Flyers Trade F Brink to Wild for D Jiricek

The first domino has fallen on deadline day, and it may not be the player you expected to be moved by the Philadelphia Flyers. At least, maybe not today.

Forward Bobby Brink has been traded by the Flyers to the Minnesota Wild in exchange for defenseman David Jiricek.

Brink, 24, was drafted by the Flyers in the second round of the 2019 NHL Draft. After his college career at University of Denver, Brink made his NHL debut in 2022, playing in 10 games and picking up four assists.

He made the jump to the NHL full-time in 2023-24. In 201 career games with the Flyers, Brink scored 36 goals and had 94 points. He had 13 goals and 13 assists in 55 games this season.

Jiricek, 22, was a former sixth overall pick by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the 2022 NHL Draft, selected one spot after the Flyers took Cutter Gauthier. Once regarded as one of the top defensive prospects in his draft class, Jiricek has seen his development progress slowly.

He played in for games out of his draft year before spending most of the season in the AHL. He scored six goals and had 38 points in 55 games as a rookie in the AHL.

Jiricek split time between the NHL and AHL in the 2023-24 season. With the Blue Jackets, he had one goal and 10 points in 43 games. He had seven goals and 19 points in 29 games with AHL Cleveland.

Jiricek played 10 games in the Columbus organization in 2024-25 before being moved to the Minnesota Wild. He played just six games with the Wild that year, while spending 27 games in the AHL with Iowa.

This season, Jiricek played 24 AHL games and 25 NHL with Minnesota. The right-handed shot defenseman is 6'3" and 209 pounds. Jiricek is reporting to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.

Kevin Durso is Flyers insider for 97.3 ESPN. Follow him on social media @Kevin_Durso.