NCAA Champion Bobby Brink To Make NHL Debut Tuesday With Flyers

Frest off an NCAA Championship win, winger Bobby Brink will make his NHL debut Tuesday, when the Flyers take on the Capitals.

Another new young face will join the Philadelphia Flyers’ lineup on Tuesday as right-winger Bobby Brink is set to make his NHL debut against Alex Ovechkin and company when the Flyers visit the Washington Capitals.

The game will be televised nationally on ESPN.

An @NHL dream comes true tonight in DC. #PHIvsWSH | #BringItToBroad pic.twitter.com/VOxEcf6dZu

— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) April 12, 2022

“It’s pretty special,” Brink told the media after his first practice with the Flyers on Monday. “I grew up watching (Ovechkin). He was one of my favorite players growing up. I watched a lot of Capitals games, so it’s definitely pretty cool.”

“We’re very excited to have Bobby under contract after an outstanding career in college hockey that concluded with a National Championship,” said Flyers general manager Chuck Fletcher. “Bobby possesses a high compete level combined with terrific hockey sense and offensive skill that has led him to succeed at every level he has played in his young career.”

Brink is the third collegiate athlete to be signed and inserted into the Flyers’ lineup in the last couple of weeks. Winger Noah Cates inked his entry-level deal on March 27, after the end of his senior season at the University of Minnesota-Duluth. Then, defenseman Ronnie Attard followed suit two days later. He had just finished his junior year at Western Michigan.

Hockey is a small world, and Brink comes in with connections to his new teammates.

“I knew Noah a little bit and played a decent amount with Ron — we were friends before this,” he said. “It’s definitely nice having those two here to help me along.”

In a year of transition for the Flyers, Brink will be the eighth player to make his NHL debut with the club this season. He follows Cates, Attard, Max Willman, Hayden Hodgson, Linus Sandin, Felix Sandstrom and Isaac Ratcliffe.

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Hobey Hat Trick Finalist

Brink is fresh off a win at the Frozen Four in Boston on Saturday. His University of Denver Pioneers scored five third period goals to beat the Minnesota State Mavericks 5-1 and capture the title.

The win was Denver’s ninth in program history, and ties them with the University of Michigan for the most ever.

“I think it’s the best way you can go out, obviously winning with your best friends and guys you’ve grown so close to for three years,” Brink said of the title victory. “It was awesome. It was one of the best moments of my life.”

Brink was held off the scoresheet in the title game on Saturday, but the 20-year-old finished his junior season as the leading scorer in all of college hockey, logging 14 goals and 43 assists for 57 points in 41 games.

He was also named one of three finalists for the 2022 Hobey Baker Award, given to the top player in NCAA men’s hockey. The winner was Minnesota State senior goaltender Dryden McKay, who set new NCAA records for wins in a season (38) and shutouts in an NCAA men’s hockey career (34).

At the 2019 draft, the Flyers selected Brink from the USHL’s Sioux City Musketeers with the 34th pick, early in the second round. They traded up to get him, sending the 45th and 65th picks to the New Jersey Devils.

Both of those picks were also acquired by trade. No. 45 came from Arizona on the first day of that draft, when the Flyers traded down three spots in the first round before choosing defenseman Cam York at No. 14. Edmonton deal the 65th pick to Philadelphia in March of 2018, in exchange for the rights to University of Michigan junior winger Cooper Marody.

Hey ’19

Fletcher and assistant GM Brent Flahr went through their first draft in Philadelphia in 2019, after joining the Flyers midway through the 2018-19 season. Now, the top four selections from that year are under contract — York, Brink, Attard and Mason Millman.

York played for the U.S. National Team Development Program. Then, he spent two seasons at the University of Michigan. He and Brink were teammates at the 2021 World Junior Championship. Team USA captured gold in Edmonton, with York and Brink each logging six points in seven games.

York signed his entry-level contract last June. He has become a regular on the Philadelphia blue line during the second half of this season. With 10 points in 29 games, York has been playing on a pair with Ivan Provorov.

He may see a new role against Washington. He practiced on his more natural left side on Monday, partnered with Rasmus Ristolainen.

Attard was drafted in the third round in 2019, with the 72nd pick. Signed two weeks ago, he has a goal and an assist in his first five NHL games.

Millman, also a defenseman, was drafted in the fourth round, with the 103rd pick. He was signed to his entry-level contract ahead of the 2020-21 season, when he saw 13 games of action with the AHL’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms.

This year, Millman has split his time between the Phantoms and the ECHL’s Reading Royals. The 20-year-old has yet to suit up for an NHL game.

Day 1 Goals

Asked about his objective for his first NHL game, Brink kept it simple.

“I think the biggest goal is obviously to win the game. Then personally, just be confident and work hard. I think that’s all you can ask for.”