The Philadelphia Flyers used to get a lot of heat for passing on forward Logan Stankoven in the 2021 NHL Draft, but it's time to put that narrative to bed for good. They already have their own in Bobby Brink.
Stankoven, 22, made noise early in his NHL career with his 14 points in 24 games as a 20-year-old back in the 2023-24 season, and he built on that last year with 14 goals, 24 assists, and 38 points in 78 games between the Dallas Stars and Carolina Hurricanes.
One pick before Stankoven was selected by Dallas 47th overall, the Flyers took Samu Tuomaala, who has gotten only further and further away from making the NHL over the last three seasons.
That's fine, because, between Porter Martone, Travis Konecny, Tyson Foerster, Brink, Owen Tippett, and Matvei Michkov, the Flyers aren't exactly teeming with openings for wingers in their top-nine.
Brink, 24, probably deserves more respect than he gets, too, even after his stunning showing against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday night.
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The 2019 second-round pick grew into a stud forechecker and possession player under John Tortorella's tutelage, and he's expanding upon that now under Rick Tocchet.
Brink, like Stankoven, is a 5-foot-8 possession monster with some serious puck skills, but how quickly we forget that Brink already produced 41 points in a third-line role for the Flyers last season.
With three goals, four assists, and seven points through his first nine games this season, the Minnetonka, Minnesota, native is quietly on pace for 27 goals, 36 assists, and 63 points in 82 games.
Many, including myself, expected Brink to be among the main contenders to be on the move to make space for Martone, but it's impossible to be convinced of that now.
If Brink touches 50 points, let alone 60, it would be nearly impossible to ask or expect more out of him, especially given his role on a line that is used almost exclusively as a matchup line and a tool to establish offensive zone possession.
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Among the nine lines in the league with 94 minutes or more played together, the Flyers' trio of Brink, Foerster, and Noah Cates has allowed the fewest expected goals against at just 2.4, according to Moneypuck.
That's a line that, two years ago, would have been considered to be made up of a fourth-line center who was a healthy scratch and two high-skill wingers. Now they do the hard work for fun and produce goals off it.
The Flyers can and will get blasted for botched draft decisions, as every team does in every sport, but it's time to let the Logan Stankoven one go.
They already picked the superior player two years prior by taking Bobby Brink.