Philadelphia Flyers Midterm Top 25 Under 25, No. 10: Tye McGinn

Tye McGinn
Position: Left Wing

Birthdate: July 29, 1990 (age 23)
Acquired via: 2010 NHL Draft – Round 4, Pick 119
Current Team/League: Adirondack Phantoms, AHL
Nationality: Canadian (Fergus, Ont.)

Size: 6″2′, 205
Contract: $775,000 per year through 2014

It’s been a bit of an up-and-down career for Tye McGinn. He was passed over in the 2008 and 2009 drafts before being drafted by the Flyers in the fourth round of the 2010 draft. He was cut by the Ottawa ’67s and left the OHL for the Gatineau Olympiques in the QMJHL; and it was in Gatineau that McGinn broke out in a big way in 2009-10, becoming the Olympiques most important forward. In 50 games, he scored 27 goals and added 35 assists for 62 points. McGinn joined the Adirondack Phantoms in 2011 after being signed to a three-year entry level deal and had modest success, scoring 12 goals and 6 assists in 63 games.

After a successful appearance at training camp to start the 2012-2013 season, McGinn found himself called up to the big club just three games into the season. He would eventually play 18 games with the Flyers during the lockout-shortened season, finishing with respectable numbers including 3 goals and 2 assists, spending time on Claude Giroux’s wing, and getting his face broken by Toronto’s Mike Brown. The injury resulting from that fight sidelined him for over a month, effectively ending his time in the NHL for the season.

This year, the addition of Vincent Lecavalier, the decision to keep Adam Hall and Jay Rosehill, and the coaching staff’s Zac Rinaldo-transformation experiment have made it difficult for talented players like McGinn and Jason Akeson to crack the lineup. Anthony SanFilippo argues that it may be the talent that keeps them in the AHL, where they can get top-line minutes. He writes:

It means the Flyers do not think of McGinn as a fourth line guy at all – which is why he probably didn’t make the roster to begin with last July. Instead, they think he is a top nine forward.

Ultimately he is most likely to make his bones as a third line winger who plays some power play minutes, but he does have the ability to play higher up in the lineup – and with his work ethic – which is what excites the Flyers – he could end up developing the skill necessary to be a top six winger.

At this point, McGinn’s future with the club is up in the air. He’ll almost certainly be resigned and continue to play top-line minutes in the AHL, but barring injury or a trade that sees the Flyers sending forwards away for non-forward return, there isn’t any room for McGinn this Flyers roster. One assumes that this will not always be the case. It’s always nice to see some home-grown talent crack the lineup, and McGinn may just be the next in line. Time will tell.

How we voted for Tye McGinn:

Who we voted for at No. 10: