- David Jiricek is no longer waiver exempt, so the Flyers risk losing him if they try to send him to Lehigh Valley
- Danny Briere says the 2022 sixth overall pick is coming to camp to battle on a blue line that returns its top five
- Read below for Briere’s full comments and where Oliver Bonk fits into the fight for the last spot
David Jiricek is going to be tough for the Flyers to hide this season.
The 2022 sixth overall pick has lost his waiver exemption, and there is a good chance another club would claim him if Philadelphia tried to send him to AHL Lehigh Valley, per Jordan Hall of NBC Sports Philadelphia. That math points to the 22-year-old opening the season on the NHL roster.
Flyers general manager Danny Briere was asked about a defense corps that brings almost everyone back, and he pointed straight at his two young righty shots.
“You have a guy like Jiricek, who’s going to come in and battle. You have a guy like Bonk, who’s about to get into battle. I don’t know that these guys are quite ready to take on 22, 23 minutes a night. That’s where Risto gets to protect them.”
Rasmus Ristolainen is the reason neither prospect has to be rushed. He played top-pair minutes once he got healthy in mid-December.
Take a look at Jiricek getting his first skate in with the big club:
Jiricek landed in Philadelphia at the March trade deadline in the Bobby Brink deal, making the Flyers his third organization after Columbus and Minnesota. He put up two goals and 11 assists in 15 games with the Phantoms, then played the Flyers’ regular-season finale.
Briere laid out that plan the day he made the trade, when reporters asked whether Jiricek would get NHL games right away.
“I didn’t make him any promises. But yeah, at some point, if we have the chance, we’d like to give him a look. The most important we felt is for him to start in Lehigh, get high minutes and lots of reps.”
Watch the full availability from the day of the deal:
Bonk has a shorter resume and a loud one. The 2023 first-rounder has played one NHL regular-season game, a 4-2 win over Montreal, and he walked out of it with a goal and an assist. Philadelphia then trusted the 21-year-old with Game 4 of the second round against Carolina.
Here is Bonk ripping one through a Matvei Michkov screen:
Assistant general manager Brent Flahr talked in July about how close Bonk is, and he did not hedge much. “I think he’ll challenge at camp,” Flahr said. “He may force his hand.”
Simon Benoit is the other name in the way. He came to Philadelphia in the four-player Joseph Woll trade that sent Emil Andrae to Toronto, and he shapes up as Jiricek’s competition for the last spot on the opening-night defense. Only one of those two costs the Flyers something if he gets sent down.
