The Philadelphia Flyers announced Monday morning that they had signed top defense prospect Adam Ginning to a two-year, two-way contract extension worth $1.575 million. The first year of Ginning’s contract, 2024-25, will be a two-way year. The following year, 2025-26, will be a one-way year.
Ginning, who turned 24 in January, was drafted 50th overall by the Flyers in the second round of the 2018 NHL Draft. The Swedish defenseman made his NHL debut in the 2022-23 season before getting an extended look in the wake of injuries this past season, appearing in nine games and scoring his first NHL goal against the Columbus Blue Jackets on April 6–his last appearance of the season for the Flyers.
As a 6-foot-4 rearguard who primarily takes care of his own end, Ginning doesn’t produce much offense. In 58 AHL regular season games with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, Ginning scored only two goals, 13 assists, and 15 points, and racked up 82 penalty minutes. Notably, Ginning did not take a single penalty during his brief nine-game cameo with the Flyers this season.
In my (very) limited live viewings of the player, I didn’t feel that Ginning was playing conservatively or neglecting to use his physical gifts to his advantage. It’s also worth considering that Ginning probably played a lot less on average at the NHL level than he did in the AHL with Lehigh Valley, so that helps.
This is not to say that Ginning hasn’t become a more disciplined player, but there is a reason for the stark contrast in penalty minutes between leagues.
In addition, Ginning is still waivers-exempt, for now, for the 2024-25 season, meaning he can pass down to the AHL without potentially being claimed by another NHL team. That means that if Ginning is the odd man out at training camp, it’s no sweat. If that’s the case in 2025-26, then the Flyers might be considering a fresh start.
It’s also worth noting that Ginning only just finished his second full season playing in North America, having played exclusively in Sweden with clubs like Linkoping HC and Farjestad BK up until 2022.
