Flyers add organizational depth at forward, acquire Boris Katchouk from the Wild

Drew Smith
March 2, 2026
Flyers
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The Flyers made a quiet move Sunday night, trading defenseman Roman Schmidt to Minnesota in exchange for forward Boris Katchouk.

Schmidt was acquired by Philadelphia back in December but never suited up for the big club, going scoreless in 16 games with AHL affiliate Lehigh Valley. At 23 he still has time to develop, but the Flyers clearly decided his value was better used as a return piece than as organizational depth they were not going to use anytime soon.

Flyers acquire Boris Katchouk from the Wild in exchange for Roman Schmidt

TRADE ALERT: We’ve acquired forward Boris Katchouk from the Minnesota Wild in exchange for defenseman Roman Schmidt. Katchouk will report to the @LVPhantoms (AHL). https://t.co/gR5The0rWn
— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) March 2, 2026

Katchouk, who will report to the Phantoms, is a 27-year-old winger with 179 games of NHL experience across three organizations.

He started his career with Tampa Bay, was traded to Minnesota in December after three games with the Lightning this season, and spent eight games with Iowa, Minnesota’s AHL affiliate, before this deal. He has also had stints with Chicago and Ottawa.

The career numbers are modest but there is something here. His best NHL season came in 2022-23 with the Blackhawks, where he put up 16 points in 58 games.

Last season in the AHL with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton he set career highs with 21 goals and 49 points. The 6-foot-2 winger with some ability to play center has clearly found a level where he can produce, and the Phantoms getting a player of that profile with AHL upside is a reasonable addition.

There is also a small footnote worth mentioning. Katchouk scored his first NHL goal against the Flyers in 2021-22, in a 7-1 Lightning win that turned out to be Alain Vigneault’s last game as Philadelphia’s head coach. Not the most pleasant memory for Flyers fans but it is part of the file now.

This is not a move that changes anything at the NHL level. It is organizational depth management with three weeks until the trade deadline, and the Flyers getting a productive AHL forward with NHL experience while moving a young defenseman who was not in their immediate plans is a sensible transaction. Nothing more, nothing less.