Last Friday, 26-year-old forward and former second round pick Wade Allison was traded to the Nashville Predators at the deadline in exchange for forward Denis Gurianov, ending his nearly four year stretch in the Flyers’ organization.
There’s two very different opinions of Wade Allison, there’s the group that watched him succeed in Lehigh Valley and understands the role he is supposed to be playing and what he can be when he’s at his best, and there’s the group that pigeonholed him as the glass cannon who didn’t rack up the points in 2022-23 with zero previous exposure to his potential.
Wade Allison’s bread and butter was crashing the net with reckless abandon and winning those battles in the crease to score some grimy goals. It’s a skill set that when done right is an art that is seen less and less in the league in the modern era. But that’s not the version of the player that was deployed in the NHL last season. John Tortorella tried to convert him to a fourth line, two-way grinder and was rarely elevated from that role. It’s how he only racked up 15 points in 60 games last season. He averaged 12:53 of ice time, but upon looking at the game logs, there are multiple examples of times he didn’t even break the 10 minutes of TOI in a game.
He was unexpectedly demoted to the AHL to start the 2023-24 campaign and was (rightfully) unhappy at the news. He was kicked out of Tortorella’s doghouse and shipped directly into Laperriere’s. It wasn’t until the new year rolled around when Allison and Lappy got back on the same page. He at least ended his Phantoms career on a high note, a game-winning shootout goal on March 3.
For an organization that has put “culture” above quite literally anything else, it’s kind of amazing that Allison didn’t make it. The energy he brought to both the Flyers and Phantoms seemed to always be positive, especially at the AHL level, when interactions with fans is much closer. The outward energy and charisma he oozed felt like he should’ve been spearheading the culture shift rather than be blacklisted from it.
And for the “he’s always injured” mouth breathing portion of the fanbase, consider this: Both Allison and Travis Konecny played 60 games during the 2022-23 season, and they’ve played the same percentage of games this season, too. Allison suited up for 46 of 52 Phantoms games and Konecny appeared in 58 of 64 NHL games.
If you’ve got to go back three seasons to point to an injury to make attempt to build a case that he’s perennially missing half the campaign. And especially when comparing Allison’s injury history to others within the recent history of the Flyers’ organization, he was quite healthy over the last few seasons. It was always an empty, overblown reaction to a couple early career struggles rather than current day assessments.
But maybe it’s best to use his time in Philly as a precursor for other prospects. With guys like Bobby Brink, Olle Lycksell, Ronnie Attard, Emil Andrae and countless others coming in the next few seasons, there’s a good chance Allison is just the first player that gets misused and tossed to the side without ever being given a proper chance to excel in their specialized roles. It’s failed development at it’s finest.
Thank you, Wade, for your time in the organization and the impact you had with the Phantoms. There are few people that embraced, interacted and understood the fanbase like he did. He deserved a better fate with the Flyers and hopefully Allison gets a real opportunity to make it back to the NHL in Nashville. He’s clearly got more to give to a hockey club than what the Flyers assessed and a fresh slate should do him wonders.
By: Dan Esche (@DanTheFlyeraFan)
photo credit: phillyvoice.com
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