He and his coach gave the flyers brass the impression he WANTED to return to college.
I dunno. It sounds like the Flyers are the ex that didn't want the relationship to end even though the org was told long ago the relationship ended. There's just a lot of coping going on. It sucks to lose a prospect you invested time in, but at least the Flyers are receiving an NHL d-man who's been playing top pairing in Anaheim and a 2025 2nd round pick.
Prospects can change their minds, especially the NCAA Harvard ones. The only thing an org can hope for is that the prospect informs the team they don't want to be part of the org early so they can at least regain some assets. Could pull a Justin Schultz, where he lulled the Ducks that he loved them and would sign with them only to wait out the signing period to become an UFA to sign anywhere else.
Anaheim recently had a college senior inform us he wasn't going to sign with us before his college career ended and the Ducks were able to trade him away for a draft pick. Thrun to SJ for SJ's 2024 3rd round pick. There were inklings that Thrun wasn't all bought in the previous off-season to be a Duck, but fellow collegiate senior to be D LaCombe was. (Of course, selecting three D-men in the first two rounds of the 2022 draft on top of having Zellweger, Hinds, and Moore in tow made it a bleak long future with the Ducks for either Thrun or LaCombe.)
Similarly, LW Nesterenko informed the Wild that he wouldn't sign because he didn't see a quick path to the NHL in the Minny org. He was traded to the Ducks.
Also last year, the Pens and Ducks swapped late round prospects' rights. Pens' 5th round pick in 2019 RW Caulfield for Ducks' 4th round pick in 2020 RD Nickl. Caulfield was set to to play a fifth season in college as a Wild prospect, due to COVID waiver. Guess the Wild weren't gonna sign Caulfield and traded him to the Ducks when the Ducks inquired about Caulfield. Once the trade was completed, Caulfield was promptly signed. The Pens org changed their mind at the last second, but there wasn't a social media storm that the Pens' org changed its mind on its own prospect.