Flyers acquire Tucker Robertson from Kraken for Jon-Randall Avon

On Thursday, Philadelphia Flyers general manager Daniel Briere announced that the team has acquired forward Tucker Robertson from the Seattle Kraken. In exchange, the Kraken received forward Jon-Randall Avon.

It’s certainly a unique trade, as Avon and Robertson were on the Ontario Hockey League’s Peterborough Petes together from 2019 to 2023. They helped the Petes win the J. Ross Robertson Cup as OHL Champions in 2022-23, making it all the way to the semifinals of the Memorial Cup. Neither player has appeared in an NHL game in their first two years of professional hockey.

Robertson was taken by the Kraken in the fourth round, 123rd overall, of the 2022 NHL Draft. He spent most of his first two seasons with the organization with the Coachella Valley Firebirds, Seattle’s American Hockey League affiliate, along with a brief stint with the team’s ECHL farm team, the Kansas City Mavericks, in 2023-24. The Toronto native has yet to find his scoring touch that made him a 90-point player in junior hockey, scoring no more than 10 points in a single season.

In 81 AHL appearances, regular season and playoffs combined, the 22-year-old has potted 10 goals and nine assists for 19 points. Robertson is heading into the final season of his three-year, entry-level contract, which has an NHL AAV of $950,000 and a minor-league salary of $82,500.

While Avon wasn’t as a prolific of a offensive weapon as Robertson was with the Petes, the Peterborough native has found a little more individual success in his tenure with the Flyers’ primary affiliate, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. The undrafted forward posted 18 points during his rookie campaign in 2023-24, having a similar output this past year.

In 128 AHL games, the 22-year-old has registered 16 goals and 19 assists for 35 points. He, too, has one more year on his three-year, entry-level contract. The deal has an NHL AAV of $800,000 and a minor-league salary of $80,000.