If you asked Ronnie Attard whether he would make the Philadelphia Flyers two months ago, he would probably have said all the right things. That it would be a grind, but he’d put his head down, play his game, and hope for the best. A friendly and reserved Midwesterner, the defenseman doesn’t seem like one to boast. If you had asked anyone else, they would have said yes without thinking particularly hard about it.
Attard had just concluded a stellar American Hockey League (AHL) season; he scored 12 goals and 32 points in 68 games en route to an All-Star appearance for the playoff-bound Lehigh Valley Phantoms. The United States Hockey League (USHL) alum’s impressive debut as a pro won him the chance to skate for Team USA as they placed fourth at the IIHF World Championship. Even for the weakest American outfit in recent memory, skating four times and scoring once in a tournament of the world’s best players (well, the ones who missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs) is nothing to sneeze at, especially considering Attard has only 17 NHL games under his belt.
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He is 6-foot-3, capable on either end of the ice, and, most importantly, a right-handed shot. The best two righties on the Flyers’ blue line over the last decade have been Rasmus Ristolainen and Matt Niskanen. Whoof. Attard is 24, just signed a new contract, and should be close enough to a finished product to step directly into the Flyers’ lineup. Why wouldn’t he make a rebuilding team seemingly full of holes? Because much has changed throughout the summer.
Offseason Maneuvering
First, the Flyers traded Ivan Provorov to the Columbus Blue Jackets in a deal also designed to lend the Los Angeles Kings some cap maneuverability. Provorov’s departure could have allowed Cam York to return to his preferred left side while Ristolainen, Sean Walker, a part of LA’s cap dump, and Attard lined up on the right. That would have been an ideal preseason scenario for the Michigan native, but rookie general manager Daniel Briere had not finished tinkering with his defense.
Just under a month after their initial blue line shakeup, Briere and the Flyers announced the signing of veteran blueliner Marc Staal on a one-year deal. It was a drill Philadelphia fans are by now familiar with. Sign a battle-tested defenseman, benefit from his locker room presence and on-ice leadership, and flip him at the trade deadline for a middle-round pick. Neither Staal, who was an integral part of coach John Tortorella’s Rangers, nor Nick Seeler have the mobility to play opposite their forehand. That means more of York on the right and fewer opportunities for Attard.
Seeler, who provides valuable bottom-pair minutes for dirt cheap, and Staal, who partnered with offensive defenseman Brandon Montour on the Eastern Conference champion Florida Panthers, will likely play often, lest Briere loses his chance to unload them for maximum value. Whether Attard is doomed to seventh-defenseman anonymity or a return to Lehigh Valley, his window to produce in the NHL is not exactly wide open.
A twice-undrafted, three-year college player, he is not exactly the prototypical snot-nosed prospect, and players like 21-year-old Helge Grans, the former 35th-overall pick acquired in the Provorov deal, will inevitably get more rope from the organization; Grans is not half as polished as Attard but has more time on his side.
With Grans, incoming AHL-rookie Ethan Samson, and 22nd-overall pick Oliver Bonk all breathing down his neck on the right side, Attard needs to make something happen in 2023-24 to tie down his place in the organization’s future. The good news? He can play.
A Two-Way Defenseman
Attard needs to improve his decision-making, a skill that will only come from reps, but unlike long-term projects like Grans, his tools are readily on display whenever he hits the ice. The player’s heavy shot clocked in at 97.2 miles-per-hour at the AHL’s All-Star weekend, third among contestants. He used that velocity to net 27 times in 94 games at the University of Western Michigan before a respectable 12-goal showing as an AHL rookie last season. He might not be a power-play quarterback, but Attard is relevant on offense. That is more than Seeler, Staal, or even Ristolainen can say in 2023.
On defense, while he needs some work between the ears, Attard has a body that’s ready for the NHL. Tortorella has always resented the physical slightness of York and Travis Sanheim and will love Attard’s 200-pound frame and willingness to hit.
Attard Must Be Oppurtunistic
Those skills would slot perfectly next to stay-at-home lefties Seeler and Staal for 14 minutes a night as Attard adjusted to the pace of the NHL, but that is unlikely to happen immediately. Though Attard and Russian Egor Zamula are the rookies with the best shot of making the roster on opening night, neither is likely to steal a starting spot in a group that feels concrete even before training camp. Sanheim and Ristolainen will be the de facto top pairing, Staal will enable York’s creativity, and Seeler and Walker will form a steady if unspectacular bottom group.
That cannot discourage Attard, who would do well to take a page from his one-time Phantoms teammate York’s book. The latter often drew the ire of Tortorella throughout the preseason but would seize top-four minutes by the end of the year after breaking into the team in early December. For Attard, there could be similar opportunities.
Seeler will attract trade interest early and often thanks to his paltry $775,000 cap hit. Like Justin Braun last season, Staal might find his legs are too cooked for a full-time schedule. Walker has missed an astonishing 97 games over the past three seasons thanks to unfortunate injury luck. Attard must be ready to seize his chance when any or all of those things transpire. There may not be many left.