Wisdom's Confidence Growing With Every Shift

Wisdom's Confidence Growing With Every Shift

Not only is Zayde Wisdom getting an early look at what life is like in pro hockey with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms -  the youngest player in Phantoms' franchise history to make his pro debut at 18 years, 6 months and 30 days when he did so earlier this month - he's getting a first-hand, and hands-on, experience in the American Hockey League (AHL) that will jumpstart his development as he continues to grow his game.

It's been quite a whirlwind of events for Wisdom the past four months, since being drafted in the 4th round by the Philadelphia Flyers at the 2020 NHL Draft in October, signing an entry-level contract, attending his first NHL training camp and now getting into pro games with the Flyers' top minor league affiliate an hour up the road.

"It's definitely been hectic," Wisdom told InsideAHLHockey.com (IAH) via phone Monday in an exclusive 1-on-1 interview. "The past few months, just trying to sort everything out and get everything figured out - kind of not knowing what the plan was [going in to it]. But now that I'm here and we kind of have things sorted out and got the [AHL] season going, it's been fun."

Wisdom has appeared in all three of the Phantoms' regular season games to date this season, and while he didn't get on the scoresheet in his first two games, it's not like he wasn't playing well or that he even looked out of place in an AHL lineup.

"The first two [games] I kind of had chances. I was getting them, I was in the right spots but I just couldn't get that scoring touch," he explained.

The reason why Wisdom was standing out in the opening two games despite not recording any points was due to his willingness to be the first guy in on the forecheck and be disruptive - winning puck battles and 1-on-1's in the 'dirty areas' of the ice.

It's impressive when anyone at the pro level can consistently do that, and do it well. It's a whole other thing for an 18-year-old kid to come right in and having success in those areas of the game.

"It's very rare that you get a player that can come in at his age and have the strength that he plays at," Phantoms' head coach Scott Gordon told IAH on Tuesday referring to Wisdom. "He's one of the leaders on our team as far as loose puck recoveries. Usually your defensemen are in the top six on your team and then the forwards fall in under. He's probably in the top three every game."

Wisdom takes pride in that part of his game and says that it's probably the best part of his game.

"I've never really been scared to go up against anybody bigger or stronger. It's just an obstacle waiting for me to clear, right," he asked rhetorically when asked about the willingness to go to work down low and be hard to play against.

"I feel like my confidence is good enough to be able to go into those corners and my body size and physical ability are strong enough to be able to go up against those bigger guys," he said, adding, "the next few years I'm just going to be working on getting bigger, faster and stronger."

The old adage that the third time's the charm certainly rang true for Wisdom this past Sunday in Hershey where, in his third career pro game, he had an offensive breakthrough.

His big night started with scoring his first career pro goal on goaltender Ilya Samsonov in the final minute of the first period, giving the Phantoms a 2-1 lead heading into the middle frame.

"Oh yeah. It's definitely a feeling I'll never forget. I'll remember it for the rest of my life. Mom called me after, she was getting emotional - it was kind of getting me emotional but it's kind of a feeling where you finally kind of feel like you've made it," Wisdom explained of that first pro goal feeling.  "It's not the big league yet, but it's still pro, right? It was definitely an unforgettable night for sure."

The goal wasn't overly flashy, and in fact is likely the kind of goals we should expect a player who plays the way Wisdom does will be generating.

There was a net-front play after some extended offensive zone pressure resulted in a puck cycled down low. Though the Bears eventually  got the loose puck behind the net, a turnover forced in the slot by David Kase saw Chris Mueller with the puck on his stick in front. With his back to the goalie, Mueller slid a pass to Wisdom at the left side of the net where the rookie right-winger was able to shovel a backhander past the goalie.

The confidence boost Wisdom received from getting that first pro goal was "through the roof".

"It was unbelievable the amount of confidence I got from that," Wisdom explained. "I don't even know how to put it into words. Just a massive confidence boost. To finally get that first one and then the second one right after? ... it just makes you want to play even more. I'm just excited for the next game."

Wisdom's second tally of the contest was a loose puck after a Bears' defender mishandled a Phantoms' clear in just inside of the offensive zone blue line. He pounced on the puck and fired a quick shot over the left shoulder of Varlamov to tie the game up with 5:16 left in regulation which later forced overtime. He then completed a three-point night with a primary assist on Kase's game-winning goal during the ensuing 3-on-3 - out-muscling a Bears defender behind the net to corral a rebound before feeding Kase in front for the winning tally.

Confidence soaring, and the hunger for more further driving his motivation heading into the Phantoms' next game on Saturday - the team's regular season home opener - Wisdom is hoping to make the most of this current opportunity, one that most kids his age simply don't get.

"I'm just coming in here looking for an experience. I'm getting an opportunity that a lot of kids don't get at 18. So I kind of want to use it to my advantage where if I do end up going back to the OHL a lot of the kids won't have the experience that I've had," Wisdom replied when talking about what he's hoping to get from the current opportunity to play some pro games. "Hopefully that's enough for me to put in an extra 5-10 goals, or some extra points. Hopefully I can abuse the experience and learn from it."

There's no guarantee that Wisdom will be with the Phantoms for the duration of the season. In fact, Wisdom himself has heard whispers that the OHL might be starting back up soon - which would mean he would no longer be eligible to play in the AHL and would have to return to his junior team - the Kingston Frontenacs.

"I'm kind of going to use that as motivation if I do end up going back [to the OHL this year]," he said. "If I get to stay, great. I get to be with the guys here. I've made a lot of friendships and made some good ones in the past few weeks at training camp and the regular season. The guys have been nothing but great, they've taken me in and showed me around and explained a lot, I've learned a lot and I love being here so hopefully I can be here in the future as well."

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