It was reported earlier this weekend by Tim McManus of The Post-Star that the Flyers signed defenseman J.P. Testwuide to an AHL contract, adding further defensive depth to the Phantoms’ roster. Testwuide, 27, played in 58 regular season games for the Houston Aeros this past season. He notched two goals, six assists and 111 penalty minutes.
I would not expect Testwuide’s signing to impact the Flyers, as they currently have eight defensemen on the roster and will be looking to some of the younger defensive prospects to step up in the event of injuries next season. He will serve as a decent defensive defenseman who’s been known to throw down a time or two. What’s interesting to note is that J.P. is the older brother of Mike Testwuide, the Flyers prospect who will also be playing for the Phantoms next season (barring a phenomenal training camp that rewards him with a Flyers roster spot). J.P. did not play with his brother at Colorado College, but attended the University of Denver.
One has to wonder if this signing was geared towards improving the locker room mechanics as well as weeding out the underachievers from last year’s Phantoms line-up. The Flyers went “dumpster diving” last summer and picked up a number of veteran AHLers who didn’t seem to have the commitment necessary for the team to succeed. This is also not the first time the Flyers brought in a sibling of a current player. Last April, they signed Chris Clackson, the younger brother of enforcer Matt Clackson, to an amateur try-out contract when injuries were plaguing the team.
