Bill Meltzer Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • RSS
• Archive
• CONTACT
Quick Hits: Aug. 14, 2021
1) The Flyers have had miserable luck in recent years in terms of injuries to the team's prospects and young NHL roster players. On Friday, the team announced that 19-year-old right wing prospect Zayde Wisdom underwent shoulder surgery and is out indefinitely. Drafted by the Flyers in the fourth round (94th overall) in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, Wisdom got off to a torrid start and had a promising overall first American Hockey League season with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms in 2020-21.
Wisdom's shoulder issue is the latest in a run of injuries to young players in the system. In 2020-21, Morgan Frost was lost for the season due to a shoulder injury in the second period of his second game of the season. Wade Allison, who'd had three straight injury-shortened seasons in college hockey before turning pro, had pre-season ankle surgery. Allison was able to remain healthy the rest of last season once he finally got into the Lehigh Valley Phantoms' and then the Flyers' lineups. Tanner Lacynski underwent pre-season core muscle surgery and then had season-ending hip surgery in late April.
Tyson Foerster, the Flyers' 2020 first-round pick, sustained an early-season tibia microfracture and a late-season separated collarbone. He showed offensive promise when he was able to be in the Phantoms' lineup. Last month, neither Foerster nor 2020 fifth-round pick Elliot Desnoyers, were able to participate in the World Junior Summer Showcase for Team Canada. Both are expected to be OK for training camp in September.
Before last season started, Isaac Ratcliffe sustained a rib fracture and collapsed lung. He struggled to get on track once his belated season began for Lehigh Valley. Meanwhile, goalie prospect Kirill Ustimenko missed the entire 2020-21 season due to hip surgery.
Now-former Flyers center Nolan Patrick missed the tail end of the 2018-19 campaign and the entire 2019-20 season due to neurological issues. Before finally having a mostly healthy 2020-21 season, Samuel Morin missed roughly two-and-three-quarter seasons due to a core muscle issue and then twice tore his right ACL.
German Rubtsov, the Flyers' 2016 first round pick, had season-ending shoulder surgery in 2018-19 for an injury suffered midway through the first period in the season's 14th game. He reinjured his shoulder early the next season, missing a little over a month. He's never really gotten his overall game together ever since, although he's returned to North America for the the 2021-22 season after spending last year in the KHL.
We'll never know how much now-former prospect Pascal Laberge's career was permanently affected by a very serious concussion he suffered early during the 2016-17 season. Subsequent injuries certainly didn't help his development, either.
While 2018 first-round pick Jay O'Brien seemed to be getting on track last season at Boston University, injury is a factor that gets overlooked in why his lone season at Providence back in 2018-19 was such a disappointment. O'Brien looked good for Team USA at the World Junior Summer Showcase but when he got to Providence, he had a neck/shoulder injury and a concussion on top of struggling to find his game. O'Brien also missed 12 games n the BCHL in 2019-20 due to injury although his overall season was successful in restoring some lost confidence in his own game.
2) In the current edition of the Flyers Daily Podcast on the Flyers Broadcast Network, Jason Myrtetus spoke with ESPN's Emily Kaplan to get a national perspective on the team's offseason.
In a few days, Jason and I will be doing a tandem interview with new Phantoms assistant coach Jason Smith. Among other topics, we will ask "Gator" about his recollections of being the Flyers' captain during the team's resurgent 2007-08 season. We'll also discuss how the coaching opportunity came about in Allentown after being a head coach and assistant coach in the Western Hockey League. Last season, Smith coached defenseman Ethan Samson with the Prince George Cougars and his recommendation of the player was one of the factors that played into the Flyers' selection of Samson in the sixth round (174th overall) of the 2021 NHL Entry Draft,
3) Happy belated (Aug. 13) birthday wishes go out to Flyers goaltender Carter Hart, who turned 23 yesterday. Franchise legend Bob Clarke turned 72 yesterday and underrated two-way defenseman Marcus Ragarnsson celebrated his 50th birthday.
4) Today in Flyers History: One year ago today, the Flyers suffered a 5-0 loss to the Montreal Canadiens in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals. Two goals apiece by Tomas Tatar and Jesperi Kotkaniemi led the way for Montreal. The Flyers were thoroughly outplayed in the first period and then saw their deficit double from 2-0 to 4-0 in the middle stanza. Brian Elliott saw mop-up duty in the third period. Philly mustered only five shots on Carey Price's net during the third period.
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • 
Join the Discussion:
»