After Three Long Years, Ryan Poehling Finds Home with Flyers: ‘I love it here’ (+)

They say that home is where the heart is. In the last two years, Philadelphia Flyers forward Ryan Poehling wasn’t sure where his heart was or where it was headed. After joining the Flyers on July 1, 2023, Poehling found himself playing for his third team in as many years despite being a 24-year-old center who was the 25th overall pick in the 2017 NHL Draft. Early on in his career, this didn’t feel like a possible career path for Poehling.

As a 20-year-old making his NHL debut on April 6, 2019, Poehling scored a hat trick in his first 11 minutes as a Montreal Canadiens player. For good measure, the debutant added the shootout winner in the 6-5 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs that evening. Assisting Poehling’s first two NHL goals was none other than current teammate Nicolas Deslauriers. Going up against Poehling that night was Auston Matthews, who also happened to be the last player to score a hat trick in his NHL debut before Poehling.