#a.primer

TYSON FOERSTER - C/RW - 23RD OVERALL 2020 6′ 2″, 194 lbs

tyson describes himself as a “shoot first player with a strong playmaking ability” and that is an accurate assessment of his game. he had 36 goals in his second season with the barrie colts, and he’s got a wicked shot--and the most exciting thing about that is that he’s got a variety of shots that are good. a one-timer, a wrister, a slapshot: he’s got ‘em all. and he’s got good hockey sense. in 24 games played in lehigh valley, he had 10 goals, 7 assists, and 16 PIM. the main concern about tyson is his skating, which is unfortunately kind of a theme with the flyers and the flyers prospects in general. he’s improved a lot since his draft year but it’s still a concern. his season ended a little early due to breaking his tibia.

tyson grew up working on his grandparents’ sheep farm during the summer and i just love that. his personality also is very flyers, as evidenced by this quote from his grandma: “the bales were pretty heavy for him, and it was really, really hot and sunny and I remember him crying his eyes out as he was working away. he was so hot and so tired, but he didn’t want to quit.”

as with most guys who went through juniors, tyson is friends with a lot of other prospects. he spent most of this summer hanging out with the kings’ quinton byfield and the other flyers’ prospects, including zayde wisdom and wade allison. he enjoys posting pictures of himself with fish and working out shirtless.

he’s literally always smiling and he’s very cute on the ice.

more on tyson and zayde wisdom below.

ZAYDE WISDOM - RW - 94TH OVERALL 2020 5′ 10″, 201 lbs

it’s incredibly hard not to root for zayde wisdom. first of all, look at that smile. that’s a screenshot from a game last season where he scored two goals for the second game in a row. from the beginning of his life, he’s been working so fucking hard to prove people wrong, and i truly cannot wait to see him do it in the big leagues. people really knocked on him for his juniors numbers because he was playing on a line with shane wright, but to be honest, if you can’t keep up with the really good players that says a lot about you. and zayde can more than keep up.

i’m sure most of you have read stories about zayde’s early life and to be honest a lot of them leave a bad taste in my mouth because they read very inspiration porn-y. his family grew up without a lot, his mother sacrificed her own time and energy, including working three jobs, so that her boys could have what they needed and so they could play hockey. literally look at how cute:

he’s just a good kid who says stuff like:

“i kind of used it as motivation, and still do . . . it gives me an extra boost that most kids don’t experience. i had to grow up a lot younger than most kids my age. i had to take care of my little brother. i had to make sure my mom was OK, even though she was making sure we were always OK. it was definitely an experience that made me grow up a lot faster and gave me maturity that helped me out a ton.”

in 28 games played, he scored 7 goals, had 11 assists, and 33 PIM. he was a +6. he missed a bunch of games last season towards the end of it and i suspect he is one of the phantoms’ players who got covid, which is very disappointing. he participated in some of the team canada showcase games but he is currently sidelined indefinitely after getting surgery on a shoulder injury which absolutely sucks. he’s just a really fun player to watch. he’s got a very good hockey sense, he’s fearless, he plays so much bigger than he is.

wayne simmonds gives him hockey and girl advice. literally what more could you ask for. i truly believe he’s gonna be a longtime fan favorite here.

brent flahr, the flyers’ agm, on zayde: “he’s a kid who loves to play the game. he’s got an edge — obviously, he’s a power forward — not the tallest guy, but he’s a tank. he likes the physical part of the game and gets his nose dirty. so he’ll be a fan favorite wherever he plays. that’s for sure.”

additionally, tyson foerster and zayde wisdom are childhood friends who became childhood rivals who then became best friends and are roommates while playing in lehigh:

Prior to suiting up in the OHL’s Eastern Conference, Foerster and Wisdom were familiar with each’s playing style, having played together in the spring when they were young. Having faced off on opposite ends of the ice over the past two seasons, their friendship turned to a friendly rivalry.

“It’s definitely a love/hate relationship on the ice. We definitely get into the game and our emotions definitely get mixed up,” he said of his fellow Flyers prospect. “Off the ice, nothing but love for the guy. I think he’s a great hockey player and I think he can take this far.”

Foerster’s breakout sophomore season saw an 80-point, 36-goal production atop the Colts’ scoring race while Wisdom put up 59 points over his 62-game campaign. Coming off impressive performances with a mutual respect for each other’s talent, both players are looking forward to continuing the hard work together.

“It’s pretty cool because we’re pretty close. I’m excited to go down there and share it with him,” said Foerster.

“I’m excited for him for sure,” said Wisdom of his potential future teammate. “It’s going to be tough at camp.”

their friendship is adorable, look at them on the fucking BENCH:

anyway, onward.

WADE ALLISON - RW - 52ND OVERALL 2016 6′ 2″, 205 lbs

wade grew up in a very small town in manitoba (a very small town, “30 people, 29 now that i’m gone . . . might even be 27 now that my grandparents moved out.”)  he’s always been divisive; he’s got the shooting ability, offensive instincts, and energy, but his skating (hoo boy) and hockey sense were concerns. even according to wade, he only has one speed. then he started getting hurt. he suffered multiple injuries at western michigan in his first season and then tore his acl in his second season. flyers fans, always known for their moderation and even keels, lost their shit.

anyway he’s finally healthy and played with both the phantoms and the flyers last year. with the phantoms he played 8 games, 4 goals, 5 assists, and 2 PIM. with the flyers, he played 13 games and had 4 goals, 1 assist, and 4 PIM. and you know what? he’s a really fun player to watch! he’s energetic, he gives it 110% every shift, and he can actually shoot.

he’s fun to watch with his teammates, too. he seems like he’s got a pretty goofy, laidback personality that fits in well. this clip of him and zayde in the box together was one of my favorite phantoms moments from last year.

he’s very funny on the bench: here, here, here, here.

here’s wade and zayde hanging out on wade’s insta:

anyway, on to some defensemen.

EGOR ZAMULA - LHD - UNDRAFTED 6′ 3″, 177 lbs

i love egor zamula’s personality so much that i made an entire moodboard for him. how can you not love this kid:

he’s this tall, skinny as fuck russian guy, undrafted, came in and earned his contract, wowed everyone at 2020 wjc, and has basically played solid as hell for the phantoms last year. seems like his teammates have nicknamed him z.

i am also pretty sure i saw instagram stories of him walking his cat but i forgot to save them but regardless that tells you everything to know about my absolute favorite flyers’ defense prospect.

in 25 games with the phantoms, he had no goals, 6 assists, 8 PIM and was a +1. he didn't get on the scoreboard with the flyers, but he was a +1 in two games played. he’s on the smaller side (or skinnier side, anyway) but he plays with confidence bordering on cockiness and a lot of physicality.

egor on his first nhl game: “i tried working hard every shift and playing fast . . . i will work hard in practice to play. this is the best level.”

CAMERON YORK - LHD - 14TH OVERALL 2019 5′ 11″, 186 lbs

that 186 is self-reported because most places still have him listed at 175.

a lot of flyers fans were upset we drafted him because the very next pick was cole caufield. i also think that maybe this was a mistake, but they needed a defenseman and cam york projects to be a very solid defenseman. he’s not flash but he’s a smooth skater and he’s got good hockey sense and he’s got the proven leadership (he captained the gold medal winning american wjc team in 2021 (playing alongside cole caufield and another flyers prospect, bobby brink).

like many of the flyers’ prospects he is very into posting pictures of himself working out on instagram.

i was weirdly charmed by his mic’d up (it was the “i’m gonna cross check you” repeatedly that really did it for me, but also “i felt like mcdavid out there” and saying he felt great and then “mama i can’t breathe.”)

nick was picked 14th overall by the owen sound attack; isaac went 15th to the guelph storm.

they “both dreamt of playing on the same team” even though they weren’t drafted together and continued to train and work out together during the summer.

they both had successful careers in the ohl (not getting into too much detail here about that, haha). and were both in the 2017 draft class. nick was drafted 13th overall by the vegas golden knights and ratty was drafted 35th overall by the flyers. both of them were sent back to their respective juniors teams after their first dev camp.

in september 2018, nick was traded to the habs. then, in january 2019, nick, who was the captain of the attack by that point, was traded to the storm along with sean durzi and zach roberts. ratty, at that point, was the captain of the storm.

ratty describes finding out in this way: 

"The day before the trade deadline, Nick called me. We actually had a game that night. He woke me up from my pregame nap and said, 'What are you doing?' I told him I had been sleeping and he said, 'I'm on my way to Guelph right now, I think I was just traded'. I jumped out of bed and I almost had to run through the streets I was so excited.”

in this video where both of them talk a lot about each other, ratty mentions nick was always “by his side” as a kid and that even though it was “three short years” they were playing apart “it felt like an eternity” and when they played the first game back together it was like “they never left.”

they went on to win the ohl championship together and compete for the memorial cup (they did not win).

their coach describes them again:

“They’re completely different players . . . They’re both amazing and bring something unique to the table. They’re phenomenal people off the ice and talented on it. Nick would be more of a quiet leader while Isaac was extremely mature for his age. It was like taking to a 30-year-old when he was 15.”

they’ve always been competitive with each other but play well together, etc.

absolutely no chill: