The Flyers have always been a team that makes noise in the NCAA free agent pool, and they did just that on Tuesday night by signing local kid Steven Swavely to an amateur tryout contract. He’ll join the Lehigh Valley Phantoms for the remainder of their regular season but doesn’t have a full contract with the organization for next season.
Swavely also had an offer from the Winnipeg Jets, but decided to join the Flyers instead. He told the Courier-Post that he’s been a Flyers fan his entire life, which you have to believe played into that choice.
A forward — listed as both a center and a winger — from Reading, Swavely ended his college career at the University of Maine this past weekend with a loss in the Hockey East Tournament against Northeastern. The Black Bears program has fallen considerably since the mid-2000s when they were a regular NCAA title contender, and in each of Swavely’s four years they finished under .500 and failed to advance beyond the first round of the conference tournament.
Still, Swavely was a senior captain with the team, and he was a versatile player at Maine playing in all situations. He ended his career with 33 goals and 48 assists in 146 games. Here’s a clip of some shootout heroics of his from an early season win against Michigan State:
Hero of the night, captain Swavely
Posted by Alyssa Huston on Friday, October 9, 2015
Prior to Maine, Swavely played junior hockey with the New Jersey Hitmen for two years, the Philadelphia Jr. Flyers for two years, and the Valley Forge Minutemen for one year. He played high school hockey at Muhlenberg in Berks County.
