The Philadelphia Flyers announced today that they have signed left-handed defenseman Yegor Zamula to an entry-level contract. The 6’3”, 160-pound 18-year-old is an undrafted free agent who was invited to last week’s rookie camp and impressed the coaching staff enough to take part in a pair of preseason games this week. Zamula joins Philippe Myers as the only two draft-eligible free agents defensemen General Manager Ron Hextall has signed in his tenure with the Flyers.
Taking part in the Flyers’ 3-1 win over the New York Islanders on Monday and the 6-4 decision over the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden last night, Zamula has a pair of hits, a pair of blocked shots, and put one of his four shot attempts on net in 33:25 of ice time. After he posted a 36 Corsi for percentage (nine shots for, 16 against) in a team-high 15:40 at 5-on-5, Zamula had a 69.57 (kinda nice) Corsi for percentage (16 shots for, seven against) in 11:03 5-on-5 ice time.
Zamula had 18 points in 69 (again, nice) games last season in the Western Hockey League, as he started the season with the Regina Pats before being claimed by the Calgary Hitmen on waivers in early January. According to Prospect Stats, Zamula finished 39th with 11 5-on-5 points and was tied for 38th with four 5-on-5 primary points among the 42 WHL defensemen that played in 69 (this kid is unstoppable) games or more last season. The Russian blueliner also represented his home country with a pair of points in five appearances at the most recent U-18 World Junior Championship.
If you happened to miss the games Zamula participated in this week, here is a pretty accurate scouting report via Ryan Pike of The Hockey Writers back in May:
“While his time with the Hitmen hinted at a higher offensive ceiling than he showed with the Pats, Zamula was consistently a smart, responsible two-way defender. If nothing else, he’s a reliable meat-and-potatoes defender. He showed a willingness to jump into the rush to create offense with the Hitmen, the offensive side of his game remains under-developed and lacks dynamism. (Case in point: the only times he turned over the puck was occasions where he jumped into the rush and over-handled the puck trying to force a pass or shot.) He also struggles at times against fleet-footed attackers, but generally he can rely on his smarts and positioning to anticipate attacks and aid his goaltender in defending.”
Zamula will play for the Hitmen this season.
