The Flyers made a roster move Monday morning, sending forward Alex Bump to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms of the American Hockey League.
Bump appeared in eight games for Philadelphia this season and still hadn’t picked up his first point. He broke camp with the Flyers and was in the lineup for their Sept. 30 opener, a 7-0 loss to the Penguins. Over those eight games, he averaged 13:05 of ice time and finished with 18 shots on goal.
The looks were there. Bump had four games with three shots on goal, including his most recent outing Oct. 28 against Washington, when he logged 14:47 in a 5-2 loss. The night before, in a 4-3 overtime loss to Columbus, he posted a season-high five shots.
The move seems tied to two things. First, the Flyers have Travis Konecny and Owen Tippett back in the lineup, which gives the club more depth and makes it easier to send Bump down where he can play bigger minutes.
There’s little value in keeping a 22-year-old winger around if he’s mostly going to be a healthy scratch and spend his time in practice. Bump saw most of his five-on-five minutes with Sean Couturier and Tyson Foerster (28:09), and also had a stretch with Couturier and Noel Acciari (10:07).
The timing also fits Lehigh Valley’s schedule. The Phantoms are about to head out on a three-game road trip, starting with Laval on November 4, then moving on to Belleville on November 6 and Hamilton on November 7. That gives Bump a chance to get back into games, rebuild confidence and try to rediscover his scoring touch.
He has already shown he can finish at the AHL level. In five games with the Phantoms this season, Bump has seven goals and one assist.
He also fired 11 shots on goal in an Oct. 17 game at Springfield, so the shot volume hasn’t been the issue. The challenge has been translating that production to the NHL.
This also may say something about the Flyers’ view of Cole Knuble. After Hunter McDonald went back to the Phantoms, many expected Knuble to follow soon after.
Instead, Knuble has stayed put and made a case for himself. He drew a penalty and scored an empty-net goal in Sunday’s 6-3 win over Utah, and he now has three goals and no assists in six NHL games since making his debut Oct. 19 against Colorado.
Philadelphia signed Michael Bunting last month, but Knuble appears to be pushing his way up the depth chart.
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