Ronnie Attard embracing bigger opportunities as Flyers season winds down

Ronnie Attard has only been with the Flyers for a few weeks, but he has been embracing the opportunities that he’s been given over his 11 games in the NHL. With the injuries amongst the defense and with Philadelphia towards the bottom of the league standings, bigger opportunities have been coming for the younger players in the lineup. Attard has recently been given one of those during the last few days.

In the Flyers’ 6-3 victory over the Montreal Canadiens, Attard had the chance to play on the top pairing with Ivan Provorov. He registered one assist and played just under 17 minutes total. The minutes have been increasing for Attard over the last few games as the team is continuing to look at what they have going into the offseason and into next year as well.

While it could be a long shot that Attard makes the team out of camp next season, he has still been able to learn a lot during his short time in the NHL. And Provorov has been a big help with that as the two skated together once again during Saturday morning’s practice. Learning from someone like Provorov can only help Attard moving forward.

“I would just say his approach every day when he comes to the rink. He’s one of the hardest working guys I’ve ever seen. Always the first guy here, last one to leave. So just learning how to be a pro and that’s definitely a good guy to look after.” Attard said on Saturday on what he’s learned from Provorov.

Attard scored his first NHL against the Anaheim Ducks on April 9th and has four points in his 11 games. He’s been able to benefit from the team’s disappointing play this season. Signing his entry-level contract almost immediately after his college season ended, Attard jumped right into the league and has been able to learn what it takes to make it at this level.

Some seasoning in the AHL next season is likely what will end up being the best for his development. While he’s been able to gain confidence and learn each and every day, the AHL level will be able to help him develop further. Though, there is still the unknown nature of Ryan Ellis and what he may look like next season. And with plenty of money tied up on defense, the Flyers could look to their youth again to make an impact.

The team may also want to have an insurance plan, similar to the short-term deals that Justin Braun and Keith Yandle signed in recent years. But committing to any long-term plan when you have almost 23M tied up between four defensemen should not be the answer. The team has numerous players on entry-level deals that won’t tie up much space on their cap.

With the Flyers still struggling to stay under said cap, they cannot afford to add without shipping out some of their own money. And if this season and the development of these younger players have meant anything, the Flyers do have some promising youth in their system. So that could do well for Attard’s chances and may also depend on how he himself finishes out these final few games. He could make a strong case for a permanent spot on the Flyers’ defense next season.

Regardless of what next season may look like, the opportunity has been there for Attard and he hasn’t shied away from it one bit. The same smile that was on his face when he first got here has remained.