They say that home is where the heart is. In the last two years, Philadelphia Flyers forward Ryan Poehling wasn’t sure where his heart was or where it was headed. After joining the Flyers on July 1, 2023, Poehling found himself playing for his third team in as many years despite being a 24-year-old center who was the 25th overall pick in the 2017 NHL Draft. Early on in his career, this didn’t feel like a possible career path for Poehling.
As a 20-year-old making his NHL debut on April 6, 2019, Poehling scored a hat trick in his first 11 minutes as a Montreal Canadiens player. For good measure, the debutant added the shootout winner in the 6-5 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs that evening. Assisting Poehling’s first two NHL goals was none other than current teammate Nicolas Deslauriers. Going up against Poehling that night was Auston Matthews, who also happened to be the last player to score a hat trick in his NHL debut before Poehling.
“It was all joy on the bench,” Canadiens forward Andrew Shaw had said. “We’re all happy for him, smiling. Who wouldn’t when you see a kid come in like that? Honestly, you can’t believe it.”
Poehling himself couldn’t believe the day, remarking, “It’s a surreal moment for myself, and I feel like I’m in a dream. I’m just in shock.”
The next few seasons didn’t go according to plan for the then-20-year-old. Poehling appeared in only 27 NHL games in the 2019-20 season, scoring just one goal and one assist. In 2020-21, he was out of the NHL and then made the Canadiens again the following season, but only as a depth forward. In that short time, Poehling played under Claude Julien, Dominique Ducharme, and Martin St. Louis. Last season, Poehling played for his fourth coach in the NHL when he joined Mike Sullivan and the Pittsburgh Penguins. His tenure there lasted 53 games before it was time for a change of scenery for the third time in as many years.
“I’ve been trying to find a team that’s kind of building something, growing something, right?” the 25-year-old said. “And I feel like here that’s what we’ve been doing. We’ve got a lot of young guys around my age and guys that have been there before that kind of lead the way.”
As Poehling would tell it, it was all about getting the opportunity to play and being wanted. Enter John Tortorella.
“I think just giving me the opportunity is the biggest thing,” Poehling told Philly Hockey Now. “I’ve always wanted that playing through Montreal, through Pittsburgh, and now here. It’s just you always want an opportunity to prove yourself, and I’ve gotten that chance and I’ve done well with it. For me, I’m not taking it for granted. I just got to keep moving forward and do the best that I can.”
“The main thing about Poehls is his speed. He’s got good size, but he’s one of our better skaters. He kills penalties,” Tortorella said of Poehling. [Mike Sullivan] told me a lot of good things about Poehls from coaching him in Pittsburgh, and we’ve seen the same things here. I also liked that he signed a one-year contract here. Bet on himself. It shows confidence. He’s stepped in and done a good job.”
Indeed, penalty-killing was never a primary function of Poehling’s game until recently. Sullivan and the Penguins first gave him the opportunity last season, and now Tortorella has made Poehling a key cog in his PK unit that leads the league in short-handed goals.
“It’s trusting in your instincts and trusting the guys around you,” Poehling said of the Flyers penalty kill. “When you work as a unit of four, you have to when you’re down a man. I think we kill so fast and so effective; for us I think that’s the biggest thing. I think you gotta lead by example and lead the charge and I think I’ve done a good job of that so far.”
Tortorella, who coached Martin St. Louis during his playing days, probably got the scoop from the Canadiens coach, too. Before this year, the Flyers coach knew nothing of Poehling.
“I didn’t even see him play [before],” Tortorella said after a game against the Columbus Blue Jackets. “One of our top faceoff guys tonight again, wins a key one at the end with a [empty-net] goal. He’s been scratched as we’ve moved people around, and he goes about his business.”
Despite being a depth forward on the Flyers as well, Poehling has made the most of his opportunity, and his play is starting to suggest his acceptance of this role. Over the last two seasons, the Lakeville, MN native has piled up a whopping 39 takeaways against just four giveaways. On a Tortorella-coached team, you’re not playing if you’re not blocking shots. Poehling is averaging over one block per game thus far; he’d be on pace for 88 over the course of an 82-game season.
Offensively, Poehling has four goals, seven assists, and 11 points in 36 games as the Flyers’ Swiss Army knife. His career-high of 17 points was set back in 2021-22 with Montreal, so this is shaping up to be Poehling’s best-ever season at both ends of the ice. Flyers GM Danny Briere had nothing to lose by offering Poehling a one-year deal, nor did Poehling have anything to lose by accepting it. He did, however, have a lot to gain. The early signs point to Philadelphia being home now.
“I love it here and I love playing here, so I hope it can be,” Poehling said.
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