Alex Bump signs ATO, joins Phantoms; Devin Kaplan signs ELC, joins Flyers

Just a couple days after facing one another in the NCAA National Championship game, two Philadelphia Flyers prospects are joining the organization, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.

The Flyers have just two games left of their regular season but they just continue to make some moves in the fallout of the Frozen Four.

First, Devin Kaplan is a 21-year-old winger who was drafted in the third round of the 2022 NHL Draft and ever since joining Boston University three seasons ago, has simply provided more forward depth for Jay Pandolfo’s squad. Averaging 0.56 points per game through his three collegiate years, Kaplan was never seen as an offensive dynamo but because of being in such an esteemed, always played beneath players who were destined to be impact NHL players.

According to Friedman, Kaplan is signing his entry-level contract immediately and burning a year to be in the NHL. Due to his age, it is still a three-year rookie deal, making him a restricted free agent in 2027. It is still to be seen if Kaplan even gets into any games — considering the penultimate Flyers game of the season is happening just a few hours after he put pen to paper, Tuesday’s game against Columbus is unlikely — but by seeing him immediately in the NHL and in big-league practices, they can see if he is worth some more attention.

Now, for the much more interesting player and won who gets to call himself a national champion after winning with his Western Michigan Broncos, Alex Bump is reportedly going to be signing an amateur try-out to join the AHL’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms for the rest of this season — this also allows him to play playoff games — and will be signing his entry-level deal to start for the 2025-26 season. And with his age, it is also still a three-year contract but will keep him on rookie salary through the 2027-28 season due to pushing it to next year.

Obviously, the reputations are a little swapped. Many assumed that Bump would immediately join Philadelphia and burn a year since he is such an esteemed prospect, but being able to avoid playing in meaningless NHL games and joining a Phantoms team that could certainly use an offensive boost — and link up with the likes of Jett Luchanko and Nikita Grebenkin while he’s down there — is much more valuable.