Once-Promising Flyers Prospect Flames Out, Signs Overseas

Drafting has long been a point of contention for the Philadelphia Flyers and their fans, and another one of their recently selected prospects has already flamed out and signed overseas.

Several former Flyers players who recently played for the organization have signed with clubs in different countries to continue their playing careers.

Most notably, veteran forward Kevin Hayes, who emerged as a controversial figure at the end of his Flyers tenure and again during the Cutter Gauthier saga, signed with the KHL’s Ak Bars Kazan.

Defenseman Egor Zamula bounced around this season before winding up back home in Russia with CSKA Moscow, and winger Anthony Richard signed in Switzerland with his NHL opportunities with the Flyers greatly decreased.

Now, a former Flyers second-round pick is joining that group of castaways, heading over to Sweden’s SHL for at least two seasons.

Earlier this month, once-promising Flyers prospect Samu Tuomaala signed a two-year deal with Linkoping HC, flaming out of North American hockey just five years after being drafted.

Tuomaala never made NHL debut, must fight to save his career

(Photo: Brad Penner, USA TODAY Sports)

Tuomaala, 23, is still fairly young, though injuries have stalled his development and decimated his chances of cracking an NHL roster in the past few seasons.

Drafted 46th overall by the Flyers in the second round of the 2021 NHL Draft, Tuomaala was picked ahead of the likes of Logan Stankoven, Aatu Raty, Matthew Knies, J.J. Moser, Oliver Kapanen, and Jackson Blake, and only 10 players drafted ahead of him (excluding Chaz Lucius, who medically retired) have also yet to appear in an NHL game.

Winger Danila Klimovich is one of those 10, and the Flyers just picked up the Vancouver prospect in free agency.

At the end of the day, skating and shooting were the two hallmarks of Tuomaala’s game, but the shooting never quite came as the Finn scored just 26 times in 118 games across three seasons with the AHL Lehigh Valley Phantoms.

Then, after a scoreless three games with the Phantoms this year, the Flyers traded Tuomaala to the Dallas organization for defenseman Christian Kyrou, who tore it up for the Phantoms but was subsequently let go as well.

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Putting those two players in a Venn diagram, they play different positions, of course, but both Kyrou and Tuomaala played skilled games as undersized players. Their problem was that they did not project to fill those premier roles at the top level, and so there was no fit for them left in the Flyers organization.

“We are very pleased to welcome Samu to LHC on a two-year deal. With Samu, we get another right-handed forward with good speed and a really good shot. He gives us more options in the power play and fits well into the hockey we want to play. We believe his best years are ahead of him and look forward to seeing him continue to develop and become an important player for us over the next two seasons,” Linkoping GM Broc Little said in a press release.

In Sweden, Tuomaala will reunite with former Phantoms teammate Cooper Marody, who also left the Flyers organization during the previous season.

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