Dan Hilferty spoke to the media Wednesday about the Flyers’ 2023-24 season and the future of the organization.
The Flyers added a potential bottom-six piece to their 2024-25 picture on Saturday when they signed Rodrigo Abols to a one-year, two-way, $775,000 contract.
The 28-year-old has been a productive player in the SHL, Sweden's top pro league. This season, he had 14 goals and 12 assists over 50 games for Rogle BK. He played 18:23 minutes per game in the regular season and then 18:57 in the playoffs, adding 12 points (five goals, seven assists) through 15 games.
The 6-foot-4, 205-pounder has 85 goals and 78 assists in 266 career SHL games. He has been very good in the playoffs, recording 39 points (15 goals, 24 assists) over 47 games.
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Abols is the second forward the Flyers have signed out of the SHL with notable size. They inked Oscar Eklind, a 6-foot-4 winger, to a one-year deal in April.
A Latvian native, Abols has played for his country at the Olympics and IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship. He was a seventh-round draft pick of the Canucks in 2016.
"Rodrigo is a great signing for Philly," Karlis Zirnis, an RPI assistant who has coached Abols on the Latvian national teams, said to NBC Sports Philadelphia. "I believe he's one of the best players outside the NHL.
"I would say Rodrigo has been on the later development side. He always had the size from a young age, but in the last couple of years, his body has caught up and he now has the strength and size."
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Abols will compete for a spot on the Flyers' roster come training camp in September and should be a call-up option throughout the season if he's playing for AHL affiliate Lehigh Valley.
"Rodrigo has a very high hockey IQ and he's a player that makes his linemates better," Zirnis said. "Playing the center position, he is very responsible and understands his responsibilities."
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