Wade Allison makes strong NHL debut for Flyers, while Cam York’s climb is delayed

Wade Allison, the rugged right winger selected by the Flyers in the second round of the 2016 draft, didn’t get much sleep Wednesday, knowing he was going to make his NHL debut Thursday in Pittsburgh.

After overcoming numerous injuries along the way, he had finally reached The Show.

“It’s hard to put into words,” the 6-foot-2, 205-pound Allison said before the Flyers rallied past the Penguins, 2-1, in a shootout. “I’m pretty excited, pretty nervous. We’ll see when I get out there. I’m going to work hard, do my job.”

He did just that. In 11:13 of action, including 2:05 on the power play, Allison was in the middle of several scoring chances and he finished with four shots. He was twice denied on point-blank attempts, but he looked like the hungriest visiting player on the ice.

“I was crazy nervous before the game, but as soon as you go in there and get your first shift, it’s the same game of hockey,” he said after the win. “I just tried to keep my feet moving.”

Allison has overcome lots of obstacles along the way. He tore the ACL in his right knee while he was at Western Michigan in 2018 – an injury that occurred when he was one of the nation’s best collegiate players -- and endured a recovery from surgery that took much longer than expected.

» READ MORE: Five minutes with Flyers prospect Jackson Cates. Will we see him with the big club soon? | On the Fly

He suffered a shoulder injury that impacted his senior collegiate year, and his time at the Flyers’ training camp this January – he had an outside chance to make the team – was short-lived because he required surgery on ankle-bone fragments.

“It’s been a long road. A lot of ups and a lot of downs,” he said after his debut. “I did it. It’s pretty cool. Something I’ll remember forever. Something that no one can ever take from me. It’s pretty special.”

On Thursday, Allison, 23, was on a line with Nolan Patrick, 22, and Oskar Lindblom, 24. The players could represent a big part of the Flyers’ future. Before Patrick was injured in the third period and left the game, the trio had surprisingly good chemistry for never having a full practice together.

“They’re both pretty sweet players; they both make tremendous plays,” Allison said of his linemates. “They know what’s going on; they play the game right, so it was real easy for me to just slide in there and try to contribute.”

With the Phantoms this season, Allison had nine points, including four goals, in eight games.

“The description I’m getting from Chuck (Fletcher, the general manager) is that he’s a power forward who goes to the tough areas. He’s physical and he’s got a good shot,” coach Alain Vigneault said before the game.

Allison replaced Nic Aube-Kubel, who has fallen out of favor because of the rash of penalties he has taken lately. “Far too many,” Vigneault said.

“There’s no doubt that shaking the mix and getting a look at players, especially when some other guys aren’t performing up to our expectations, is something we can do,” he added.

The Flyers drafted Allison with a selection they acquired in the Kimmo Timonen trade with Chicago.

For highly touted Cam York, a left-handed-shooting defenseman who was the Flyers’ first-round pick in 2019, the road to his pro debut has been delayed by COVID-19.

York, 20, quarantined after his University of Michigan team had its season end abruptly because of a COVID-19 breakout on the day the team was supposed to play its first NCAA Tournament game.

He then joined the Phantoms for a few practices and was set to play in his first AHL game. But the Phantoms have had five games postponed because of the COVID-19 protocol, including upcoming matchups Friday at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and Sunday vs. Hershey.

The plan, Flyers assistant general manager Brent Flahr said, was to have the 5-foot-11, 185-pound York spend some time in the AHL and be recalled by the Flyers this season.

At the moment, those plans are on hold.

York, a sophomore, was the Big Ten’s defenseman of the year this season, one in which he had 20 points (4 goals, 16 assists) and a plus-13 rating in 24 games.

He was captain of the U.S. team that stunned Canada on his 21st birthday, 2-0, to win the World Junior title. In the seven tournament games, York had a goal, five assists, and a plus-4 rating.

The southern California native “excels at getting you out of your zone and getting you up ice,” Fletcher said recently. “He’s a guy inside the offensive zone that can move the puck and see the ice. He has the ability to play on the power play.”

York is No. 2 in The Inquirer’s rankings of the Flyers’ top prospects behind Morgan Frost and ahead of Allison at No. 3.

Frost, making a comeback from shoulder surgery, recently started skating but is a long way from shooting or taking contact. He is doubtful to play again this season, Flahr said.

Robert Hagg had six hits in the win, and Ivan Provorov had five blocked shots. ... Phil Myers replaced Samuel Morin on defense. Vigneault said he has liked the way Morin has played but wanted to give him a breather and that he will use him this weekend against the more physical Capitals (Saturday) and Islanders (Sunday) . … Claude Giroux said Michael Raffl, who was dealt to Washington, was “kind of a goof and always joking around. Mike was one of the best teammates I’ve ever had and we got pretty close.”

» READ MORE: The Flyers’ offensive collapse is stunning | Sam Carchidi