Coaches, scouts and talent evaluators agree that if Flyers right wing Wade Allison can just stay healthy he can someday be a top-six forward in the National Hockey League.
And the Flyers believe Allison can finally get past his injury problem. They showed that on Friday when they signed the restricted free agent to a two-year, two-way/one-way contract with an average annual value (AAV) of $785,000.
The Flyers also signed defenseman Linus Högberg to a one-year, two-way contract with an average annual value (AAV) of $750,000.
Allison, 24, played one game with the Flyers at the end of 2021-22 and spent a majority of the season with the club’s American Hockey League affiliate, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, where he recorded 10 goals and seven assists for 17 points in 28 games.
The 6-2, 205-pound forward signed an entry-level contract with the Flyers on March 27, 2020 and appeared in 10 games for the Phantoms the following season in 2020-21 where he posted four goals/nine points in 10 10 games before being recalled to the Flyers.
He made his NHL debut on Apr. 15. 2021 at Pittsburgh and appeared in 14 games for the Flyers and recorded seven points for the remainder of the season.
Prior to turning professional, Allison spent the four seasons playing at Western Michigan University where he recorded 97 points with 45 goals and 52 assists in 106 games and a plus-minus rating of plus-30. He also served as the team’s alternate captain in each of the last two seasons.
A native of Carman, Manitoba, Allison was selected by the Flyers in the second round (52nd overall) of the 2016 NHL Entry Draft.
Högberg, 23, appeared in five games for the Flyers in 2021-22 and made his NHL debut on Apr. 21 at Montreal where he also recorded his first NHL point with an assist. He recorded assists in each of his first two NHL games and in his five-game stint recorded an average ice time of 17:04.
The 6-1, 176-pound blue liner spent a majority of last season with the Flyers’ American Hockey League affiliate, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. He posted eight assists and 14 penalty minutes in 58 games for the Phantoms. He also record eight points in 26 games as a rookie for Lehigh Valley in 2020-21, his first season of playing in North America.
Prior to coming over to North America, Högberg played his entire junior and professional career in Sweden, mostly for the Växjö Lakers in the Swedish Hockey League, where he helped them win the SHL Championship in 2018.
