Philadelphia Flyers ink Nolan Patrick to entry-level contract
By Chuck Booth
The Philadelphia Flyers have officially signed their top draft pick to an entry level contract.
After a standout season for the Brandon Wheat Kings of the WHL, Nolan Patrick was selected by the Philadelphia Flyers with the second overall pick in the NHL Draft. Patrick amassed 46 points in 33 games. He scored 20 goals while also providing 26 assists for the Wheat Kings in 33 games. That’s an impressive 1.39 points per game from Patrick in the WHL.
What’s more impressive is that those numbers could have been better if not for Patrick missing 39 games due to a sports hernia. Patrick had surgery to repair the injury on June 13th but was able to take part in off ice activities during the Philadelphia Flyers development camp earlier in July. He’s expected to begin skating next week which puts him on track to be ready for training camp in September.
The deal is for three years and $2.775 million, with an annual salary-cap hit of $925,000, according to CapFriendly.com.
Patrick will likely be the third line center for the Philadelphia Flyers this upcoming season where he will be expected to make an immediate impact. His likely partners on the third line would be Oskar Lindblom and Jakub Voracek. A reasonable projection for Patrick would be that he plays in 70+ games for the Flyers while contributing about 40 points.
Patrick can also make an impact on power plays and penalty kills from the start.
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It will be interesting to see Patrick on the ice for the Philadelphia Flyers once training camp rolls around but for the time being, Ron Hextall has done what is needed to make sure that the team’s top draft pick has been locked up.