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On Monday, the Philadelphia Flyers announced a trade involving AHL defensemen. They sent 22 year old Ethan Samson to the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for Roman Schmidt.
Schmidt has been assigned to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, the Flyers’ AHL affiliate.
Flyers general manager Daniel Briere has made a series of trades attempting to bolster the Lehigh Valley Phantoms defense. Earlier in the season, he acquired Christian Kyrou from the Dallas Stars in exchange for forward Samu Tuomaala. More recently, Briere dealt veteran Dennis Gilbert to the Ottawa Senators for young defenseman Maxence Guennette.
Why Add Schmidt?
Schmidt has appeared in 13 games this season with Tampa Bay’s AHL affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch. The 6-foot-5, 225-pound native of Midland, Michigan has recorded one assist and leads the Crunch with 38 penalty minutes. He was voted as the organization’s most improved player from the 2024-25 season, finishing with three goals, five points, and a plus seven rating to go with 79 penalty minutes.
He is a former 2021 third round pick (96th overall) of the Lightning and has played parts of three seasons with the Crunch between 2023 and 2025. Schmidt profiles as a physical right handed defenseman, as evidenced by his 30 penalty minutes in 13 games played with the Crunch.
Following the acquisition of Guennette and Schmidt, it seems that the team is attempting to balance out their AHL defense’s skill with toughness in Allentown.
Did Time Run Out For Samson?
Conversely, the Flyers made the decision to move on from Samson. He was the team’s sixth round pick (174th overall) in the same draft year as Schmidt. This season, Samson had four assists in ten games, after returning from an upper body injury that he suffered during training camp. Through 142 games played with the Phantoms in parts of three seasons he registered 15 goals, 25 assists, and 40 points.
Samson’s abilities leaned towards the possibility of an offensive game, as evidenced from his 12 goals and 24 points from last season. However, he was still working on the defensive areas of his game. Indirectly, Lehigh Valley Phamtoms head coach John Snowden questioned Samson’s hockey sense while praising the player’s feet and shooting ability.
“It’s kind of a catch-22 with him. One of his greatest attributes is that he’s able to transfer the puck with his feet up the rink. Watch him through the neutral zone, he’s able to (start the attack). That’s a skill that not a lot of people have, the ability to skate the puck up the rink,” Snowden said in September after the Flyers vs. Rangers Rookie Series.
“There are times, once he gets the boots going, that he misses plays when there’s a (better) decision to make. He tries to skate himself all the way into the zone.”
That is coach speak for a coach who has been with a player for several years expressing doubts if the player can process the game at an NHL-caliber level. Snowden didn’t say that in so many words, of course, but he implied it.
The recent assignment of Oliver Bonk (their 2023 22nd overall pick) to Lehigh Valley could be seen as a reason for the team’s decision to trade him. Time will tell if Samson can reach his upside potential in the Lightning organization.
