toronto and has shown great patience with the puck on his stick during his short stint with the Flyers’ organization, showcasing the fact that he is able to make some phenomenal outlet passes from deep within his own zone.   

Staying on the topic of defense, one player who could take a fast track to the NHL (as alluded to by their GM Chuck Fletcher) is the team’s newly-signed 2019 1^st round pick Cameron York. While he hasn’t even managed to play in his first professional game yet, York might just be moved to the front of the line as far as the team’s NHL-ready prospects go. He just finished an incredible year up in Ann Arbor, Michigan playing for the Big Blue (University of Michigan) where, in just 24 games, he was able to put up 20 points against some of the best teams the NCAA has to offer. If Cam does get the nod to suit up for the Flyers this season, he would bring with him an immense hockey IQ where he utilizes the attributes he does have to better read the play before it even happens. This psychic-like ability helps him to get the upper hand on the opposition no matter what their level of play may be. 

These are just a few names that could join the Flyers this season (all of whom are rookies). There are even more players who are signed and currently playing in that prospect honey-hole right now that is the PPL Center in Allentown, PA; Names like forward Isaac Ratcliffe and defenseman Mason Millman at least deserve an honorable mention in this respect. Regardless of just who may get called up when Philadelphia finally wants to admit that there season is all but caput, it will no doubt be interesting to see who from this next massive wave of impressive Flyers’ prospects will turn out to be the next big thing to hit Broad Street.