The dominos continue to fall for the Philadelphia Flyers’ pending RFAs, as President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Chuck Fletcher announced the signings of Wade Allison and Linus Hogberg earlier Friday.
At the start of the summer the Flyers had nine pending restricted free agents in Allison, Hogberg, Morgan Frost, Isaac Ratcliffe, Owen Tippett, Zack MacEwen, Jackson Cates, Tanner Laczynski, and Hayden Hodgson. With this announcement, the first eight names have all signed their new contracts with the lone remaining restricted free agent being Hodgson.
Allison signed a two year, two-way/one-way contract with the Flyers at an annual cap hit of $785,000. Allison, who was drafted in the second round of the 2016 NHL Entry Draft by Ron Hextall, was talked about for years but could never find his way onto the NHL roster due to injuries. He was a prospect you always heard about and he had great numbers wherever he went, but he took a very long time to sign his first contract, and has even played for the Flyers a little but has always dealt with some kind of injury bug.
Allison started his career in the USHL for the Tri-City Storm where he played in 2 seasons, appeared in 91 games, scored 31 goals, and accumulated 60 points – with 47 of them coming in his draft year. He also played in 11 playoff games that season and scored 16 points.
From there he went to the NCAA level and played in the NCHC (National Collegiate Hockey Conference) where he played four seasons from 2016-17 to 2019-20 for Western Michigan University. In those 4 years he played in 106 games, scored 45 goals, and accumulated 97 points. In 2018 he suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury and missed over half the season. The following season he suffered a shoulder injury and could only suit up for 26 games.
On the professional side of things, Allison has played in parts of two seasons with both the Flyers and the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. After his four-year stay with Western Michigan, he came straight to the professional leagues and appeared in 14 games for the Flyers and 10 for the Phantoms. In 2020-21, at the NHL level, he impressed by scoring 4 goals and 7 points, while tallying 4 goals and 9 points for the Phantoms. He missed most of the 2020-21 season after he suffered another injury, this time during training camp.
Allison then started the 2021-22 season with another injury, this time to his ankle and made his season debut on the 11th of December for the Phantoms. 6 days later and 3 games in, he suffered an upper-body injury and was sidelined for nearly a month. He made his return to the Phantoms on the 14th of January and was then called up to the Flyers on the 22nd of January to face the Buffalo Sabres. As fate would have it, Allison suffered another injury, this time an MCL sprain. He went pointless in his one game with the Flyers, but had a strong showing in the minors with 10 goals and 17 points in only 28 games.
Allison is set to battle for a roster spot in camp and as long as he can stay healthy, he should definitely find himself on the roster come opening night. He’s a feisty forward, he likes to get in the dirty areas, he will win board battles, and he has a knack for scoring as well.
We have witnessed his energy levels on the big stage, and his only knock is that he has sustained countless injuries at the most inopportune times. Alongside Morgan Frost and Owen Tippett, this is truly an important season for the young forward. It might not be as dire or as “make-it-or-break-it” as some others, but a strong showing this year will do wonders for his future as a Flyer.
