When the Philadelphia Flyers placed Egor Zamula on waivers yesterday afternoon, they did so knowing there was a chance that the 25-year old defenseman would be claimed by another club and they would lose him from their organization for nothing. Instead, the rest of the league passed on Zamula, and he remains under contract with the Flyers, and will ply his trade in the AHL for now.

But Zamula’s loss was Denver Barkey’s gain, apparently.

Zamula was officially sent down after clearing waivers on Friday afternoon, with all 31 other NHL teams passing on him. But with the demotion news came an exciting promotion to replace him on the roster: Denver Barkey, a 20-year old winger taken by the Flyers in the 2023 third round and one of the Flyers’ top forward prospects (6th on PHLY’s most recent list), would be getting his first NHL call-up.

Barkey impressed in rookie camp and even in main camp in September and October, and has carried over that success to his first full professional season. With the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, Barkey has 16 points (seven goals, nine assists) in 26 games, showcasing the same relentlessness and tenacity that made him a fan favorite with the London Knights in the OHL

Now, he’ll presumably get a shot to show it at the NHL level.

A source confirmed to PHLY on Friday night that Barkey will indeed most likely make his NHL debut on Saturday afternoon against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden. Even if the situation unexpectedly changes, however, Barkey should make his debut at some point prior to the Christmas break, given the fact that the Flyers play three times: Saturday vs. the Rangers, Monday against the Vancouver Canucks, and Tuesday in Chicago versus the Blackhawks.

With Nikita Grebenkin having lost his hold on the top-nine role that he was given in the wake of Tyson Foerster’s arm injury, the logical place for Barkey in the lineup would be in that vacated spot, which Carl Grundström has taken up this week. Grundström could easily move back to the fourth line, however, opening up a spot for the higher-upside Barkey in a scoring role.

As for Zamula, he’ll join the Phantoms this weekend with two games on their schedule: Friday night against Bridgeport, and Saturday vs. Hartford, with both games played at the PPL Center in Allentown. Given the travel involved (Zamula was on the Flyers’ road trip), it’s possible he won’t be available for the Phantoms until the second game of the back-to-back.

The demotion leaves the Flyers with seven defensemen on the roster, now that both Cam York and Rasmus Ristolainen have returned to action. Noah Juulsen presumably will serve as the regular No. 7, with second-year blueliner Emil Andrae the most likely to give way if Juulsen re-enters the lineup. The fact that the Flyers are now one player below the roster maximum gives them the flexibility to make a call-up during the roster freeze, if injuries strike in their next three games (Saturday, Monday and Tuesday).

As for Zamula, he likely sits as the No. 9 defenseman on the organizational depth chart, behind both Juulsen and Ty Murchison, who was returned to the Phantoms this week and played for Lehigh Valley on Wednesday but appears to still have a leg up on Zamula in the current Flyers defensemen hierarchy.

Zamula joins a Phantoms club teeming with defenseman depth — even with Helge Grans currently battling injury, Lehigh Valley has all of Murchison, Adam Ginning, Hunter McDonald, Oliver Bonk, Christian Kyrou, Maxence Guenette and Roman Schmidt on its roster. The first four have long been quality Flyers prospects, while the final three have all come to the Flyers via trade over the past two months. It’s a crowded depth chart in Allentown that Zamula will have to navigate.

Barkey will also be navigating an unfamiliar depth chart. But for him, it will be about earning playing time with the big club, and trying to prove that he’s ready to stick as a full-time NHLer.