Philadelphia Flyers
Flyers Should Sign Tomas Suchanek to NHL Contract
The Philadelphia Flyers should adhere to the old NHL adage, which tells the wise that you can never have too many goalies.
Whatever happens with Carter Hart and his playing status remains to be seen, and there’s no guarantee that a prospect like Alexei Kolosov will come over to North America and be advanced enough to play NHL or AHL games right away.
Cal Petersen will be with the Flyers for the foreseeable future, which means the Lehigh Valley Phantoms will be short a goalie for the rest of the year. That is, unless the Flyers go out of their way and add one themselves.
There’s been some burgeoning hype surrounding Czech goalie Tomas Suchanek, who currently plays in the AHL with the San Diego Gulls – affiliates of the Anaheim Ducks – on an AHL contract. This means that any NHL team, including the Flyers, can sign him to an NHL contract.
The hype that surrounds Suchanek isn’t just made up, either; he’s legitimately played at a superstar level in the AHL this year. Having been passed over completely in the NHL draft three times, the 20-year-old is 11-2-2 with the Gulls this year, posting a 2.25 GAA and a .930 save percentage.
Tomas Suchanek just did that 😱#LetsGoGulls | #SDvsCGY pic.twitter.com/3lfh7CirVu
— San Diego Gulls (@SDGullsAHL) February 11, 2024
Suchanek also spent eight games with the ECHL’s Tulsa Oilers, going a less impressive 3-5-0 to pair with a 2.77 GAA and .906 save percentage. If Sam Ersson has taught us anything this year, though, it’s that numbers and small sample sizes don’t mean much.
Where Suchanek differs from prospects like Kolosov or Carson Bjarnason is that he’s already played pro hockey in North America. Kolosov has played pro in the KHL in Russia, while Bjarnason is playing junior hockey with the Brandon Wheat Kings in the WHL.
Suchanek has also excelled in his North American escapade thus far.
Outside of Felix Sandstrom, the Flyers don’t have a whole lot to call upon in the organization right now. Sandstrom hasn’t played particularly well; he’s 9-6-2 with a 3.21 GAA and a .883 save percentage. His backup is 30-year-old Parker Gahagen, who just eclipsed 10 AHL games played in a season for the first time. He’s been a career ECHLer for the most part.
Maybe Suchanek works out for the Flyers; maybe he doesn’t. Philadelphia doesn’t have to give up anything to sign him besides some dollars and a contract space, but they’re at 48 contracts out of 50, so that should be no issue.
Rolling the dice on a promising 20-year-old is hardly a bad idea.
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Very nice research! Had not heard of him. Not a bad idea to sign him and see where it goes.
Yes I say sign him
Elite Prospect report on the youngster
Suchánek plays more of a rhythm-based style than you would expect for a goaltender that measures in at 6-foot-2. That means his approach is aggressive, he takes a lot of depth on the rush, and relies on his play-reading to make the right move instead of sitting back and letting the play come to him. -EliteProspects 2023 NHL Draft Guide
Sounds like a no brainer. His stats in the AHL are outstanding and it would only cost the Flyers their 49th contract and money. Cheap insurance policy and he could possibly upend Peterson as Ersson’s backup.
Brilliant!
Why not sign Suchanek? He can’t be worse than Petersen and is a lot less expensive.