After he finally found a place on the Flyers roster, Nicolas Aube-Kubel will be staying put for a few more years.
It was a long journey to the NHL for Nicolas Aube-Kubel. He was selected by the Flyers in the second round of the 2014 NHL Entry Draft. The young forward debuted professionally at the tail end of the 2015-16 season before he was an official part of the Phantoms the next year.
That is where his long journey began. Aube-Kubel appeared in 149 games in the NHL before he was given a chance during the 2018-19 season. He wasn’t able to make his mark during the set of nine games he was given that season.
So it was back to the AHL once again. It appeared the current management of the Flyers wasn’t impressed with Aube-Kubel. Flip the calendar to 2019 and Philadelphia had a few new changes. Chuck Fletcher took over as General Manager and Alain Vigneault was the new head coach.
This gave Aube-Kubel another chance to make an impression. And while he didn’t make the team out of camp, he was given a chance in December that he did not let slip through his fingers. After posting a modest eight points in 26 games with the Phantoms, Aube-Kubel was called up after the team faced injury trouble.
He let one opportunity go, he wasn’t going to squander this one. 36 games, seven goals, and 15 points later and Aube-Kubel had found a spot on the Flyers roster. The tenacious, hard-working forward proved to the team that he was worth keeping around.
The reigns were once again handed to him during the playoffs. He appeared in 13 out of a possible 16 postseason games. And he only missed those three due to a badly bruised knee. Aube-Kubel grabbed his first two career postseason goals during the round-robin stage against Tampa Bay.
He grabbed one more assist during Game Six against the Islanders. Despite the low point totals, he once again proved that the Flyers could trust him in a big-time situation. And if it wasn’t for injury, he likely appears in every postseason game for the team.
NAK will be BACK. https://t.co/ZdmioczsxI
— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) September 17, 2020
The Flyers rewarded him for his efforts with the two-year contract that will keep him here through the 2021-22 season. The $1.075M is a significant raise from the $700K he was making on a previous one-year extension.
Nicolas Aube-Kubel was given a second chance to impress the team and he did all of that and more. He will be an integral part of the team’s bottom-six group for the near future.