The Flyers announced Friday afternoon that they had assigned defenseman Egor Zamula to the Phantoms after he cleared waivers, and with the open roster spot, they called up forward Denver Barkey to step into their forward mix. It’s a chance to get a try out a different mix up front, and also a nice reward for some work well done on Barkey’s part through these first couple of months down with the Phantoms. It’s a little earlier than we might have predicted at the beginning the season, but it’s well-deserved all the same.
So, what’s been working?
Barkey has been one of the true bright spots for the Phantoms this season. He had a bit of a slow start as he was still figuring out the league, but he quickly had enough pieces working in his game to make apparent that he was a player who would survive the jump from the junior level and who would be able to outperform his size.
Even when the points weren’t coming for him (and eventually they did, at a good clip, to the tune of seven goals and 16 points in 26 games), Barkey has been able to find ways to contribute away from the puck. His tenacious forechecking game was a standout right from the jump, and it’s made him a key piece at the top of the Phantoms’ lineup and on special teams alike.
DENVER BARKEY….ARE YOU KIDDING ME?
— TLY (@TheLibertyYell) December 7, 2025
WHAT. A. PLAY. #FLYERS pic.twitter.com/ugNxQnOMVt
There was a play on a goal he set up in Hershey a couple of weeks ago which feels like a perfect example of this. The Phantoms were able to get a clear on the penalty kill, but Barkey’s work didn’t end here, instead of resting easy in getting the puck deep and heading off for a change, he set to get the puck back with complete determination. Now, this play still ended in him collecting a point when Jacob Gaucher took the setup and put the goal away, but even if he had missed the shot, this type of high effort play is exactly what’s endeared him so quickly to the coaching staff down there.
A familiar refrain when his head coach John Snowden speaks about him is simply “he’s a hockey player” which even in its brevity, tells you all you need to know — Barkey is a complete player (or at least trending towards being one) and just has it, that understanding of the game and the right way to play to overcome his size and find legitimate success at this professional level.
Why now?
The injury to Tyson Foerster opened up the door for another player to slide into the top-9, but the Flyers have been trying to go the route of whatever makes the least waves — first they gave Nikita Grebenkin a chance up in the lineup, and when he began to struggle, Carl Grundstrom (who had originally been called up to take his place on the fourth line) was promoted in the lineup. And while Grundstrom has looked good in those increased minutes, it’s left the fourth line remaining as something of a weak point for them while they fill out the top of their lineup.
And after another lackluster showing on Thursday in Buffalo, there was a mounting feeling that something had to give. The Flyers opened up a roster spot late in the week by waiving Egor Zamula and assigning him to the Phantoms, and Barkey’s addition should give them a bit of extra jump — at least for some period of time — which is exactly what they’re looking for.
The Flyers are in a comfortable position in that they have the runway to try out a number of options from the Phantoms on a rotating basis, and they don’t have any financial constraints to worry about either. It’s yet to be seen how long Barkey will be able to stick around for, but it’s a worthwhile shot to take.
Why not Alex Bump?
Of course, the biggest question simmering beneath all of this is why the Flyers went the way of the Barkey recall instead of with Alex Bump. After all, Bump is the team’s leading scorer, and he’s also a bit older and more physically mature than Barkey, and he seemed to have all the momentum in the world coming into this season.
The answer to this is a somewhat complicated one — while the points are still coming for Bump, his process had been imperfect, uneven. The coaching staff has been particularly emphasizing getting to the interior to make the most of his chances, to create space for himself rather than just taking advantage when it comes to him, and while he’s been able to embrace that new approach nicely in stretches and find some really positive results in the process, he’s lacked consistency in that. Now, this is to be expected, it’s a pretty major mindset shift as Bump is used to being able to pepper shots from all over, and beat goalies from anywhere on the ice at the college level, but that won’t work to the same degree in the pros. It’s going to take time and more energy spent towards reaching that level of consistency before he’s at a point with his game where his process is one which will hold up at the next level.
What’s more, Bump’s game has seemed particularly susceptible to spiraling when coverage tightens up on him, when his game is getting frustrated, and it seems like a risk to call him up into a situation where things are only going to get more difficult for him.
Bump will get his moment in time — though that time feels a bit uncertain, as he appeared to take an injury in last night’s game — but the team is making sure that they develop him the right way in the meantime.
