Last night, the Flyers season came one step closer to coming to an end. After there 6-4 loss to the Devils, the Flyers have only seven regular season games remaining.
Last night, the FlyersNittyGritty spotlight was on defenseman Egor Zamula, who made his NHL debut.
Zamula, who is only 21-years-old, went undrafted in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft. He signed a entry-level contract with the Flyers that same year and is under contract through the 2022-2023 season where he will then become a restricted free agent.
The 6’3, 177lb defenseman played in parts of four seasons in the WHL (Western Hockey League). He played in 38 games with the Regina Pats back in 2017-2018 before being put on waivers and being claimed by the Calgary Hitmen.
In parts of three seasons with the Hitmen, Zamula registered 90 points in 120 games. He scored 19 goals while assisting on 76 others.
In 17 games with the Flyers AHL affiliate, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, Zamula registered five assists and had a plus/minus of +2.
The Russian native is known for his ability to move the puck, breakup plays with his stick, and his skating ability to name a few.
In his NHL debut last night against the Devils, Zamula looked cool, calm, and collected.
He registered three shots on goal, a blocked shot, and a takeaway in 19:19 minutes.
Zamula was on a defensive pair with Travis Sanheim in last nights game against the Devils. Sanheim, who is accustomed to playing the left side on defense, moved over to the right side so that Zamula could slide in.
On his first shift of the night, which came a little less than two minutes into the game, Zamula was pressured along the boards. Luckily, he got help from a Flyers forward and no harm came of it.
Not too long after that, Zamula got physical with Devils forward Yegor Sharangovich in front of the net by giving him a few cross-checks to the back. Opposing players being allowed to just stand in front of the Flyers net this year rent free has been a major problem for the Orange and Black, so it was nice to see Zamula get physical.
He also made a nice backhand pass up the ice to Flyers forward Jackson Cates towards the end of the first period.
Overall, Zamula had a relatively quiet first period which isn’t a bad thing by any means. He also registered a blocked shot as well in the opening period.
In the second period, Zamula helped win a puck battle in the defensive zone and followed that up by helping the Flyers go the other way up ice. His ability to move the puck up ice was on display on multiple occasions in last nights game.
Devils forward Jack Hughes created a little bit of a problem for Zamula later on in the period when he eluded the 21-year-old defenseman in the corner. Hughes, who has displayed his elusiveness before, is not an easy guy to matchup against for any player let alone a defenseman who is making his NHL debut. Again though, no harm done.
What may have been the biggest highlight of Zamula’s NHL debut came in the third period of last nights game.
Devils forward Miles Wood was cutting in with speed on Brian Elliott and likely would’ve scored a goal if it hadn’t been for the stick of Zamula. With Zamula being 6’3″, he has a long reach, which can come in handy when trying to break up plays.
Overall, Zamula quietly held his own in his NHL debut. The two things that really jumped out were his ability to move the puck up ice and his ability to break up plays with his stick.
With the Flyers on there way to missing the playoffs yet again, Zamula will likely continue to get looks at the NHL level. The Orange and Black have seven regular season games remaining.
Overall, it was a solid NHL debut for a guy that the Flyers organization has high hopes for.
The guys a toothpick. Doomed to follow in the failing footsteps of Gost, Sanheim and Myers