Flyers sign restricted free agent forward Olle Lycksell to new contract
Lycksell, who turns 24 in August, had an impressive rookie year with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms but did not make the same impact during his NHL call-ups.
In his first season of North American hockey, Swedish forward Olle Lycksell showed the Flyers enough to earn a two-year, two-way, $1.575 million contract extension ($787,500 AAV).
Lycksell, who turns 24 in August, finished his AHL season with 14 goals and 31 assists in 53 games. His 45 points ranked second on the team behind Tyson Foerster’s 48. However, his 0.85 points per game led the Phantoms, as did his assist total. Lycksell also logged one assist in eight NHL games.
The forward was one of five restricted free agents the Flyers had entering the offseason. So far, they have come to agreements with defensemen Cam York (two-year, $3.2 million) and Ronnie Attard (two-year, two-way/one-way, $1.7 million), as well as forward Noah Cates (two-year, $5.25 million). With Lycksell’s deal now done, they just have forward Morgan Frost left to sign. The deadline to sign restricted free agents before they hit the open market is Saturday.
Initially, Lycksell raised eyebrows with his performance at rookie camp. Having played against men for five seasons in Sweden’s top professional league, the SHL, Lycksell impressed despite the switch to the smaller ice surface.
Lycksell earned a look at training camp, and was called up ahead of the Flyers’ second game of the season on Oct. 15. He played only nine minutes in his NHL debut, a 3-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks, and was subsequently sent down to the AHL.
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With the Phantoms, he continued to improve and adjust to the smaller rink. He quietly dominated, averaging over a point a game until March. He had 11 multi-point games including a four-point performance against the Rochester Americans on Nov. 26.
In December, Lycksell got another two-game look from the Flyers. Although Lehigh Valley coach Ian Laperrière had good things to say, Flyers coach John Tortorella was not impressed by Lycksell the way he was with future AHL call-ups Elliot Desnoyers and Foerster.
The Flyers gave Lycksell a five-game run in February. He notched his first NHL point on Feb. 21 in Edmonton and a season-high 14 minutes, 28 seconds of ice time vs. Montreal three days later.
Lycksell finished out the season in the AHL, where the Phantoms lost in the first round of playoffs.
The Flyers picked Lycksell in the sixth round of the 2017 draft. Getting bigger and stronger has always been a major focus for the 5-foot-10, 173-pound forward, and Lycksell has put in the work. His next step will be trying to figure out how to transfer the creativity that makes him stand out at the AHL level to the NHL. Lycksell is expected to compete for a bottom-six role with the Flyers this fall in training camp.
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