Philadelphia Flyers
Flyers Hit by a Major Injury. Again.
Promising Philadelphia Flyers right winger Bobby Brink will miss about five months following hip surgery, general manager Chuck Fletcher announced Tuesday.
That means Brink, 21, probably won’t play for the AHL’s Phantoms until late December.
Brink had four points, all assists, in a late-season, 10-game stint with the Flyers in 2021-22.
He missed the Flyers’ recent development camp because of the injury — a torn labrum in his left hip. Dr. Christopher Larson performed the surgery in Minnesota. The injury was suffered during an offseason workout.
The Philadelphia Flyers are expected to be without injured players Ryan Ellis and Joel Farabee at the start of the season. Farabee, who had neck surgery, was also injured during an offseason workout.
Philly had injured or ill players sidelined for about 500 man-games last season.
A Hobey Baker Award finalist for NCAA champion Denver last season, Brink signed with the Flyers one day after his team won the title. He signed a three-year, entry-level deal that has an annual $925,000 cap hit.
The diminutive Brink led the nation in scoring (57 points) and assists (43) last season; he also contributed 14 goals for Denver (31-9-1), which won the title with a 5-1 win over Minnesota State.
At the 2019 draft, Fletcher traded up 11 spots in the second round to get Brink 34th overall. Craig Button, TSN draft expert, rated him at No. 20 that year.
In effect, the Fletcher twice bypassed on Cole Caufield — who was drafted by Montreal — and instead got Cam York and Brink.
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Of course. Was anyone expecting anything different? Meanwhile, Caufield had 23 goals/20 assists in 67 games last season, passed over by Fletcher to take Brink who is from….yes, Minnesota.
Holmgren is from Minnesota also.
Cole passed over by Chuck not once but twice, if I recall correctly.
I am wondering if Brink and Farabee were injured performing exercises laid out for them by the Flyers Training Staff or if they were over training.
I tried to ask the Flyers’ management about that, but they did not return my calls. Twice.
There is an epidemic of major injuries requiring surgery and extended absences within the Flyers organization. Many coming from the prospect pool, many from the younger players. Morin, Farabee, Brink, Foerster, Nolan Patrick, Frost, Allison, along with veterans Ellis, Couts, Hayes, the list goes on. There is a serious problem with the strength and conditioning program these players are on. Diet, supplement regiment, recovery rest time, dedication to the weight room, something is not right here. Again, this area of team management comes under Fletcher’s responsibility. When will they fire this inept GM?
It’s hard to project injuries or potential for injuries. Flyers just seem to be a hard luck team. They knew Patrick had migraine issues before drafting him, but rolled the dice. Didn’t know Pascal Laberge or Wade Allison or Sam Morin would see their careers derailed due to injuries. Same with Rubtsov and to a degree, Isaac Ratcliffe. And of course there were the injuries that set back Foerster and Wisdom. Plus, Hayes, Ellis, and now Farabee…
Brink’s injury is unfortunate, but seems to match the trend. It’s exhausting. Fletcher tries to commit draft capital to patch up openings caused by injuries, and when players selected with fewer draft picks get injured, the candle is burning at both ends, and the cap further prevents Flyers from tackling issues which have plagued the franchise over the past few years: they just can’t stay healthy and there aren’t enough capable bodies in the system.