The run on college players continues. The Philadelphia Flyers have signed Tanner Laczynski to a two-year entry-level contract, getting him into the organization and avoiding a potential free agent situation this summer. Laczynski recently finished his senior season at Ohio State and could have become an unrestricted free agent in August.
Instead, the 22-year old forward will join a Flyers organization that originally selected him 169th overall in 2016. Since then, when he was a late-round pick out of the USHL, Laczynski has become one of the most consistent offensive in all of college hockey, recording 143 points in 138 games for the Buckeyes while also representing Team USA at the 2017 World Junior Championship, winning gold.
Flyers’ assistant GM Brent Flahr released a short statement about his new forward:
Tanner has completed an excellent college career at Ohio State University and we are very excited to have him under contract. He plays a mature two-way game, he’s a proven leader, and we see him as a versatile forward for the Flyers organization going forward.
Even getting an NHL contract after being selected so late is an accomplishment, but Laczynski will obviously be hoping for more than just an entry-level deal. He’ll be in training camp (whenever that happens to be) competing for a role in the organziation.
not a bad get for a 6th rounder
Good on the Flyers for giving Laczynski a chance. In today’s NHL, it seems that most teams look at 3rd-rounders and below as afterthoughts, just somebody to keep the AHL/ECHL cupboards stocked. Hopefully, he’ll get a legit shot at proving himself.