by Bob Rotruck | AHL On The Beat

Bobby Brink was real to his name entering this season.

Not at all a lock to make the Philadelphia Flyers out of training school, the skilled young possibility was quite on the verge of breaking through as a full-fledged NHL gamer.

It appeared like he had actually effectively done so when he broke Philadelphia’s opening-night lineup. A two-goal efficiency versus Minnesota on Oct. 26 had everybody much more thrilled.

But it’s a long season and things can alter.

With Brink’s ice time decreasing, and after that his ultimately remaining for 3 successive video games, Flyers basic supervisor Daniel Briere decided to have Brink go back to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, where he can log a lot of ice time and continue to establish his video game. That’s something that isn’t going to occur in journalism box in Philadelphia.

“He leveled out here,” Flyers head coach John Tortorella stated. “Wasn’t receiving much ice time. In and out of the lineup. It’s not good for his development so he goes down there and plays a ton of minutes.”

Tortorella has actually raved about the quality of play in the American Hockey League. He understands from individual experience, having actually led the Rochester Americans to the 1996 Calder Cup. He completely comprehends the advantages a possibility like Brink can get by going back to the AHL.

“I don’t consider this a negative,” Tortorella stated. “This is a good thing. We have Lehigh right down the street and he gets to put in a lot more minutes and develop playing minutes there on a team that’s fighting to get in (to the playoffs). And go through the process that way. It’s not always going to be all NHL games when you’re going through the process. Sometimes that great American League is a very good place to be in developing.”

Brink’s skillset is indisputable, as evidenced by his championship game season at the University of Denver in 2021-22 when he led all NCAA hockey gamers in scoring with 57 points (14g, 43a) in simply 41 video games. After making his NHL launching with the Philadelphia Flyers and playing in 10 video games at the end of the 2021-22 season, he appeared to be on the verge of possibly making a huge splash in his very first complete expert season.

But misery obstructed for the 34th general choice of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. Brink’s hip continued to trouble him following that NHL stint, and at simply 22 years of ages, he would need surgical treatment to fix a torn labrum. That would put his pledge and possibilities on hold and avoid him from signing up with the Flyers the following season. Instead of contending at training school and attempting to eliminate his method onto the Flyers’ lineup, Brink would invest the fall primarily far from the ice while in rehabilitation and healing.

Brink ultimately signed up with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms lineup in January 2023 as he continued to get strength and recuperate from his surgical treatment. But definitely he wasn’t going to be at complete speed right from the start. He did rating objectives in his very first 2 AHL video games however there was still work to be done.

Phantoms head coach Ian Laperriere understood the return of Brink to his group this season would be visibly various from the variation of Brink he saw in 2015. Brink had actually carried out fairly well for Lehigh Valley with 12 objectives and 16 helps for 28 points in hardly more than a half-season of action with 41 video games played in 2022-23. But there was certainly more to be had out when he got even higher strength and had actually really reached a complete healing. Laperriere was thrilled to see it.

“He’s got great hands. He’s got speed,” Laperriere stated. “He’s moving well and way better than when he played for us last year. And I knew that last year. I said that I can’t wait to see him next year, whether with the Flyers or us. I had that injury. It takes you a full year to recover.”

In his very first video games back with the Phantoms on Jan. 26 and 27, Brink appeared 3 objectives consisting of an outright rocket crossing the high slot and linking to the upper-left corner. On a line with fellow young possibility Samu Tuomaala and skilled center Rhett Gardner, he had the liberty to develop and buzz and create possibilities all over the location.

But it appears not likely that Brink will merely have the ability to score his method back as much as the Flyers. There’s more work to be done. Tortorella states he wishes to see higher development and responsibility in other locations of Brink’s video game also.

“Everything,” Tortorella stated. “Practice practices. How he manages himself. Away from the puck. Everything a young man that needs to go through the procedure does. The part for me is to get out of the method of the offending ability that he has and teach him plays far from the puck. He has actually been irregular enough to the point where we believe other guys are playing much better which we cannot manage to have him sitting.

“He needs to go down and play a ton of minutes in a great league.”

Also secret for Brink’s advancement is a determination to accept the difficulty and get rid of the easy to understand feelings that any gamer can feel when they are eliminated from an NHL lineup.

“You can’t take it as a disappointment or else it’s just going to affect the way you play down here,” Brink stated. “I imply, you get some difficulty and it’s everything about how you deal with that difficulty. I’m boiling down here and I’m attempting to have a great mindset and belong of this group and assist this group win. It’s a terrific group of guys therein. You concern the rink and everybody’s having a good time so that assists you be available in with a great mindset.

“And I don’t have a choice. I have to come in and play well.”

Brink has actually gotten the message and he’s going to get duplicated chances from Laperriere, who states he is going to continue to play him a lot for as long as he has him on the Phantoms lineup.

“Just play your game,” Laperriere stated. “Play tough and make plays. That’s what we desire him to do. That’s what they desire him to do, the company.

“Bobby’s a great kid. He wants to get back to the next level and I can’t blame him. That’s the best league in the world. But Bobby is Bobby. He’s going to be fine. I’m not expecting to have him too long because he’s so talented. The message is he needs to play. And he will play.”

How long will it be before he goes back to the Flyers? Nobody understands the response to that naturally. But ask a few of his colleagues and they will rapidly inform you what they think about Brink’s prospective amount of time with the Phantoms – along with his amazing playmaking capabilities.

“He’s incredible with the puck,” Wade Allison stated. “Just the way he sees the ice is something else. He won’t be here for long.”

For Brink to even make the NHL opening-night lineup in the very first location was a little bit of a surprise to some. He needed to make his area. And going into the group’s training school in September no one understood if he was going to have that additional appear his video game that would be essential to impress the Flyers’ management. Similar to Brink standing out and possibly going beyond expectations, so has the group he participated in his very first complete expert season.

“It’s a strong, determined group up there,” Brink stated. “I think guys get along well and there’s a lot of belief in the locker room. Every day we showed up and gave everything we had and did all the little things. If you’re going to sacrifice the way the team has up there you’re going to end up with wins. It was a really fun environment.”

That circumstance was the ideal method for Brink to get understanding and experience in the NHL.

“A lot of guys helping me. A lot of good veteran guys,” he stated. “I think that’s why the team has been having success. They were good to me and showed me a lot and I learned a lot there. Playing and practicing with those guys just makes you a better player.”

The next action for Brink is to put all of it together by means of 22 to 25 minutes of ice time per video game in the American Hockey League. His time in the NHL has actually offered him an even much better understanding of what it takes. One may even state that he’s on the verge of making it back up … for great.

“You got to do everything if you want to play in the NHL and be effective up there and stick in the league,” Brink stated. “Come down here and do what you can with a good attitude and play with confidence and try to give it your best. And that’s all you can really do.”