Photo Credit: The Philadelphia Flyers
The Flyers made a trade to get into the Third Round of the 2020 NHL Draft after trading away their third round draft pick to the San Jose Sharks. With the pick the Flyers selected a physical goal-scorer in Zayde Wisdom, who compiled 29 goals, and 30 assists for 59 points in 2019-20 for the Kingston Frontenacs. It appears Wisdom has been a Philadelphian for a while one would think, “It was fun,” Wisdom said of developmental camp after finally being healthy. “It was a fun week. I think the dev guys did a great job coordinating this one this year. They had us downtown. They had us around the rink. They had us everywhere. I think the younger guys enjoyed it as well Now I’ll focus on main camp.”
A sturdy winger in Wisdom continued, “Yes, actually a funny story. Sammy took me down there a few times after games when I was injured. He showed me a good time downtown. The scavenger hunt was definitely way more educational. I have had a chance to be around town, and so far, I love the city.”
That was last year, fast forward to this year and Wisdom was sort of lost in shuffle in terms of prospects. He ayed for both the Reading Royals and Lehigh Valley Phantoms last season, but talks out of Lehigh heading into camp are: Will Elliot Desnoyers or Tyson Foerster make the club? How about Adam Ginning or Emil Andrae? These questions left Wisdom out of the realm of possibilities to make the big club out right.
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Zayde wants to change that and he had a great weekend of hockey. He was determined, confident, hitting, fighting, setting up teammates, and scoring again. Confidence is a big thing in hockey. He was arguably the Flyers rookies best player.
“So far he’s our best player. He’s been great since day 1, good for him.” – Lehigh Valley Phantoms Head Coach Ian Laperrière
The Flyers drafted this powerful sturdy Winger with the hopes he could use his goal-scoring abilities, combined with a physical element to deliver a one-two punch to opponents in the future. Wisdom has quite a journey to get where he is today with his hockey career and Scott Wheeler of the Athletic did an amazing write up on the challenges he endured when he was younger. It was one main reason the Flyers did not hesitate to sign this sturdy winger to a three year ELC (Entry-Level-Contract) soon after draft day. His deal expires in 2025, to which he then becomes an RFA (Restricted-Free-Agent).
In Wheeler’s piece it states he was raised by his mother and grandmother after the departure of his father, he wasn’t able to afford the type of equipment his teammates had so he was forced to fit in somehow, and food was scarce. They simply did not have enough money for food, I mean if this doesn’t make you root for the young 21-year-old I don’t know what will.
Wayne Simmonds is Wisdom’s biggest advocate as Wisdom says:
“Having a guy like that who’s played in the league for that long and who’s still playing in the league is amazing. He’s obviously a veteran guy, a grizzled guy. He’s been through some stuff. He’s been through most of the stuff that the league has to offer. Having a guy like that in your corner where he’s giving you advice and letting you know what your best decision would be and advising you helps a ton.” – Zayde Wisdom said after being drafted by the Flyers
This young man in Wisdom has persevered, and has become quite the hockey player. He is an energy player, a bit undersized as he stands at 5’11, and weighs 195 pounds. However, he makes up for his size with being a good skater. Wisdom can improve with his acceleration, and that will come in time, as he netted seven goals and 11 assists in 28 games played for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms in 2020-21. Wisdom would have played for the Phantoms in 2021-22, but he missed half of it with a shoulder injury. Low and behold, when he was fully healthy he was sent to his Junior Club the Kingston Frontenac for a conditioning stint. There he netted nine goals and 29 assists in 43 games played.
Unfortunately, after missing so much developmental time, Wisdom just hasn’t been able to get back to that good professional level he once had. This sometimes happens after missing a ton of developmental time due to injury. Every prospect and player is different when they face adversity, and some struggle more than others. This is the case with Wisdom, and it’s one main reason he was sent to the Reading Royals at times in 2022-23.
Now he finally looks like himself after the rookie series this weekend, “Long Summer, spent it in Voorhees, I just put the work in, put my head down, now it’s time to cash out,” Wisdom said after the rookie series this weekend. Hopefully, he can build off this and put forth a good training camp which opens Thursday on ice.
