The Flyers have added some depth up front as the team announced today that they’ve signed Rodrigo Abols to a one-year contract. It’s a two-way agreement that will pay the league minimum salary of $775K in the NHL; the AHL portion of the agreement was not disclosed.
The 28-year-old was originally drafted in the seventh round by Vancouver back in 2016 but never signed with them. However, after a strong showing in Sweden, he inked a two-year deal with Florida back in 2019 to return to North America. However, he wound up being back on loan to SHL Orebro in the second year of that agreement, eventually reaching an agreement on a contract termination in early 2021.
Since then, Abols has exclusively played in Sweden, spending two more years in Orebro before moving to Rogle for the 2023-24 campaign. The change of scenery didn’t help his offensive numbers during the regular season as he went from 19 goals and 22 assists the year before to 14 and 12, respectively this season. However, he was much more impactful in the playoffs, notching five goals and seven helpers in 15 contests to finish second in SHL playoff scoring (to Jere Innala who signed with Colorado earlier this week). It’s fair to suggest Abols’ playoff performance got him back on the NHL radar.
Abols will likely be given a chance to push for a spot at the bottom of Philadelphia’s depth chart in training camp although the likelier outcome is that he starts with AHL Lehigh Valley (pending waiver clearance) and tries to play his way into an NHL recall from there for his first taste of action at the top level. It’s worth noting that he had two years left on his deal with Rogle so if he winds up with an extended stint in the minors and things aren’t going well, it’s quite possible that he could ask for a termination again and return to Sweden.
I think Rodrigo Abols, pride of Latvia, had more impact at the WCs in the last couple of years to help get him back on NHL GMs’ radar.