The Philadelphia Flyers have completed their third minor league trade of the season as they shipped defenseman Ethan Samson to the Tampa Bay Lightning for defenseman Roman Schmidt.
The Flyers have previously swung for Christian Kyrou from the Dallas Stars for Samu Tuomaala, as well as Maxence Guenette from the Ottawa Senators for Dennis Gilbert.
In Schmidt, the Flyers are receiving a 22-year-old defenseman from Midland, Michigan, who stands in at 6’5” and 225 pounds. The hulking defenseman was selected in the third round of the 2021 NHL draft by the Lightning after spending his junior career with the Kitchener Rangers of the OHL.
In his draft season, Schmidt recorded 7 points in 22 games for the U.S. National Development Team before moving to Kitchener in 2021-22. He accumulated a total of 93 points in 179 games in the OHL and has spent parts of the last 3 season with the Syracuse Crunch in the AHL.
With the Crunch, Schmidt has tallied 3 goals and 7 points in 63 games, including 1 assist in 13 games this year with 38 PIMs. He is a heavy defenseman who plays a physical game and isn’t afraid to rack up the penalty minutes, as he’s collected 117 in the AHL and 177 in the OHL.
As for Samson, the former Flyers prospect was always seen to have decent upside. He was drafted in the 6th round of the 2021 draft and spent 4 seasons with the Prince George Cougars in the WHL. He racked up 43 points in draft+1 season before finishing off his junior career with 60 points in 60 games.
He then found his way to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, where he collected 12 points in 63 games during his rookie season, and then improved to the tune of 12 goals and 24 points in 69 games last year. He had tallied 4 assists in 10 games thus far in the season before being traded.
Schmidt was reassigned to the Phantoms, according to general manager Daniel Brière. He will try to make an impact alongside fellow defensemen Christian Kyrou, Helge Grans, Hunter McDonald, and Oliver Bonk.
Fellow Phantom Ty Murchison has played in 21 games for the Phantoms this year but was recalled by the Flyers over the weekend, so there’s definitely a void that needs to be filled until his return.
