Flyers Sign Promising D-man

Right-handed-shooting defenseman Ethan Samson, signed by the Philadelphia Flyers to an entry-level deal Saturday, is looking like a sixth-round steal.

Samson, 19, has 27 points (11 goals, 16 assists) in 28 Western Hockey League games this season with the Prince George Cougars. He has eight power-play goals.

The 6-foot-3, 183-pound British Columbia native is tied for second among WHL defensemen in power-play goals, and tied for fourth in goals.

He signed a three-year deal with an annual $876,667 cap hit, per CapFriendly.

Samson was selected 174^th overall in the 2021 draft. Since then, he’s raised his level of play dramatically.

At the time he was drafted, Flyers scout Mark Greig said Samson had “some room to develop. Right-handed shot, and for a D-man, it’s always an asset as we find them hard to find. I think he’s got a lot of development left. He’s got upside.”

“He moves the puck, defends, and has some jam,” Philadelphia Flyers assistant GM Brent Flahr said at the time.

Flyers Have First 2-Game Winning Streak in Nearly 2 Months