When the Devils signed No. 1 overall pick Nico Hischier to his entry-level contract Saturday, it was only a matter of time before the Flyers followed suit with Nolan Patrick.
Two days, to be exact.
The Flyers on Monday morning signed Patrick, the No. 2 overall pick in last month's NHL draft, to the maximum three-year entry-level contract for salary and performance bonuses.
Patrick's contract is for three years with an annual average value of $925,000, a source confirmed to CSNPhilly.com.
The 18-year-old Patrick did not participate in the on-ice portion of last week's development camp at Flyers Skate Zone in Voorhees, New Jersey, after undergoing abdominal surgery on June 13.
Ten days ago, Patrick said he would be back on the ice last week (see story). When the Flyers announced Patrick's surgery on June 30, general manager Ron Hextall said the center was 2 to 4 weeks from being fully recovered.
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The June 13 surgery repaired a sports hernia injury that pestered him throughout the 2016-17 season with the Brandon Wheat Kings of the WHL. Patrick had a similar injury on the other side of his core addressed surgically last summer.
"This will be the first time in a while I've been 100 percent healthy," Patrick said July 7. "That injury was kind of bugging me all season. ... I was probably 60 percent when I first started playing and maybe got up to 70, 75 [percent] tops.
"I never had any wind during games. I'd lose my energy really quick because I'd lose it trying to skate with that injury."
Despite playing through injury last season, Patrick registered scored 30 goals and was slightly above a point-per-game player with 56 points in 55 games with the Wheat Kings.
After being projected as the No. 1 pick this year since the end of the 2016 draft, Patrick fell to the Flyers at No. 2 with Hischier's rise and partially because of his injuries.
All signs point to Patrick's being a Flyer on opening night Oct. 4 in San Jose, assuming all goes well in training camp.
Hextall has repeatedly said this summer he will not block any of his prospects this training camp by signing any veteran free agents. He's committed to the youth movement.
There are expected to be two open forward spots in the top-nine with Patrick and Oskar Lindblom being the favorites. There is also a competition for the fourth-line spots that could see another rookie, Mike Vecchione, and Scott Laughton, 23, make the team.
With Patrick signed and Hextall signing his remaining three restricted free agents Saturday, the Flyers' offseason appears to be complete.
