Wade Allison showed some positive signs, but he just can't seem to stay healthy.
Wade Allison is an interesting player. On one hand, he plays a frantic, rugged game that fits the Philadelphia Flyers' style of play to a tee. But his hasty brand of hockey comes with some drawbacks.
Injuries being the major one.
At just 25 years old, Allison has already suffered a handful of major injuries since being selected in the second round of the 2016 NHL Entry Draft, and those ailments have certainly stunted his development to a degree. But the 2022-23 season offered him an opportunity to carve out a full-time role as an NHLer, and to his credit, he did just that. However, he didn't get through the season totally unscathed.
Season In Review
On all accounts, Allison turned out to be a solid checking-line winger for the Flyers. He logged nine goals and 15 total points on the season while serving as a heat-seeking missile on the forecheck. Believe it or not, Nic Deslauriers was the only Flyer to log more hits than Allison on the campaign.
Allison's high-energy style of play ended up being a valuable asset to the bottom six. But, unfortunately, and perhaps predictably, he was unable to play that style without further damaging his body.
Allison missed a quarter of the season due to injuries, which is actually a significant improvement in comparison to previous years. He sat out a big chunk of the season between November and December due to an oblique muscle strain and hip pointer, though he did manage to stay relatively healthy for the remainder of the campaign.
Despite adding yet another notable injury to his laundry list of ailments, Allison still left a positive impression on head coach John Tortorella. But while Tortorella liked what he saw when Allison was healthy, the ongoing injury issues were hard to ignore.
"He's improved tremendously. When he plays the game, when he knows who he is as a player, he's improved. Playing straight ahead, has done a lot of good things on the wall. Yeah, his game's improved. Always hurt," said Tortorella in March.
"It's hard to be consistent when you're always hurt. That's my struggle is you see him coming, you see him coming, now he's out again. Certainly no negative thoughts or comments on when he's playing."
The big knock on Allison has always been his susceptibility to getting hurt. If he can find a way to continue playing his physical game without injuring himself in the process, he could be an extremely useful asset for the Flyers for a long time. But he can only modify his game so much before losing the traits that make him such an invigorating player.
Standout Moment
An admirable quality of Allison's is his refusal to give up on a play. When he gets a scoring chance, he sticks with it until there's absolutely no shot he can generate a goal out of it. On multiple occasions this season, Allison scored goals on breakaways after his initial shot attempt was turned aside by simply willing the tally into existence. He did just that against the Los Angeles Kings back in January to break a 1-1 tie early in the tilt. There's just no quit in his game.
Bottom Line
Allison can be a good player when he's healthy.
But he's just never healthy.
Without the injury issues, he would be a fun, exuberant source of energy for the Flyers. At this point, though, it's impossible not to wince whenever he takes a hard spill into the boards or collides with an opposing player, and that has greatly impacted his dependability as a player. Perhaps one day he'll rid himself of the dreaded injury bug, but that has to be seen to be believed.
Verdict: /