VOORHEES, N.J. – Depth on defense has been an issue with the Flyers for the past couple seasons and on Friday, just before the 3 p.m. NHL trade deadline, the team did something about it.
It acquired backliner David Jiricek from the Minnesota Wild in a trade which sent right wing Bobby Brink back to his native state.
While Jiricek will report to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms of the American Hockey League for the time being, he might be seeing some NHL action before the season is over.
Jiricek, 22, was originally selected by Columbus in the first round (sixth overall) of the 2022 NHL Draft. He has appeared in 84 NHL games with the Blue Jackets (2022–25) and Wild (2024–26), recording two goals and 11 assists for 13 points.
He has also spent parts of four seasons in the American Hockey League with the Cleveland Monsters (2022–25) and Iowa Wild (2024–26), where he has totaled 17 goals, 60 assists for 77 points in 139 games.
As part of the transaction, Brink will join the Wild.
The 24-year-old forward appeared in 201 NHL games with the Flyers over parts of four seasons (2022, 2023-26) and recorded 36 goals, 58 assists for 94 points. Brink was drafted by Philadelphia in the second round (34th overall) of the 2019 NHL Draft.
Jiricek, a 6-foot-4, 204-pound defenseman, has split time this season between Minnesota and Iowa, posting two goals and 10 points in 24 games with Iowa.
A native of Klatovy, Czechia, Jiricek has represented his country internationally on five occasions, including the IIHF Under-18 World Championship (2021), three IIHF World Junior Championships (2021, 2022, 2023), and the IIHF World Championship (2022).
He helped Czechia capture a silver medal at the 2023 World Junior Championship and was named the tournament’s best defenseman and selected to the All-Star Team.
In another transaction on Friday morning, the Flyers announced they have acquired forward Brett Harrison and defenseman Jackson Edward from the Boston Bruins in exchange for forwards Alexis Gendron and Massimo Rizzo.
Harrison and Edward will report to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms..
The 22-year-old Harrison was selected by Boston in the third round (85th overall) of the 2021 NHL Draft. He has played parts of four seasons with the Providence Bruins (AHL) from 2022–26, recording 19 goals and 30 assists for 49 points in 140 games.
He also appeared in two 2024 Calder Cup playoff games, registering one goal and two assists.
The 6-foot-3, 201-pound forward is having a career-best season in goals with eight and has matched his career high in points with 17.
Edward, also 22, was selected by Boston in the seventh round (200th overall) of the 2022 NHL Draft. He has played parts of two seasons between the Providence Bruins (AHL) and Maine Mariners (ECHL) from 2024–26.
The defenseman has recorded seven career points (one goal, six assists) with Providence and nine points (one goal, eight assists) with Maine.
The 6-foot-2, 200-pound defenseman has appeared in nine games with Providence this season. He has spent the majority of the year with the Maine Mariners of the ECHL, where he has recorded seven assists.
Gendron played parts of three seasons with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms (2023–26), totaling 35 goals and 22 assists for 57 points in 127 games. This season, he appeared in 47 games for Lehigh Valley and recorded 22 points (10 goals, 12 assists).
Rizzo, 24, has appeared in 46 games for the Phantoms during the 2024–25 season after the Flyers acquired his rights from Carolina in August, 2023. He recorded 18 points (six goals, 12 assists) that season. Rizzo has spent this season with the Reading Royals of the ECHL, posting 22 points (six goals, 16 assists) in 29 games.
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