3 under-the-radar prospects the Flyers cannot afford to trade at the deadline
Samu Tuomaala is finding his game in the Lehigh Valley
The last few years have been a roller coaster for a player like Samu Tuomaala, a 46th overall pick with high expectations a few seasons ago. Unlike the other two players on this list, Tuomaala struggled often since he was drafted, whether he made a cameo appearance in the AHL or if he spent time in Liiga.
However, after he figured things out last season playing for Kettera over in Finland, it was only a matter of time before he made his way to North America full-time. He put up 46 points in 29 games in 2022-23 before parlaying that performance into a 19-point effort in 17 postseason outings.
So far in 2023-24, Tuomaala has 37 points and 13 goals in 49 contests, and he will only get better. His decision-making when shooting the puck needs a lot of work, but once he figures out his overall slot selection, Tuomaala will be hard to stop. And given his overall fast-paced approach, he will dare opponents to keep up with him.
Tuomaala must improve his overall game to make it to the big club, but he has too much potential to trade elsewhere at this point. If he keeps figuring things out like he’s had over the past two-and-a-half seasons, he will be a tremendous asset on one of the league’s 32 teams.
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(Statistics provided by Elite Prospects as of February 28th)