Flyers Prospects: Wade Allison On A Tear In NCAA

Wade Allison, Western Michigan Broncos (Photo by M. Anthony Nesmith/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Wade Allison, Western Michigan Broncos (Photo by M. Anthony Nesmith/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

The Philadelphia Flyers forward prospect is finally regaining his form after dealing with a litany of misfortunes over the past couple of years.

Outside of Samuel Morin, perhaps no other Philadelphia Flyers prospect has had a rougher go of it than forward Wade Allison in recent years. Chosen by Philly in the second round of the 2016 NHL Entry Draft and posting 29 points in 36 games in his freshman collegiate season, Allison’s been hampered with an injury every year, lowlighted by a devastating ACL tear in January of 2018 that kept him sidelined well into his junior campaign with Western Michigan.

The 6’2 forward even said he was still feeling the effects from the surgery 17 months later in June of 2019, noting how he only felt around 80-85% while out on the ice. That didn’t stop Allison from continuing to work on his craft, though, as he opted to go back to school for his senior year, where he was once again met with injuries, missing a combined nine games due to head and shoulder ailments.

Though it was likely extremely frustrating, the young Canadian was able to work his way back into the Broncos lineup in January and has been nothing short of spectacular since his return. Allison has netted 14 points (7 Goals, 7 Assists) in 12 games, helping lead Western Michigan to seven wins during that span. He also had quite the point streak going in late-January through early February, scoring in seven consecutive contests before having it end at the hands of Rensselaer on February 8th. This recent hot stretch has propelled the 22-year-old to a tie for fourth on the team in points and already surpassed his total from 2018-19 in three fewer games played. It’s been great to see the kid’s resiliency pay off at such a key point in his career, as he’ll be looking for an Entry-Level Contract when the 2019-20 campaign is done and dusted.

If Allison can keep this up or, at the very least, hover around this type of production, I can’t see General Manager Chuck Fletcher turning his nose up at this kind of talent, which should put the 22-year-old in a Lehigh Valley Phantoms or Reading Royals jersey in 2020-21.