Defenseman Mark Friedman to sign with Flyers, skip up senior NCAA season: report

The Flyers are set to sign Mark Friedman, the Bowling Green State University junior defenseman who was drafted by the club in the third round of the 2014 NHL Draft, according to Cherry Hill, N.J.’s No. 1 newspaper, the Courier-Post.

Friedman just completed his third season at BGSU. Should he sign with the Flyers, he’ll lose his college eligibility and skip his senior year.

A deeper look into this news could perhaps give you a glimpse into the Flyers plans for next season. Should they let Michael Del Zotto and Nick Schultz walk as expected, they’ll have at least two open roster spots for youngsters like Samuel Morin, Travis Sanheim Phillippe Myers or Robert Hagg.

Brandon Manning could be claimed in the expansion draft, opening one more spot on the roster. Andrew MacDonald could be sent to the Phantoms (lol we can dream). In any event, the idea is that there are going to be open spots on the blue line in Philadelphia, which means there are going to be open spots on the blue line in Lehigh Valley.

How do you convince a college kid to give up his senior season? Tell him he’s going to have a chance to play a full year in the AHL. That’ll do.

Here’s what SB Nation College Hockey has to say about Friedman, who they ranked 53rd on their Top 100 NHL Prospects in the NCAA list:

Friedman continues to be one of the top defensemen in the WCHA. He’s effective in all three zones, and plays in all situations. He doesn’t project as a big offensive point producer at the next level, but should be a capable puck-moving defenseman that plays with a nasty, physical edge.

Here’s a look at his stats: