Overview
- Philadelphia announced the deal and assigned Roman Schmidt to the AHL’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms.
- Reporting indicates Ethan Samson will enter the Lightning system and is expected to play for the Syracuse Crunch.
- Both players are 22-year-old right-shot defensemen drafted in 2021 who have been developing in the AHL.
- Schmidt brings size and edge with limited offense, posting one assist in 13 AHL games after leading Syracuse in penalty minutes last season, and he was briefly on Tampa Bay’s NHL roster without debuting.
- Samson offers more puck-moving offense with four assists in 10 AHL games after a training-camp injury, fitting Tampa Bay’s need for a mobile option on a Crunch blue line hit by NHL recalls.