The Philadelphia Flyers have signed forward Rodrigo Abols to a one-year, two-way $775,000 contract, according to General Manager Daniel Briere.
Abols, 28 (1/5/96), recorded 26 points (14g-12a) in 50 games with the Rögle BK of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL) during the 2023-24 season. He tied for first in power-play goals (5), ranked second on the team in goals (14), and tied for third in game-winning goals (2). He owns 85 goals and 78 assists for 163 points in 266 career games in the SHL in six seasons with Örebro (2017-19, 2020-23) and Rögle (2023-24).
The 6-foot-4, 205-pound native of Riga, Latvia was originally selected by the Vancouver Canucks in the seventh round (184th overall) of the 2016 NHL Draft.
The left-shot center recorded 23 points (7g-16a) in 36 games with Springfield Thunderbirds of the American Hockey League (AHL) during the 2019-20 season. He made his North American debut with the Springfield Thunderbirds on Oct. 11, 2019 against the Rochester Americans and posted his first point (1a) on Oct. 26, 2019 versus Belleville.
Internationally, Abols has represented Latvia at the 2014 Under-18 World Junior Championship Division 1A, where he helped the team win a gold medal. He also competed in the 2014 Under-20 World Junior Championship Division 1A (silver medal), 2015 Under-20 World Junior Championship Division 1A (bronze medal), and the 2016 Under-20 World Junior Championship Division 1A (gold medal). He has also represented Latvia in the Men’s World Championship eight times (2015-16, 2018-19, 2021-24), earning a bronze medal in 2023 and at the 2018 Olympic Games in PyeongChang and 2022 Olympic Games in Beijing. He was named the Top 3 Player on the Team in the 2023 and 2024 World Championship.
