Last Saturday, Rodrigo Abols was vacationing in Switzerland with his wife when he received a phone call from his agent. It was the last day that NHL teams could sign players contracted to European clubs without compensation, and the Philadelphia Flyers were interested.
“Then we had a 20-minute meeting where we got to know each other online and then it was up to my agent and the club to find a good solution,” Abols explained in an interview with Matthias Persson of HockeyNews.se.
So it took you by surprise?
“Yes. I’d taken time off from all that talk during the season and hadn’t really been keeping track of the interest, so it was a bit of a surprise, actually. I am very happy for the opportunity they are giving me.”
At 28 years of age, Abols has never played in the NHL but he has plenty of experience with North American hockey. He played two years of junior hockey with the WHL’s Portland Winterhawks and the QMJHL’s Acadie-Bathurst Titan. A seventh-round draft pick of the Vancouver Canucks in 2016, Abols returned to North America for the 2019-20 season, playing 36 games in the AHL and four in the ECHL while under contract for the Florida Panthers. He feels like he’s ready to make more of an impact now.
“Now I’m as ready as I can be, both physically and mentally,” he said. “Last time I had a good season behind me in the SHL before I went over to Florida, but honestly, I wasn’t mature enough to manage to settle in.”
Abols now has six SHL seasons under his belt – five in Örebro and one with Rögle, and has worn either a ‘C’ or an ‘A’ on his jersey the last three seasons. The same goes for the Latvian national team, where he’s one of the team leaders and was a major part of the team that won bronze at the 2023 IIHF World Championship.
“I’ve improved a lot since I last played there and have worked really hard to get back there. I feel like I have a good opportunity to settle in Philadelphia so I’m really looking forward to starting this adventure.”
What is your feeling about making the Flyers roster?
“They didn’t really show any interest until the last moment, but it feels like there is a gap to fill in the roster. They are in a rebuilding process and I feel there are opportunities to break into the NHL.”
Have they given you any indication that you’ll be playing in the NHL?
“No. Of course, they can’t give any guarantees, but John Tortorella is one of the most honest coaches in the NHL and stands by what he says. They said they think I can fit in very well in Philadelphia, so that’s one of the reasons I ended up there.”
How do you feel about it being a two-way contract, which could mean playing in the AHL?
“That’s okay for me. I’ll do my best not to end up there, but it’s been four years since I was there so I’m okay with it taking some time to adapt. I will try to settle in from day one and do what it takes to play in the NHL.”
How will you spend the rest of the off-season?
“Now it’s about preparation. This will be the most important summer of my life and career. I will give myself as much time as possible for training. It’s when I’m strong out on the ice that I feel like a really good player, so the most important thing is that I go over and be physically prepared. I take inspiration from one of my best friends, Uvis Balinskis, who went over and earned a place and then signed a new two-year contract. I will try to break into the NHL from day one.”