Flyers Prospects
Flyers Sign Top Prospect Gill to Entry-Level Contract
Philadelphia Flyers general manager Danny Briere announced Friday afternoon that top defense prospect Spencer Gill, chosen 59th overall in the second round of the 2024 NHL Draft in June, has signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the club.
Gill, 18, was one of the most impressive players, including the NHLers, during training camp and really flashed his size, physicality, and long reach with his defensive stick. It is not easy to impress a coach like John Tortorella as an 18-year-old defenseman, but Gill did exactly that in his short time with the Flyers so far.
Gill was included in the first round of Flyers cuts that saw him, fellow second-round pick Carson Bjarnason, and Carter Sotheran return to their respective junior hockey teams.
“Gill had a good camp,” Tortorella said on Wednesday. “A big, tall five-year-old that needs to grow into his body.”
Although the Moncton, NB., native will undoubtedly be improving his skills on the ice with the Rimouski Oceanic in the QMJHL this season, a lot of Gill’s growth will be taking place off the ice. And not vertically.
At 6-foot-4, Gill already has the size many NHL teams covet in defensemen, especially in right-shot defensemen. The question is his playing weight, as Gill is listed at 185 pounds. Without looking at the numbers, it’s easy to notice how thin the young rearguard is on the ice.
It hasn’t limited him, especially in junior hockey, given that his physicality and aggression are two of his best traits. At the NHL level in the future, Gill will likely need to put on at least 20 pounds, if not 30 or 40.
Of course, there is an aspect of balancing that so as to avoid slowing Gill down with the extra weight, but the training and development staffs and the strength coaches will assuredly be on top of that.
In the meantime, Gill will collect some signing bonuses in a show of faith from the Flyers organization. As is customary with entry-level contracts, Gill’s contract can slide for two seasons, so time won’t start ticking on the three years until he turns 20.
Unless he makes the NHL before then.
Flyers Sign Top Prospect Gill to Entry-Level Contract
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Agree…Gill needs to add muscle and weight….I think Sam Morin will work with him on that from what I understand. Both Gill and Morin are Rimouski guys.
Also glad to see Jaime Drysdale has added 17/18 lbs of muscle over the off season…..also York looks a bit bigger….assume as buds they lifted and worked out together.
Glad to see Flyers are getting bigger on the blueline….maybe not all the way with York and Drysdale but still you need those PP mobile guys running the power play, ie Hughes in Vancouver, Fox and the Rangers and Makar and the Avs……..but if what we’ve seen in the past two Cup finals is any indication, NHL teams tend to have bigger and meaner bluelines the deeper you get into the playoffs. It’s a punishing time with so much on the line, and keeping the enemy on the perimeter is often the key to success. Having an array of bouncers near the crease tends to help as well.
When Florida made the 2023 final, they did so by keeping their Eastern Conference foes to the outside, shutting down potent offenses from Toronto and Carolina along the way. When it came to the final, the Golden Knights were simply too heavy and fast up front to stop, especially given how banged up the Panthers were.