Philadelphia Flyers Send Down Adam Ginning
Earlier this morning, the Philadelphia Flyers announced that the organization had sent down defenseman Adam Ginning to their AHL affiliate, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. Ginning was originally brought up to the Flyers by way of an emergency loan on March 11th.
Unfortunately, Ginning wasn’t able to suit up in a game during this current stretch in Philadelphia but did make his 2023-24 season debut only a week ago. Playing against the Florida Panthers on March 7th, Ginning played just over 18 minutes over 23 shifts, securing five hits and one blocked shot.
With Erik Johnson and Marc Staal set to hit unrestricted free agency this summer, Ginning should be able to compete for a full-time roster spot as soon as next training camp. The former second-round pick of the Flyers has primarily played for the Phantoms during his tenure with the organization. In 121 games over the last two seasons at the AHL level, Ginning hasn’t been able to produce much offense, scoring only five goals and 32 points overall.
However, Ginning has shown stretches of being a quality shutdown defenseman, using his frame to play physically and separate his opponent from the puck. If he can improve his skating abilities over the next few years, Ginning could become a prized defenseman in the Flyers organization.
Ultimately, Ginning will join a Lehigh Valley team in a competitive race for playoff positioning in the AHL’s Atlantic Division. Afters suffering a first-round exit at the hands of the Charlotte Checkers last year, the Phantoms are currently tied with the Springfield Thunderbirds for the final playoff spot in their division.
Flyers Recall Adam Ginning On Emergency Loan
The Flyers announced that they’ve recalled defenseman Adam Ginning from AHL Lehigh Valley under emergency conditions. With Yegor Zamula sidelined due to illness, Philly was forced to dress 13 forwards and five defensemen in Saturday’s 7-0 drubbing at the hands of the Lightning.
Ginning, 24, is expected to play his second game this season when the Sharks visit the Flyers tomorrow. Philadelphia had summoned him under emergency conditions last week as well but returned him to Lehigh Valley on deadline day to make him eligible to play in the Calder Cup Playoffs.
Since Ginning is coming up on an emergency loan, the Flyers still reserve all of their four post-deadline standard recalls. The Flyers are down to $652K in cap space, so they’ll need to make a corresponding transaction if further recalls are necessary.
A second-round pick of the Flyers in 2018, Ginning is in the back half of his two-year entry-level contract, which carries a $884K cap hit. He’s only in his second season playing with the Flyers in North America but has been playing pro hockey for much longer, debuting with Linköping HC of the Swedish Hockey League all the way back in 2016-17. The shutdown prospect transitioned excellently to Lehigh Valley last season but has had a bit of a sophomore slump in 2023-24, posting two goals and 13 points with a -8 rating in 53 games. He was a +24 with 19 points in 68 games last season.
His lone NHL appearance this year came last Thursday against the Panthers, in which he recorded a -1 rating, five hits, and one block in 18:11 of ice time. He’s expected to skate in a third-pairing role alongside another recent call-up, Ronald Attard, against the Sharks as Philadelphia tries to keep pace in the Metropolitan Division playoff race without head coach John Tortorella for the next two games.
Philadelphia Flyers Extend Nick Seeler
3:40 pm: The Philadelphia Flyers have announced the signing, confirming that it will be a four-year, $10.8MM contract extension for Seeler. The deal will also carry a M-NTC for Seeler in the first two years of the contract.
9:59 am: Half of the Flyers’ top shutdown pairing appears to be off the trade block — for multiple reasons. Not only has Nick Seeler landed on injured reserve Wednesday with a lower-body injury, but his camp is making significant progress on a contract extension to keep him in Philly, Darren Dreger of TSN reports. Anthony Di Marco of The Fourth Period adds the deal is expected to be three or four years in length and will carry an average annual value of around $3.3MM.
In a transaction corresponding with Seeler’s IR placement, the Flyers recalled blue-liner Adam Ginning from AHL Lehigh Valley. It’s the 24-year-old’s first recall of the season.
Seeler, 30, has emerged from the woodwork to emerge one of the league’s most competent two-way defensive pairs alongside Sean Walker, who’s also seen his name bandied about heavily in trade talks. The two pending UFAs have been crucial in helping the Flyers break out for a likely playoff berth, posting a team-high 55.9% expected goals share in their 645 minutes together this season, per MoneyPuck. Seeler’s seen more limited usage at even strength – averaging 14:46 per game compared to Walker’s 16:47 – but he is tied for the team lead with a +15 rating alongside top scorer Travis Konecny. His overall 16:58 average per game is a career-high.
He’s slowly developed into a multi-competent NHL player after starting his career as a bottom-of-the-lineup enforcer with the Wild in the late 2010s. Since joining the Flyers in 2021, Seeler has accumulated six goals, 23 assists, and 29 points in 183 games. One of those goals and 12 points have come in 63 games this year.
While not guaranteed, Seeler’s extension increases the likelihood of Walker finding a new home within 48 hours. The Flyers are far ahead of schedule in their rebuild, and GM Daniel Brière has preached patience and not sacrificing long-term success for short-term gains in the weeks leading up to the deadline. Walker could command a first- or second-round pick plus a handful of other desirable assets based on the market set by the Chris Tanev swap last month after the Flyers took him on as a cap dump in a three-way trade with the Blue Jackets and Kings last summer involving Ivan Provorov.
Seeler is in the final season of a two-year, $1.55MM extension he signed in May 2022. His deal carries a two-way structure this season ($775K NHL/$350K AHL/$375K gt’d), although at no point has an AHL assignment been considered for him.
Unfortunately, the Minnesota native will miss a handful of contests as the Flyers try to maintain third place in the Metropolitan Division. Assuming his IR placement is backdated to when he sustained the injury on Monday against the Blues, he’s been ruled out for a pair of pivotal contests against the Panthers and Lightning this week.
Ginning, a second-round pick in 2018, could make his season debut if Walker is dealt by Friday or if the Flyers opt to dress seven defensemen. He’s appeared in 52 contests with Lehigh Valley this season, scoring twice and adding 11 assists for 13 points with a -9 rating. He’ll be an RFA with arbitration rights this summer after completing his two-year, $1.85MM entry-level contract.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports.
TSN’s Darren Dreger was the first to report the official deal for Seeler.
Minor Moves: Bussi, Ginning, Samuelsson
The Boston Bruins recalled goaltender Brandon Bussi from the minors on an emergency basis, according to a team release Wednesday morning. Bussi’s recall comes in response to Linus Ullmark leaving yesterday’s game with an undisclosed injury, which head coach Jim Montgomery later told reporters was a precautionary move.
With Ullmark banged up earlier in the week as well, Bussi saw his first NHL recall on April 9 after signing an entry-level contract with Boston last year. It’s Bussi’s third transaction between Boston and AHL Providence in the past four days, as he was returned to the minors after serving as backup for Sunday’s game against the Flyers. The 24-year-old has played 31 games with Providence this season, posting a 21-5-4 record, a 2.38 goals-against average, and a .925 save percentage. As Boston Hockey Now’s Joe Haggerty noted, Bussi could be in line for his first NHL start down the stretch with Boston’s record-setting regular season drawing to a close.
Also from around the NHL beat this morning:
- Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Adam Ginning has been sent back to the AHL, according to The Athletic’s Charlie O’Connor. The 23-year-old made his NHL debut yesterday in the team’s overtime win against Columbus, recording two hits, two blocked shots, and a minor penalty in 16:40 of ice time. Drafted 50th overall in 2018, Ginning has been among the Lehigh Valley Phantoms’ best defensive players this season and will play a pivotal role on the team during the Calder Cup Playoffs.
- Former Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Philip Samuelsson is on the move overseas, joining the DEL’s Straubing Tigers for the 2023-24 season, per the league. Samuelsson, a 2009 second-round pick, recorded 31 points in 47 games last year for the DEL’s Fischtown Penguins and last played in North America in 2018-19. He recorded only 13 games of NHL action during his time with the Penguins and Arizona Coyotes, failing to record a point.
Philadelphia Flyers Recall Adam Ginning
The Philadelphia Flyers have nothing much to play for in the last few days of the season, so another prospect will get his first chance in the NHL. Adam Ginning has been recalled from the Lehigh Valley Phantoms for the first time in his career.
Ginning, 23, has played the stable stay-at-home role for years now, both in Sweden and now in the minor leagues. The 6’3″ defenseman entered professional hockey as a teenager, and played an incredibly simple, physical game in his own end. That pleased coaches and kept him rising draft boards, despite only scoring 29 points in a 216-game SHL career.
This year, in the AHL, he’s done much of the same. Acting as the defensive balance to Ronnie Attard‘s offensive game, Ginning has been outstanding, adding 19 points and 61 penalty minutes. His +25 rating easily leads the club, and while that is partly due to the talent around him, Ginning’s defensive play has warranted attention.
He’ll get it, in the form of an NHL call-up and potential debut. For a head coach like John Tortorella, who values effort over everything, Ginning’s game should fit in well. Whether he can keep up with the NHL speed and skill, however, remains to be seen.
Given the changes expected in Philadelphia this offseason, there could be a lot more playing time coming for young talents like Ginning. A showcase over the last few days of the season could go a long way to securing him some time on the roster in 2023-24.
Philadelphia Flyers Sign Adam Ginning
The Philadelphia Flyers have signed another prospect, inking Adam Ginning to a two-year entry-level contract. Ginning could have become an unrestricted free agent had he not signed by this summer, given he was drafted four years ago.
Now 22, the big, physical defenseman has not exactly followed the development path that some expected when he was a young player. After making it to the SHL by the age of 17, he became the captain of the Swedish junior program and looked like a sure-fire first-round pick in 2018. But there was just no sign of any offensive upside at all by the time the draft rolled around, and with teams leaning at that point toward mobile puck-movers, Ginning ended up falling nearly out of the second.
The Flyers grabbed him, a worthwhile bet at that point, but things still haven’t really changed for the 6’3″ defenseman. He still provides basically no offense–he scored just five points in 51 games this season–but things have started to change in the NHL, as teams start to covet reach, mobility, and physicality once again at the position. The fact that Ginning continues to find team success, and won an SHL championship this year, shows that there is something to be said for his shutdown style.
Given he is no longer under contract in Sweden, the next step is likely for him to come to North America and play in the minor leagues. As an older prospect, he may even move quickly through the system and see NHL minutes next season. Whether he can hold down a spot is another question entirely, though it’s easy to see why the Flyers are willing to give him a chance after such a successful campaign.