Another prospect bites the dust.
The Philadelphia Flyers prospect pool just got a bit lighter following Monday's 5 p.m. deadline to retain the signing rights of European prospects drafted in 2022.
Because they didn't get a contract done, the Flyers have officially lost the signing rights to 2022 seventh-round pick Santeri Sulku, who becomes an unrestricted free agent free to sign with any NHL team of his choosing as a European prospect who was drafted under the age of 20 in 2022.
Interestingly enough, Sulku, 21, just had the best season of his young career, playing in Finland's Liiga for the first time, scoring seven goals, nine assists, and 16 points in 24 games for KooKoo.
On loan for IPK in Mestis, Finland's second-tier league, Sulku scored six goals, two assists, and eight points in nine games.
While I was always left impressed with Sulku's shot, the Flyers clearly did not feel their former seventh-round pick was worthy of one of their 50 allotted contracts, opting to let him walk for free instead.
The 6-foot-4 Finn had been trending in this direction for a while, anyway, as he was the only player to participate in the 2024 rookie camp but not the ensuing training camp with the full-time NHLers and older prospects.
After signing 2024 sixth-round pick Ilya Pautov on Monday, the Flyers currently have 30 players under contract for the 2025-26 season with 13 restricted free agents they still need to re-sign.