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Lehigh Valley Phantoms

For Flyers Prospect Zayde Wisdom, Up-and-Down Times

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Zayde Wisdom
Zayde Wisdom will carve out a spot for himself with Lehigh Valley but that takes time and he has that on his side.

Before I do a deep dive here into Zayde Wisdom’s play and where his development stands, remember that he’s just 20 years old. There’s plenty of time for the Philadelphia Flyers prospect to turn this around.

A lot of things are currently trending down with Wisdom, but one thing he can’t control is time on the ice. He is averaging 11:32 per game with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, according to InStat. That’s not enough. If you want him to develop, then you must make sure he gets a lot of opportunities.

Wisdom is only averaging 32 seconds of power-play time per game. Again, not enough. He’s averaging just 1.85 shots per game. That’s partially on him and partially because of usage.

A big positive is 56% of his shots are hitting the net, and that’s great for him and his teammates. If he’s not going to score, that creates more chances. Again, it’s easy to look at a player’s offensive numbers and think there’s a problem, but there’s usually more to it.

Back in 2020-21, when Wisdom put up 18 points in 28 AHL games, he was facing weaker goaltending. Because of the pandemic, the AHL was much weaker that season. NHL teams had taxi squads with three goalies (and other players that would have been in the AHL.)

Consequently, AHL goalies were weaker than usual. That season wasn’t one where you could say Wisdom was  ahead of schedule, but I feel some fans were thinking that. That summer, he had shoulder surgery, and that’s a big reason why the Philadelphia Flyers sent him back to the OHL’s Kingston Frontenacs in the following season.

Same trajectory

The Phantoms have a logjam of players, so some have gotten time in Reading, and that’s not alarming. When Wisdom was there, he scored two points in three games and was called back up to Lehigh Valley.

The Philadelphia Flyers can see his potential as a third or fourth-line player who plays tough and works hard in the corners and around the net. I don’t think that trajectory has changed.

Wisdom, a fourth-round selection in the 2020 draft, has just two goals and seven assists in 31 games this season. He scored a nice backhand goal recently, and maybe that sparks him. He has been engaged and playing a good all-around game.

To date, the Phantoms’ right winger has only played 59 AHL games in his career. He needs another full AHL season, and two more aren’t out of the question.

I’m not currently worried about his development. But that could change based on how the Philadelphia Flyers work with him in the future.

Russ Cohen is a prospects expert for sportsology.com and .www.eprinkside.com. He can be heard on SiriusXM NHL Radio.

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