The Lehigh Valley Phantoms’ 2023-24 season has come to an end after a second round playoff elimination against the AHL’s best team the Hershey Bears. While it wasn’t the prettiest season thanks to call ups, injuries and shoddy goaltending, there were some positive steps taken by the young players on the roster. So let’s evaluate their season on the whole in the last edition of the Prospect Stock Report of the campaign.
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Samu Tuomaala
The rookie Finn definitely had some low expectations entering the season after being drafted 46th overall in 2021 then floundering in his home country ever since.
Tuomaala’s first season in Lehigh Valley told a tale of two very different stories. His early success can be attributed, in part, to his linemates Olle Lycksell and Tanner Laczynski, who formed a lethal trio for the first few months of the season. Then Lycksell got recalled and Laczynski missed two months with an injury and not only did Tuomaala’s production decline, but his overall swagger did too. He reverted to a perimeter player and struggled to assert his dominance and flash the offensive potential he had early on.
He still finished with 15 goals and 43 points in 69 games, which was good enough for second on the team in scoring and showed that he still has potential as a prospect, but also showed that there’s still a ways to go before he reaches the NHL.
Ronnie Attard
Ronnie Attard’s 2023-24 campaign was very similar to his 2022-23 campaign. A slow start after being completely overlooked at the NHL level, a slow rise that end with him becoming one of the highest scorers on the team, and an NHL recall where he’s given practically no chance before being cast aside again.
His NHL recall occured in early March and he played 12 games, but ultimately he lost his spot to Erik Johnson and Marc Staal down the stretch. His contract converts to a one-way deal next year, so theoretically he should be an NHL defenseman in 2024-25, but that caveat hasn’t stopped them from putting guys like Wade Allison and Tanner Laczynski on waivers and demoting them.
Attard has 22 goals and 59 points in 116 AHL games and there’s not much left for him to prove in the minors. Can he maintain an NHL spot full time? Well, that’s TBD because, ya know, they didn’t give him a fair look at any point over the last two years to figure it out.
Bobby Brink
Brink only spent 11 games with the Phantoms this season, but he was a point-per-game player through that stint and tacked on another four points in six playoff games. His time in Lehigh Valley was one of the rare opportunities he had to shine, as he was trapped in John Tortorella’s doghouse on the main roster.
Danny Briere did speak highly of Brink at his end of season press conference and seemed to indicate he’s in the future plans of the organization, but the Flyers haven’t had the best track record of incorporating young guys into the lineup during year two, so anything is possible for Bobby Brink next season.
Tanner Laczynski
Laczynski deserves a ton of credit for the way he played during the 2023-24 season. Not only was he a consummate professional after getting waived from the NHL squad, he took a leadership role with the team, rocking an “A” for the campaign, as well as posting a career best 44 points in 49 games and tacking on four goals in the playoffs.
He served as the team’s top line center through much of the season and took heavy powerplay minutes as well. He did miss about seven weeks with an injury, which limited his impressive production even further.
His contract is up and there’s a good chance mutual interest isn’t shared on either side for a return, so if this is the end of the road for Laczynski’s time with the Phantoms, he deserves a thank you for his contributions over the last four seasons.
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Adam Ginning
Adam Ginning has been a solid defensive defenseman in Lehigh Valley over the last two seasons, blowing away all expectations had for him as a second round pick way back in 2018. He earned an NHL recall late in the season and played nine games, again exceeding expectations including scoring his first NHL goal.
Also worth noting that Ginning wore an “A” on his jersey during the season when other alternates were injured, a relatively surprising development for the 24-year-old sophomore, given the other veteran options on the roster, but it showed that he’s bringing leadership qualities to the table as well.
There have been rumors that he’s heading back to Europe next season, which haven’t been confirmed or denied as of this writing, but Briere did not that he expected Ginning to challenge for a main roster spot heading into next season, so it’s possible he’s going to return for one more season to see if he can hang with the big club.
Olle Lycksell
The tale of Olle Lycksell in the AHL versus the NHL are two very different stories. In the A, he’s a top line scoring winger and powerplay virtuoso that has 84 points in 91 career AHL contests. In the National, he’s was healthy scratched for a literal majority of the time he was on the main roster, and when he did play, he suited up for just 18 games with a whopping 9:56 of average ice time.
He led the team in goals with 19, despite the fact he only played 38 games, and his best contributions came on the powerplay, where nine of his goals were scored as well as nearly half his 39 points.
Lycksell has become the poster child for the Flyers’ inability to develop players. He’s clearly a guy with more to give and they’ve cut his legs out from under him time and time again. He’s still got one year left on his entry-level contract, so they’ll have another chance to screw him up next season too.
J.R. Avon
Avon’s rookie season in the AHL was rather interesting. He played very well for the most part, and saw copious ice time both at even strength and the powerplay when injuries struck the team, but he failed to do much with those minutes despite visually looking good on the ice. He only scored nine goals and 18 points in 65 games.
Avon, who played center in juniors, spent most of the season playing left wing, even when Laczynski went down for nearly two months with injury. It was an odd choice given the organization’s complete lack of center depth, but he handled the transition well.
Avon’s ceiling is still a bit cloudy. Solid play but minimal production limits him quite a bit, but with another season to marinate in Lehigh Valley before he’s on the big league’s radar, he’s got a chance to develop into a more well rounded player.
Hunter McDonald
22-year-old 2022 sixth round pick Hunter McDonald joined the team late in the season after many rumors suggested that the front office was high on him. He got injured during the first period of his first AHL game, and it was assumed he’d be out for the remainder of the season, but he rejoined the team the following weekend no worse for wear and ended up playing 17 games between the regular season and playoffs with the Phantoms.
His 6’4, 207lb frame is his best asset, but he was much more than some lumbering oaf. He was physical, he’s fast, his defensive IQ seems to be decent, albeit still a bit raw and unpolished, it was easy to see what the front office loved so much about the kid. His ceiling is still pretty murky, and a full 2024-25 campaign will give a much better idea of what he can bring to the table, but so far so good for Hunter McDonald.
Ethan Samson
Ethan Samson’s rookie season in the AHL was quite the mixed bag. His early season struggles were finally put behind him by the time the year concluded, but overall he still leaves quite a bit to be desired.
His offensive-defenseman status from his junior days didn’t materialize at the AHL this season, posting only 12 points in 63 games, but playing behind Emil Andrae and Ronnie Attard unsurprisingly limited his contributions. His 56 penalty minutes were fifth on the team and his defense was, on the whole, nothing special.
As noted, he was elevated in the lineup when Attard and Ginning were recalled later in the season, and he seemed to step up and handle himself well in the conditions, indicating that there’s more to his game that just a random depth player.
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Elliot Desnoyers
Nobody took a bigger step back during the 2023-24 season than Elliot Desnoyers. The sophomore forward set the Lehigh Valley Phantoms rookie goalscoring record last season with 23 goals, then produced only six this season, which included a whopping 42-game goalless drought.
There wasn’t ever really a good excuse given as to why the slump occurred. How he went from a two-way stalwart and goalscoring machine to whatever it was he was doing this season was a mystery.
The question now becomes which version of Desnoyers is real? Is he a good player with an NHL ceiling or is he some random dude who just so happened to get hot? The reality is he’s probably somewhere in between. Probably not a top scorer, but not completely worthless either. The 2024-25 season will give a determining decision when it comes to his ceiling.
Helge Grans
Grans was acquired from the LA Kings during the 2023 offseason. The 22-year-old was drafted 35th overall in 2020 and entered his third AHL season.
Grans spent a decent part of the season on the top pair with countryman Emil Andrae, but didn’t have the finesse of a typical top defenseman. He really was just kind of a dude for much of the season and didn’t draw attention in a positive way all that often. Now, a defenseman just existing in the background isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it certainly didn’t match the hype he had when the trade to acquire him went down.
Zayde Wisdom
Wisdom was the only prospect that can be tacked to Laperriere as a developmental failure. He spent the entire season stuck on the fourth line when he wasn’t healthy scratched and saw very limited minutes on special teams as well.
Now in fairness to Lappy, Wisdom hasn’t exactly been a game changing force when he has played, often just floating around in the background. He scored three points in 49 games, a mix of his own ineptitude and Laperriere holding him back.
It’s a match that’s doing no one any favors and it’s unlikely things change next season either.
By: Dan Esche (@DanTheFlyeraFan)
brotherlypuck.com 