Garrett Wilson hasn’t played a playoff game for the Flyers, but ‘the GOAT’ has made an impact on rookies and veterans alike

When Alex Bump first arrived in Lehigh Valley to begin his pro career with the Flyers, he was nervous. It was April of 2025, and the then-21-year-old left winger had just won a national championship with Western Michigan University

Despite his recent accolades, Bump wasn’t a top-tier prospect. He didn’t personally know anyone on the Phantoms roster, and was worried about asking “stupid” questions.

Until he met Garrett Wilson.

All of a sudden, the rookie started to feel more comfortable. Wilson, the American Hockey League team’s captain, regularly made an effort to check in, and urged Bump to direct any and all queries his way.

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“One of the things you’re most scared of when you turn pro, I think, is just all the other guys who have been here way longer,” Bump said. “And higher end guys, you know? But he’s really good at making you feel like you belong.”

It would have been easy for Wilson, 35, to not be as forthcoming. At that point, he was six years removed from his last NHL game, and pining to get back into the league.

Another veteran might have seen a budding newcomer, who played the same position as him, as an obstacle to that goal.

But Wilson looked at it differently. When he was a young guy, rising through the Florida Panthers’ system, he had the help of seasoned pros like Greg Zanon and Shane O’Brien.

So, the left winger decided to pay it forward. Not only with the Flyers’ youth, like Bump, Denver Barkey and Porter Martone, but with more-established players, as well.

After the Flyers signed him to a two-way contract around the trade deadline — that led to his return to NHL play on March 19 — Wilson is now on Philadelphia’s playoff roster in a reserve role.

And while he watches games from the press box, in a suit and dress shoes, rather than from the bench in a jersey and skates, the veteran is still making a real impact.

“He’s amazing,” Travis Konecny said at Xfinity Mobile Arena on Saturday. “Since we’ve had him here, it’s seemed like he’s fit right in. He’s been around a lot of hockey. He’s been on some playoff runs. Having him here, helping some of the younger guys, it’s just been a tremendous add.”

Konecny turned to Trevor Zegras, a few feet away from his locker.

“You want to jump in?” he asked. “We’re talking about G Willy.”

Zegras leaned toward his teammate.

“The GOAT!” he said.

“The GOAT,” Konecny affirmed.

At the start of the AHL season, Wilson likes to hold a team meeting. In it, he delineates his expectations for the Phantoms, both on and off the ice, setting the tone for the upcoming year.

The captain encourages his players to treat everyone with respect, from coaches to trainers to arena staff.

But that isn’t his only expectation.

“He goes, ‘Don’t be a [expletive] and be a good teammate,’” Bump said. “Be tough, I guess, and be a good teammate.”

“Yeah, that’s kind of the message I like to give some of those guys,” Wilson added. “Be a good teammate, and don’t be soft. No one likes a soft teammate.”

The 6-foot-3, 218-pound left winger has a track record to back this sentiment up. Wilson, who debuted in 2014 with the Panthers, has long been known for his gritty, physical style of play. The Ontario native led the AHL in penalty minutes in 2022-23 and 2023-24.

» READ MORE: Some wanted to change Trevor Zegras. The Flyers let ‘Z be Z.’ Now, he’s got his ‘swagger back.’

(Across his 87 NHL games, he’s tallied 211 hits and 47 penalty minutes.)

It’s made him a font of knowledge for Flyers rookies who are looking to toughen their approach. The 21-year-old Barkey — listed at 5-10, 171 pounds — says the veteran has encouraged him to maintain his fearless energy.

“He’s always been a really good support guy,” the prospect said. “He knows that I’m not afraid to go into the corners and that I compete and work hard. I might have to get a few fighting lessons from him eventually, but I’ve got to put on a few pounds before that.”

Not long ago, Martone approached Wilson with this very topic in mind, asking the grizzled veteran for some tips on how to protect himself in a scrap.

Wilson obliged. He walked the 19-year-old prospect through the basics: where to grab a player, when and when not to drop the gloves, and how to approach a larger opponent vs. a smaller one.

“He’s been a tough guy in this league for a long time, and kind of the way I play, sometimes I get over the edge,” Martone said. “So, I picked his brain.”

The lessons go both ways. Wilson was the oldest player on Lehigh Valley’s roster this season by far (and is the second-oldest on the Flyers behind Luke Glendening).

He enjoys hanging out with his younger teammates — Wilson recently attended a Sixers game with Bump, Barkey, and Martone, in which Barkey and Martone rang the bell — but there are times when the generational gap is stark.

None more so than when the rookies are using TikTok terminology, like “chopped” (ugly or unattractive) or “ahh” (expletive).

“Yeah, I feel like we’ve definitely taught him some things,” said Bump. “A-H-H. That was a big one. We were using that all the time when we were in Lehigh. It’s not even a word.”

“I can tell when he’s with me and Barks, and me and Bumper, and we’re talking in modern slang … he’s a little [lost]," added Martone.

“He asks what they mean, and starts adding them to his vocabulary,” added Barkey.

Wilson isn’t too fazed by this. For now, he’s just grateful that he’s been spared any TikTok dances from his younger cohorts.

“I don’t think they’d do that in front of me,” he said. “I don’t need to see that.”

While Wilson has certainly spent more time with the Flyers’ prospects, he’s also gelled with the veterans, too. Head coach Rick Tocchet said that the left winger has been “unreal in the room,” and that the players, both young and old, look up to him.

This is true even for Konecny, who has played 636 more regular-season games than Wilson.

“He helps everywhere,” the right winger said. “He helps me with certain things. He’s been a lot of spots where I haven’t been before.”

“We chat a lot after games,” he added, “and he’s just so even-keeled. A great guy to just throw ideas at. He’s seen a lot of hockey, so he knows what’s going on.”

This mutual respect has its limits. One limit, in particular. Konecny, Wilson, and a group of other Flyers veterans like to play poker on the team plane, and sometimes on the road, after dinner.

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These games can get a little heated.

“He’s helped me win some money,” Konecny said, “because I beat him in poker. A lot.”

Wilson disputed this account.

“That’s not true,” he said. “I take all of his poker money.”

All joking aside, the team is grateful for Wilson’s leadership, even if it doesn’t always show up on a scoresheet. And he’s just as grateful to be a part of this playoff run.

It wasn’t so long ago that the veteran thought his NHL window was closed. Now, in the wake of his two-way contract, he’s as motivated as ever to help the Flyers win, whether he’s sitting in the press box or on the bench.

But to Bump, Wilson’s impact transcends his role.

“Best teammate I’ve ever had,” he said.