With the Lehigh Valley Phantoms in the middle of their playoff push, the Philadelphia Flyers continue to add more reinforcements for the AHL squad. University of Denver star Massimo Rizzo has joined the Flyers on an AHL tryout and will wear No. 15 when he plays for Lehigh Valley.
Phantoms broadcaster Bob Rotruck was actually the first to get the news; Rizzo, 22, signed his entry-level contract with the Flyers earlier in the week, though no tryout agreement had previously been reported.
Now that Rizzo has taken some time to celebrate his NCAA title, he’ll join up with his former teammate at Denver, Bobby Brink. Brink was reassigned by the Flyers to the Phantoms shortly after exit interviews in order to get him some more playing experience.
Brink, Ronnie Attard, Adam Ginning, and Olle Lycksell were all kept eligible for the Calder Cup playoffs by the Flyers at the NHL trade deadline.
Having clinched a berth in the Calder Cup playoffs on Friday, the Phantoms will now have multiple players hailing from the Flyers to aid them. As for Rizzo, he won’t be making his pro debut just yet, but he will have one more opportunity this weekend to suit up before the playoffs begin.
Once he does that, Rizzo will begin to get a taste of the pro experience as he gets further integrated into the Flyers organization. Rizzo’s entry-level contract, of course, is for two seasons, so there won’t be any rush for him to blow the doors off right out of the gate.
The earliest Rizzo can make his debut in the Flyers organization is on Sunday, when Lehigh Valley faces the Charlotte Checkers in their final regular season game of 2023-24.
More must-reads: