Defenseman Ronnie Attard, who didn’t make that much of an impression (in a good way) at training camp, was placed on waivers by the Flyers Friday afternoon along with two other Flyers attending training camp: defenseman Louie Belpedio and forward Rhett Gardner, according to PuckPedia.
Due to the 25-year-old now requiring waivers to be sent down to the AHL, Attard needed to make hay this camp in the hopes of putting himself in the mix to secure a spot or at least be in the conversation when the Flyers came near the conclusion of training camp and to start the season. Instead Attard looked out of sorts, standing out for all the wrong reasons in the shutout loss to Montreal on Monday night. This despite Attard looking fine as a third-pairing blueliner last season when the Flyers ran into injuries to Jamie Drysdale and Nick Seeler (not to mention the Sean Walker trade).
The 25-year-old native of White Lake, Michigan was drafted in the third round (79th overall) in the 2019 NHL Draft. After spending three years with Western Michigan University, Attard appeared in 15 games for Philadelphia in 2021-22, scoring twice and adding a pair of assists. The following season he spent primarily in Lehigh Valley, although had a cup of coffee with the Flyers in 2022-23 for two games and going pointless. Last season Attard appeared in 12 games and had two assists in that stint as the Flyers tried to stay afloat in the playoff race.
Meanwhile also placed on waivers was Louie Belpedio. Drafted in the third round (80th overall) in 2014 by Minnesota, Belpedio had three seasons with the Wild and played a total of four games over that time. In 2021 the Canadiens took a chance on him and signed him but he never played a game for Montreal. In July 2022, the Flyers signed him and spent 2022-23 in Lehigh Valley. Last season Belpedio played 12 games for the Flyers and had two goals and two assists over that time. If Belpedio is claimed by another team it will help clear a roster spot in Lehigh Valley for another prospect. If nobody claims him he will be assigned to Lehigh Valley.
Finally, the third Flyer on the list is Rhett Gardner, also 28, who played one game last season with Philadelphia. Over 41 career NHL games with the Dallas Stars and Flyers he has one goal and an assist. Again, much like Belpedio, if somebody claims Gardner then it frees up another spot for a prospect to get some playing time with the Phantoms.
The Flyers were one of six teams to place 18 players in total on waivers Friday. The Ottawa Senators placed seven players on waivers including former Flyers prospect Hayden Hodgson. Seattle, Columbus, the Rangers and Vancouver were also teams who put players on waivers.
