With Cutter Gauthier stealing the headlines this spring with his efforts at the World Championships for Team USA, Tyson Foerster stealing the show for an 8-game stint in the middle of the season, and Samuel Ersson providing a glimmer of hope in goal during his first stint with the club, an oft-forgotten name that needs to be brought back to the forefront is that of Bobby Brink.
It’s honestly a good thing in some way, shape, or form that Brink hasn’t been mentioned, because that means other prospects have been flourishing. At a time and place a few years ago, the pipeline looked bleak at best. The highly-touted prospects were either injured or turning into busts and we were grasping at straws with our late-round picks who were performing admirably better.
Bobby Brink was drafted in the 2nd round of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft after the Flyers traded up to get him. They acquired the 14th and 45th overall picks in exchange for their 11th from the Arizona Coyotes – who drafted Victor Soderstrom. Chuck Fletcher then packaged the 45th overall pick as well as their 65th overall pick and sent it over to the New Jersey Devils for the 34th overall selection. Brink had just come off a season with the Sioux City Musketeers of the USHL where he scored 35 goals and 68 points in just 43 games. He also added 3 goals and 6 points in 5 games for the U.S. National U18 Team.
Committing to the University of Denver, Brink tallied 11 goals and 24 points in just 28 games in his first year, while also chipping in with 2 points in 5 games at the World Junior Championships for Team USA. The following season he was limited to 15 games but still tallied 11 points, while once again representing Team USA at the World Juniors with 6 points in 7 games. 2021-22 was a big season for Brink because he not only tallied 43 assists and 57 points in only 41 games – which led the entire college circuit – for Denver but he also signed his ELC with the Philadelphia Flyers and recorded 4 assists in 10 games. For his efforts in the NCAA, he was named a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award but lost out to Dryden McKay of Minnesota State.
His efforts for the Flyers didn’t go unnoticed, even with a small sample size. There was a good opportunity for him to have broken onto the NHL roster with a good training camp, but unfortunately he had to undergo offseason surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left hip. The injury kept him sidelined for 6 months before he was finally cleared for a return at the beginning of January.
With how the season was unfolding for the Flyers, Brink was sent directly to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms to get some much-needed game-time, minutes, and experience to get his game back on track after a lengthy rehab. In saying that, with how the season was unfolding for the Phantoms, if they weren’t in the race for a playoff spot, there would’ve been a really good chance he could’ve been one of the Flyers’ call-ups at the end of the season. Instead, the Flyers opted to give Adam Ginning, Ronnie Attard, Elliot Desnoyers, and Tyson Foerster a shot.
Breaking off the shackles of injury, Brink finished 9th in points for the Phantoms even though he only skated in 41 games. He finished the season with 12 goals on just 49 shots, 16 assists and 28 points. His shooting percentage was a wicked 24.5%, he ended the regular season on a 6-game point streak where he tallied 2 goals and 4 assists, and he added an assist in 3 playoff games. It’s safe to say that the soon-to-be 22-year-old is ready for his shot for the Flyers heading into the 2023-24 season.
Tyson Foerster paced the Phantoms with 48 points in 66 games – while also having 7 points in 8 games for the Flyers – Elliot Desnoyers paced the club with 23 goals and added 44 points in 65 games, and restricted free agent Olle Lycksell led the team with 31 assists and was 2nd in points with 45 in just 53 games – and also had a short stint with the Flyers.
These 3 forwards, alongside Brink, should tempt Daniel Briere and John Tortorella for a roster spot heading into the new season. However as we witnessed last year, just because you had a good showing in the previous season doesn’t mean you’re a lock, as Cam York was cut almost immediately after a rough training camp last year after being dubbed a near-lock for the opening night roster.
The Flyers have a lot of moving pieces to take care of before they even look at their prospects. Kevin Hayes has been rumoured and linked to the Columbus Blue Jackets, James van Riemsdyk won’t be returning, a few players who were featured in the bottom-6 this past season seemingly did not impress enough to get another shot – Kieffer Bellows, Tanner Laczynski, Brendan Lemieux, and maybe even Wade Allison – so that would leave plenty of open spots to compete for.
If Sean Couturier and Cam Atkinson do return from their lengthy absences, the Flyers’ top-6 is ultimately locked in. We don’t foresee any major moves coming from the new administration to improve the top-6 through trade or free agency since they’re more focused on subtracting players first. Couturier, Atkinson, and Travis Konecny – if he’s not traded – can form the first line, while Joel Farabee, Morgan Frost, and Owen Tippett round out the top-6. Scott Laughton, Noah Cates, and Nicolas Deslauriers should be the only locks in terms of the bottom-6, leaving 3 spots to compete for if they opt for in-house options.
With how Foerster performed last season, it would be his spot to lose at the moment. Brink and company will bring out some healthy competition heading into training camp, which will bode well for the betterment of both the Flyers and the Phantoms. We want them to be hungry and motivated to make the big club, but it also won’t be the end of the world if some of them have to start the year in the AHL, because it seems improbable for the Flyers to run with that many rookies at once without any injuries present.
Brink has performed well wherever he’s played, whether with the Sioux City Musketeers, the University of Denver, Team USA in various tournaments, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, or even his short stint with the Flyers. He’s a crafty and skilled playmaker, he skates well, and is one of many wingers the Flyers have drafted over the last few seasons that has a legitimate shot at being an NHL-calibre talent.
He’s back to being healthy and injury-free, he got much needed experience down in the minors, and it’s only a matter of time until we Brink within the confines of the Wells Fargo Center on a consistent basis.
