The Flyers, as they are right now, are caught between the fringe of what's been a mediocre playoff race so far, the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings and ideal draft positioning, and the March 7 trade deadline that sits less than a week away.
And there are a few ways this could go. The Flyers, and prized rookie Matvei Michkov, have looked much better coming back from the 4 Nations break. It's a tough climb, but maybe they put together a late run and squeak into the playoffs to the surprise of everyone, or maybe the post-break boost fades and they bottom out for ping-pong balls.
And maybe they make a couple of moves this week, or stay patient and hold on to their cards.
Either way, the Flyers' eyes are on the future. That's been stressed repeatedly by GM Danny Brière, head coach John Tortorella, and president of hockey ops Keith Jones.
But to get there, they need talented prospects who are well on their way.
Here's a check-in on the current pipeline…
The Junior Big 3
• C Jett Luchanko, Guelph OHL (2024 1st Rd.): The 18-year-old Luchanko is continuing to fly across the ice for the Guelph Storm and is captaining them now, too. He's up to 48 points on the season through 35 games (19 goals, 29 assists), and is still using his speed and quick thinking to score. What's promising, though, is that he's starting to rack up goals with his shot, which was one of the key areas he needed to work on.
THE STORM TAKE THE LEAD 🚨@NHLFlyers prospect Jett Luchanko takes the buck from behind the net, steps out in front and snipes it short side into the Barrie net for his 18th goal of the season to give the @Storm_City a 2-1 lead!#OHL | @CHLHockey pic.twitter.com/RhGA6jKmtL
— Ontario Hockey League (@OHLHockey) February 27, 2025
• D Oliver Bonk, London OHL (2023 1st Rd.): Bonk isn't on that same insane 67-point pace he was last year, but the 20-year old still has racked up an impressive 34 points (9 goals, 25 assists) for a defenseman, and is skating at plus-33, which is a pretty clear tell that when he's once the ice, the Knights are scoring and not getting scored on.
He hasn't been afraid to carry the puck up and leave checkers flailing after it either.
Oliver Bonk is taking ankles#LetsGoFlyers pic.twitter.com/bOJOWfgJGK
— London Knights (@LondonKnights) January 26, 2025
• W Denver Barkey, London OHL (2023 3rd Rd.): Barkey was named the Knights' captain early in the season, and while recovery from mono and missing the cut for Team Canada at World Juniors set him back, he's still leading London with 76 points (22 goals, 54 assists) through 48 games.
The 19-year-old forward is getting better and better at taking charge and creating for himself, which hopefully, results in the Flyers having found a third-round steal as he continues to develop.
PK MENACE DENVER BARKEY@NHLFlyers | #LetsGoFlyers pic.twitter.com/HQHX9Zuf9d
— London Knights (@LondonKnights) February 14, 2025
The College Ranks
• W Alex Bump, Western Michigan (2022 Rd. 5): The 21-year-old Bump has already matched his collegiate career-high in points (36) in year 2 at Western Michigan with a few games left in the season still to play.
He also has a team-leading 16 goals, which is a credit to a blend of patience, vision, and shot accuracy that has Bump carving up the NCAA.
Bump doing Bump things#BroncosReign pic.twitter.com/vVyzFQWipL
— WMU Hockey (@WMUHockey) March 1, 2025
• C Cole Knuble, Notre Dame (2023 Rd. 4): The son of former Flyer Mike Knuble, Cole is producing steadily in his second year with Notre Dame, putting up a team-leading 36 points and 25 assists through 29 games. The 20-year-old center hit double digits in goals, too, with 11 on the year.
• W Devin Kaplan, Boston (2022, Rd. 3): Kaplan is up to nine goals for the collegiate season but still needs nine more points to match his overall production output of 23 points from last year.
A step back in some ways for the 21-year-old winger, but a step forward in others.
MIH: BU GOAL – Devin Kaplan scores a shorthanded goal to get BU within two late in the third.
Watch on ESPN+: https://t.co/LzbErAEoKF@hockey_east | @espn pic.twitter.com/oNi2MdIYF2— BU Game Day (@BUGameDay) February 15, 2025
Phantoms in the Minors
• D Emil Andrae (2020 Rd. 2): Andrae already made some headway in the NHL earlier this season, but he's been back and forth between the Flyers and Phantoms down in the AHL a couple of times since. The foundation as a smooth puck-moving defenseman is there, and the puzzle is coming together with the 23-year old, but it's just a matter of when he's going to take that next step – and when room might open up on the NHL roster again.
Through 23 games in Lehigh Valley this season, Andrae has three goals and 12 assists for 15 points with a plus-11 rating.
• W Samu Tuomaala (2021 Rd. 2): Tuomaala has a ton of raw skill, but it's been clear for a couple of years and training camps now that it was going to take some time for him to fully put his game together. He seems to be trending upward though.
The 22-year-old winger has been set back from a few injuries, but is at 31 points (11 goals, 20 assists) through 45 games, which can still see him match or surpass his production last year of 43 points (15 goals, 28 assists).
As far as stepping up to the NHL for a look, the trick is he's a right-handed shot that plays on the right side, and the Flyers have a logjam already with right-handed shooting wingers. An opening won't be so easy to come by right now.
• D Helge Grans (2020 Rd. 2 via LAK): Grans had a six-game run up with the Flyers in late November, and down with the Phantoms, has a modest seven goals and 18 points through 49 AHL games.
The 22-year-old is a bigger defenseman at a billed 6'3" and 205 pounds, but maybe more importantly, he's a right-handed shot.
Rasmus Ristolainen's name has been one of the more prominent ones on the rumor mill ahead of the trade deadline, but of late, the feeling around the Flyers and something that Tortorella openly expressed this past week is that if they deal Ristolainen, suddenly they don't have a big, right-handed defenseman anymore, which is not so easily replaced.
But maybe Grans would be the theoretical replacement if the Flyers get an offer for Ristolainen they can't refuse. It would be a step back in the immediate term, sure, but at the same time, it would be a good time to see what they really have in Grans as they move forward toward the long-term.
• D Hunter McDonald (2022 Rd. 6): McDonald is another big, physical (but left-handed) defenseman that the Flyers have been bullish about for the past year. He only has three goals and 13 assists through 53 games with the Phantoms this season, but points aren't what you would be looking for out of the 22-year-old blueliner. You're looking to him to shut the opposition down, and on a Lehigh Valley team that has been struggling to prevent goals against this season, it's notable that McDonald is skating positive with a plus-7 rating.
Depending on how the rest of the season shakes out at the NHL level, maybe room opens up for him toward the end to get a first look up with the Flyers.
The Goalie Pipeline
The Flyers' current goaltending situation stands at Sam Ersson as the No. 1 and then just chaos behind him all the way down through the AHL.
But then again, it isn't truly the Philadelphia Flyers if there isn't a bit of chaos between the pipes.
If that notorious trend is ever going to stabilize though, it'll come down to these two major prospects…
• Carson Bjarnason, Brandon WHL (2023 Rd. 2): Still just 19 years old at a position that takes the longest of any to develop, Bjarnason is posting a 17-12-3 record for the Wheat Kings with a bit of a high 2.97 goals against average, but with a .912 save percentage that ranks second in the Western Hockey League – keep in mind, too, that offense is usually king at the junior level.
• Yegor Zavragin, SKA St. Petersburg KHL (2023 Rd. 3): On the other side of the globe, there's Zavragin, another 19-year old goalie prospect, yet one that keeps putting up absurd numbers and highlights already at the professional level.
In his first year up with the KHL, he posted a .914 save percentage in six games on loan to Sochi, then came back over to SKA St. Petersburg, where his percentage dipped to .904 through 29 games, but with an above .500 record at 13-9 and as he's stretching out post-to-post to deny what should be "gimmes."
A bit of Holiday magic from Yegor Zavragin 😯 pic.twitter.com/PO7By4B1V7
— KHL (@khl_eng) December 27, 2024
The Flyers, and fans, just have to hope that one day that all translates over to North America.
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