Bobby Brink Impressive After Injury Recovery

Published February 21, 2023 at 11:07 PM
BY DANIELLE MARIE

Over 2022 off-season, impressive Flyers forward prospect, Bobby Brink, missed significant developmental time due to a hip injury that required surgery. He wasn't able to do any off-season training, participate in prospect camp in June or rookie camp or full team training camp in September, and missed the first three full months of the season.

He's returned to rehab skating since in later-October/early-November where he skated with the Flyers skills coach Angelo Ricci as well as injured players like Cam Atkinson(prior to his surgery that ended his season) and Sean Couturier(before his second back surgery). He was unofficially sent down to the AHL where he returned to non-contact practices with the Phantoms in mid-November, and was back to regular practices - with contact - in early-December.

He was reactivated by the Flyers from non-roster injured to the main roster before then being officially loaned to the AHL Phantoms after the NHL Christmas break roster freeze was lifted. He continued to practice with the Phantoms before he was officially cleared by Phantoms doctors and allowed to return to playing hockey.

When Brink was drafted, his skating was iffy and while he's gotten better since he was drafted, his plus point in his game is his shot. He is expected to be a shoot first player, and thus far, he has not disappointed. He's not expected to be a top of the league, top scorer type of player, but he is a shoot first player, which the Flyers currently lack on the main roster. Between Brink, and Tyson Foerster, they're hoping they hit on a guy, or two, who can score 25-30+ goals on a yearly basis.


Since returning from injury and being inserted into the Phantoms lineup, Brink has played in 11 games, recording 5 goals, 2 assists for a total of 7 points. It's clearly a very small sample size, but after missing all off-season training, all training camp activities and the entire first three months of the hockey season, it's fairly impressive that Brink has been able to put up 7 points in such a short period of time, and very much worth noting.

Last year, after Brink's college season ended and the Flyers got him signed to his entry level contract, he was able to jump right into the Flyers lineup where he played in the final 10 games of the season. He recorded 4 assists in his unofficial tryout with the team before his injury put him off the ice for several months.

He will likely stay in the AHL for the rest of this season as he works his way back to form after the hip injury, but if he can stay healthy, and he stays at the pace, or gets an even better scoring touch in the AHL as he returns to form, there could be a decent argument that he'll be able to push for a spot in the NHL as early as next season.
DO YOU THINK BRINK WILL PUSH FOR A SPOT ON THE NHL ROSTER NEXT SEASON IF HE STAYS HEALTHY?
FEBRUARY 21      57 ANSWERS
YES3357.9 %
NO915.8 %
HAVEN'T SEEN ENOUGH1526.3 %
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