Philadelphia Flyers 2023-24 Player Grades: Ryan Poehling – The Hockey Writers –

In this edition of our 2023-24 Philadelphia Flyers player grading series, we take a look at 25-year-old center Ryan Poehling. The former first-round pick got a new start with the Orange and Black, and he didn’t disappoint. What grade does he deserve for this?

Poehling Surpasses Expectations

Poehling, just 24 at the time, was a restricted free agent for the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2023 offseason, but they declined to pick up his qualifying offer. He didn’t even have a particularly bad season, it’s just that they had other plans. So, the young depth center entered free agency. The Flyers picked him up on a one-year deal, making them his third team in his short career. Living in a suitcase is never ideal — he had to make this one count.

For a rebuilding Philadelphia team, Poehling seemed to be a solid addition but not quite the player that stays around for very long. He had to make a really good impression to prove that he was worth keeping. The great news for him was that he fit in perfectly with a Flyers club that found itself in a playoff spot for most of the season. He raised the bar as time went on.

Poehling started out as a fourth-line center for the Flyers, but that sort of tanked his numbers. From the start of the season through Jan. 27, he had a 49.3 expected goals percentage (xGF%) at even strength. With that being said, he was an elite option for the Flyers’ penalty kill. Among forwards with 50 or more minutes of ice time shorthanded, he ranked 19th out of 146 in expected goals against per 60 (xGA/60).

With 14 points in 45 games to that point as well, general manager (GM) Danny Briere had no problem extending him to a two-year contract worth $3.8 million total. For a younger bottom-six center who has some decent upside, the contract seemed fair at the time.

After his extension, Poehling only got better. He had a 59.7 xGF% at even strength in 32 games with 14 points to go along with it. Averaging 14:16 of ice time at even strength during this time period, he was fourth on the team among forwards and going up against some pretty tough competition in the process. He frequented a shutdown line with Noah Cates and Garnet Hathaway which was superb for his numbers, but he also centered the first line from time to time. For what was meant to be a depth centerman signing, he didn’t just outplay his previous contract; he started outplaying his new one.

Poehling Could Be a Long-Term…