Overview
- The Flyers announced on Monday, June 1, that they signed 20-year-old Ilya Pautov, their 2024 sixth-round pick, to a three-year entry-level contract.
- Pautov spent the season rotating between Russia’s junior MHL and the pro-level VHL and posted strong MHL totals but managed just five points in 25 VHL games, showing a gap between junior success and pro output.
- Scouts describe him as a crafty 5-foot-10 winger with quick hands and strong lateral skating who can drive play in open ice but needs to add strength and consistency when play slows.
- Philadelphia will evaluate Pautov over the summer and at development camp before deciding whether to assign him to the AHL or ECHL, or to loan him back to a Russian club.
- The signing joins Pautov with other 2024 Flyers signees and follows the team’s recent pattern of bringing European prospects to Philadelphia to try to accelerate their development.