Don’t look now, but it’s Bobby Brink season, baby and he’s hitting new heights out there on the ice.
The Philadelphia Flyers winger is off to a terrific start this season with two goals and an assist for three points in as many games. He also scored an overtime winner that was waved off due to goaltender interference after review.
Tyson Foerster, Noah Cates, and Brink are three players who didn’t really have a set role on the team a year ago. Now, however, they form the best line on the team and one of the most consistent lines in hockey.
Brink’s development is a huge part of that.
After impressing in training camp to earn a roster spot in 2023, he split time between the NHL (57 games) and AHL (13 games) due to a midseason slump. He then became an everyday forward last year on this line, and he’s taking an even bigger step forward this season.
Standing at just 5-foot-8, Brink fell into the second round of the 2019 NHL Draft due to his small stature, and skating certainly wasn’t his strong suit. But now, he’s one of the fastest skaters in the league.
Well, at least in terms of maximum speed burst.
Along with his goal and assist in Carolina — in what some are calling The Bobby Brink Game –, the winger topped out at 23.3 miles per hour early in the second period.
Brink took the puck from behind his own net and sped through open ice in the neutral zone.
Bobby Brink is speed. pic.twitter.com/toza2mlMkv
— Ryan Gilbert (@RGilbertSOP) October 15, 2025
He eventually lost control of the puck after making a move, but it was a great rush from the winger.
While Brink reaching one of the top speeds this season is a surprise, the rest of the players with the fastest max skating speed aren’t.
Connor McDavid leads the way at 24.61, nearly a full mile per hour faster than Cale Makar at 23.68. Then you have Kasperi Kapanen at 23.45, Erik Karlsson at 23.39, and Miles Wood at 23.32.
Brink has been getting incrementally faster with each season. During his 10 games in the 2021-22 season, he maxed out at 20.77 mph, but the next year he got up to 22.3 mph, which was in the 56th percentile among all skaters.
He stayed right around that mark last season at 22.51 mph, good for the 62nd percentile, but now he’s all the way up in the 99th percentile thanks to his burst against the Canes.
It’s not something you should expect to see often, though. Brink only has that one burst over 22 mph this season (three last year) and three others above 20 mph (95 last year). Meanwhile, someone like McDavid already has five bursts of 22+ mph and 23 more between 20-22 mph. Still, it’s nice to know that Brink can reach that speed if given open ice.
If Brink is able to add some speed to his game consistently, he can go from a guy you’re happy to get 40 or 50 points out of to a legitimate second-line option.
