Alex Bump aims to make Flyers after unselfishly joining Phantoms at end of season

The Philadelphia Flyers kicked off Development Camp on Tuesday, giving fans their first chance to see some of the newest members of the Orange and Black. While most of the excitement is understandably about first-round picks Porter Martone and Jack Nesbitt, it’s a fifth-round pick from 2022 who might be the most exciting name to watch at Development Camp.

Alex Bump was selected by the Flyers with the 133rd overall pick in the 2022 NHL Draft. He was a high school product who only had 27 games with the Omaha Lancers in the USHL under his belt, so it makes sense that teams weren’t lining up to draft him.

However, after another season in the USHL, Bump joined the Western Michigan Broncos, where he really broke out. He had 14 goals and 22 assists for 36 points in 38 games as a freshman, and 47 points (23 goals, 24 assists) in 42 games while wearing an “A” this past season.

Perhaps the most noticeable difference in Bump’s game is his willingness to shoot the puck. After a respectable 160 shots in 38 games (4.2 per game), he jumped all the way up to 5.9 shots per game as the winger fired 248 shots in 42 games.

Bump was among a handful of prospects who joined the Phantoms for the final few weeks of the season and playoffs in the spring. He had a goal and two assists in three regular-season games, plus two more goals in seven postseason contests.

While some college players want to get a taste of the NHL right away, Bump was focused on the bigger picture.

It would have been exciting for fans to get a look at the shoot-first winger at the end of a disappointing season. But it’ll be even more exciting if (or when) Bump is a key contributor for the Flyers in the final year(s) of his ELC.

And it’s quite possible that Bump gets a shot sooner rather than later.

Tyson Foerster’s status for the start of the season is up in the air due to an upper-body injury. Foerster suffered an injury at the World Championship that resulted in an elbow infection, Briere explained Tuesday.

The Flyers also let Jakob Pelletier walk without a qualifying offer, and while he may not have stuck long term in Philadelphia, it’s one less winger with NHL experience that Bump has to compete with.

Bump may end up as one of the promising prospects on the Phantoms as he turns pro this year, but his ultimate goal is to make the Flyers roster this season

And it sounds like he could be one of the guys to watch, not only for fans, but the front office has their eyes on him as well.

“We have some young guys,” Briere said when asked about replacing Forester in the lineup. “Maybe Alex Bump, maybe Porter Martone … There’s other guys who could perform, who maybe they get a look early in the season if they have a good camp.”

Bump made it easy to imagine him in Orange and Black this fall with the way he was shooting on Day 1 of Development Camp.

The shoot-first mentality is one of the many things Bump can bring to the Flyers. It doesn’t hurt that he is a left winger, which is a bigger need than on the right side with Matvei Michkov, Travis Konecny, Owen Tippett, and Bobby Brink all more comfortable as RW.

Flyers director of player development Riley Armstrong was on the ice with the prospects and saw Bump’s game up close and personal. He also spoke highly of the winger’s chances of making the roster.

Bump is already a bigger body for the Flyers, standing at 6’2″ and 194 pounds. He’s shown that he can play against his peers at the college level and didn’t slow down too much as he ramped things up in the AHL against pros.

It’s only one day on the ice, and Development Camp is more about, well, developing and teaching rather than evaluating, but it sure sounds like Bump will be a name to keep in the conversation this summer, leading up to training camp.