Highly touted Flyers prospect Alex Bump to make his NHL debut vs. Penguins
General manager Danny Brière said after Friday’s trade deadline that Bump “would probably be the next guy in line” to get a chance with the Flyers.
PITTSBURGH — After moving two forwards at the NHL trade deadline, with Bobby Brink going to Minnesota and Nic Deslauriers to Carolina, and Travis Konecny presumably still on the shelf with an upper-body injury after appearing in a noncontact jersey at practice on Friday, the Flyers had roster spots open heading into Saturday’s matchup with the Pittsburgh Penguins (5:30 p.m., NBCSP).
Luke Glendening, who was claimed off waivers from the New Jersey Devils on Friday, will take one spot as the fourth-line center. The other will be highly touted prospect Alex Bump, who was called up from Lehigh Valley of the American Hockey League on Saturday and will make his NHL debut against Pittsburgh.
“I think Alex Bump would probably be the next guy in line. Give him a look,” general manager Danny Brière eluded on Friday when asked about the open spots. “He’s played well since he’s been back from his injury, so we’ll see. But I wouldn’t be surprised if we see Alex Bump at some point from here before the end of the season.”
Well, the here is now.
“I think his game turned over. I think six weeks ago or two months ago, he started playing more inside, he moved his feet a lot more, supporting,” coach Rick Tocchet said on Saturday, acknowledging he spoke with Phantoms coach John Snowden earlier in the day.
“But I remember watching him in the development camp, how he took the puck inside and how fast he would get inside. He’s got a really good shot, so let’s keep developing that — that’s a good part of his game — so let’s develop it up here."
According to Tocchet, Bump will probably line up alongside Christian Dvorak to give him a veteran presence, and Trevor Zegras will probably play at center. Matvei Michkov will shift back to the right wing, skating alongside Denver Barkey, who played on the Phantoms’ top line with Bump.
Before the start of Flyers training camp in mid-September, the discourse was that the Bump, a 2025 NCAA champion with Western Michigan, who made his pro debut last spring for the Phantoms, would crack the opening-night lineup.
After high-speed, dominating development and rookie camps, where he looked head and shoulders above his fellow prospects, the 2022 fifth-round pick — he’ll tell you he’s not a fifth-round pick, by the way — was trending in the right direction. But at the main camp, he faltered and found himself heading to Allentown on Sept. 30.
“Disappointing” was how he described not breaking camp to The Inquirer recently, adding that maybe nerves kicked in; however, he also took it as a learning moment and, hopefully, a steppingstone to bigger and better things.
“Anyone I’ve kind of talked to says, ‘Don’t worry, you’re going to play in the American League. Everyone does. It’s where you learn,’” he said. ”You’ve got to learn here than up in the NHL. So I think it’s definitely been good for me.”
It’s been an up-and-down season for Bump in Allentown. The goal scorer, who loves the pull-and-shoot and driving to the middle of the ice, started slow, with one goal in his first eight games. Despite missing several weeks with an upper-body injury — he played one game between Dec. 19 and Feb. 14, in early January — Bump had 11 goals and 26 points in 36 games. He has four goals in his last six games.
» READ MORE: Grading Danny Brière’s trade deadline moves and decision to hold onto Rasmus Ristolainen
It was a chat after the fifth game of the season with Phantoms coach John Snowden, where he was challenged to step up his game, battle, and win 50-50 pucks on the wall especially, that turned the tide.
“If he continues to hammer those certain habit-based things that we need him to do consistently,” Snowden told The Inquirer on Feb. 27, “to be, [first], able to play at the NHL level consistently, and [second], allow him to let that skill set take off and get going, because he gets the puck more, and because he’s winning more puck battles, and he’s playing through people, and he’s abrasive and physical and using his frame.
“He’s proven that he’s not afraid to go to the interior of the rink at all, so he has that mindset already. It’s now all the other moments of maybe a race on the wall, or a puck battle on the wall, or a breakout on the wall. Are you going to win that battle? How are we going to get out of that battle? We hammer those points.”
Breakaways
Dan Vladař will start in net Saturday. ... Travis Konecny made the trip but did not play for the third straight game. He is out with an upper-body injury and was in a non-contact jersey Friday at practice in Voorhees. … The defense remains the same, which means Nick Seeler will miss his second straight game with a lower-body injury.