The first time Kjell Samuelsson saw Yegor Zamula play wasn’t in an official Flyers capacity.

The team’s prospect development coach was just there in Russia for the under-18 World Junior Championships to be a supportive father for his son Mattias, who was drafted in the second round by the Buffalo Sabres last June. There wasn’t much fanfare for Zamula at the tournament or at the draft when no team selected him.

Then the Flyers invited him to training camp last fall and the 6-foot-3, 165-pound defenseman played well enough to earn a contract.

“He moved the puck a lot in camp,” Samuelsson said by phone this week. “That surprised me, the way he moved the puck. He started off in the rookie game and did well and then he played one exhibition game and then another one. He never dipped. He did the same thing all the games he played. It’s almost like we were sitting there waiting for when he’s gonna fall apart and he never did.”

Last season Zamula had 18 points in 69 games in the Western Hockey League between the Regina Pats and the Calgary Hitmen. This season he’s emerged as an all-around threat for the Hitmen and is nearly a point-per-game player.

That kind of quick ascension didn’t just impress the Flyers, who took a shot on him. Even his junior team was surprised.

“Physically, he’s pretty light still but he’s got a tremendous stick and he’s got way more puck presence and playmaking ability than maybe anybody expected,” first-year Hitmen coach Steve Hamilton said on Guy Flaming’s radio show last month called ‘The Pipeline.’ “I didn’t have any kind of history or a book on him when I got here and took us a few games to figure out where he’s best suited in terms of power-play opportunity and it turns out he’s the quarterback. His emergence offensively coincided with the run we started in mid-November there.”

Putting up offensive numbers like he has this season is a big surprise.

Even when he played well in exhibition play, he only had one shot on goal in his two games. The far more impressive aspect of his play was how he didn’t get caught up in the moment of playing against some NHLers and didn’t make any mistakes either with the puck or in coverage.

“I don’t even know if he knew the kind of level he was playing against. He just played,” Samuelsson said. “When he came back to Calgary I talked to their coaches a lot and they said there was a little bit of reaction after he came back from the camp in October. He had a little (dip) and didn’t play very well but then he took off again and played very well. He got hurt. He had a concussion I think (in early February) and was out a little but now he’s back playing again. The whole team, every game now is very important because they’re fighting for a spot in the playoffs.”

With so much interest in the team’s prospect group, the Courier-Post will check in on the promising young players each week. Here’s the latest progress report with insights from Samuelsson.

* all statistics through Friday, March 1.

Yegor Zamula, defenseman, Calgary Hitmen (WHL)

Age: 18

Height/weight: 6-foot-4, 165 pounds

Acquired: signed as free agent on Sept. 20, 2018

This season: 55 games, 10 goals, 41 assists

The skinny: Zamula should have his mail delivered to the weight room because that’s where he needs to be to get to the next level. He’s as tall as Travis Sanheim but only as heavy as Johnny Gaudreau. The tools are all there but he needs to get stronger to repeat his success as a professional. If he can add the muscle, the Flyers may have found another undrafted diamond in the rough like they did with Phil Myers.

Samuelsson’s take: “The games I have watched him, he’s a very poised with the puck. He’s moving the puck well. He’s simple but effective when he’s moving the puck and he’s also a point producer on the power play, very mobile on the offensive blue line and getting his shots through at the level he plays right now, anyway. Then it comes to winning battles and skating also. I think that’s gonna come because when he gets stronger he can actually outmuscle somebody and he’s gonna get more powerful skating when he gets stronger.”

Wyatte Wylie, defenseman, Everett Silvertips (WHL)

Age: 19

Height/weight: 6-foot-1, 190 pounds

Acquired: fifth-round pick in 2018 draft (127th overall)

This season: 61 games, 10 goals, 34 assists

The skinny: Like Zamula, Wylie is riding a four-game point streak. His puck-moving abilities were a little less surprising because teams saw that ability and that he would progress. With the Everett Silvertips firmly in first place in their division, Wylie has emerged as a team leader of his hometown team in his third season with the club.

Samuelsson’s take: “I didn’t see him last year because he’s a late ’99 (birthday) so he was drafted this last draft. He plays a lot. He moves the puck very well and plays in all situations in Everett and is doing very well. If you talk to the coaching staff out there who had him last year, where he had to improve was his play without the puck and he has done that. When I have been out there, I haven’t seen any problems defending or anything. He wins battles. He defends very well against the rush and when he wins battles, he moves the puck very well after he wins the battle.”

Adam Ginning, defenseman, Linköping HC (SHL)

Age: 19

Height/weight: 6-foot-4, 205 pounds

Acquired: second-round pick in 2018 draft (50th overall)

This season: 41 games, 1 goal, 4 assists

The skinny: The stay-at-home defenseman isn’t a big point producer and because of his style of play the Flyers were criticized and questioned at the draft for taking Ginning where they did. He’s in his first full season in Sweden’s top league, playing an everyday role, and his contract is up at the end of this season. Typically NHL teams are OK with the Swedish development system but perhaps the Flyers sign Ginning and bring him to North America next season.

Samuelsson’s take: “He has done pretty well and his curve is going upward. He started out very well. The team he plays for, Linköping, started off very well in the beginning and then he went to the World Juniors and after that he dipped a little bit. It’s almost like he was burned out a little bit and then took off again. I saw him (Thursday) and he plays a lot and he doesn’t play any power play and he doesn’t have to play power play. I thought he’s defending well. He uses his stick well. He’s gotta upgrade when he has the puck. When he has the puck, move it up simple and effective. That’s the part he has to upgrade, the puck moving.”

Dave Isaac; @davegisaac; 856-486-2479; disaac@gannett.com