RSS Flyers Team Notes

[Philadelphia Flyers]

Trevor Zegras was as advertised in first Flyers preseason game

While it didn’t reach the heights of the undying anticipation to see Matvei Michkov take the ice while wearing the Orange and Black for the first time, Trevor Zegras earned some pre-emptive buzz for just how he would perform during his first quasi competitive appearance as a member of the Philadelphia Flyers. And, we can confidently say that he met expectations.

For the very first game of the Flyers’ preseason, Zegras and his new teammates traveled to Long Island to face an Islanders team stacked with some freshly drafted talent and other actual regular, full-time NHL hockey players. For the first instance of the 24-year-old center’s time as a Flyer since being acquired by Philadelphia a few months ago, Zegras was slotted comfortably in the middle of superstar-in-the-making Matvei Michkov and another recently acquired young forward in Nikita Grebenkin.

While we shouldn’t cement any opinion of anything that truly goes in the preseason, the highly talented trio looked like the most cohesive unit of any line or pairings for the Flyers on Sunday night. In the offensive zone, they looked like they had more than just a couple practice’s worth of time on the same team and more than literally zero time as a line throughout a training camp. Zegras has been paired mainly with Travis Konecny as his primary winger but with the Flyers veteran not making the trip, new head coach Rick Tocchet decided to load up the skill on the top line.

It wasn’t just at even strength that this Zegras-Michkov connection was forming, but the new center was able to become well-acquainted with the budding star on the power play. And, that’s where some of the real magic happened for this duo on Sunday night.

Loved this PP sequence from Zegras and his unit. That cross-ice pass right onto Michkov's tape was insane. Can't wait to see that all season.#LetsGoFlyers pic.twitter.com/pKVZDczHJZ

— Flyers Clips (@Flyers_Clips) September 22, 2025​

In this quick little sequence on the man advantage, Zegras spawns the zone entry for Michkov to actually cross over the blue line on the right side and after some scrambling of the puck deeper in the zone and it being eventually glided out to Jamie Drysdale at the point, Zegras receives the puck from his former and current teammate and absolutely wires it across the zone to Michkov. We’re not talking about something casual or a pass that has a goal to just continue the play — this is a pass with the full intention to put an end to it and hit some twine at the end of it. It didn’t end that way, but just the way that Zegras was able to send the puck across to an open teammate with such ease and being so casual about it — there should be much more of that to come.

When it comes to actually putting the puck in the net himself, the top-line center got so close to scoring his first (exhibition) goal as a Flyer when he rung one off the post in the third period, but was held without a tally for the full 65 minutes.

As for some numbers, because we all want to just rattle some statistics off for how Zegras performed in his first somewhat official game as a Flyer, only Michkov played more minutes than his centerman at 23:09 TOI. And in those minutes, Zegras had four shots on goal, two hits, and was 4-for-9 from the faceoff dot. Diving in even deeper — if we truly want to get into the muck for one single preseason appearance — Zegras led all Flyers with 10 shot attempts, seven individual scoring chances, and three high-danger chances, as well. And while Zegras was on the ice at 5-on-5, the Flyers were outshot 13-7, lost the shot attempt battle 22-18; and while he managed to get three high-danger chances himself, there were four for the Islanders while he was out there.

All in all, in that jumbled mess of numbers, it’s basically as advertised. There are moments where the 24-year-old center will wow you with his dazzling skill (typically on the power play) and he can generate loads of offense for himself and for his teammates, but when it comes to the overall impact on the game it feels like the goal is to just break even in every underlying category.

And to add just a sprinkle of negativity, there were moments where Bedford, NY native looked physically overmatched. It doesn’t help that the only physical player on his line has barely played in the NHL before and is still just trying to earn a spot, but it showed that there are still some things that Zegras brings alongside the overwhelming amount of skill. Some baggage, let’s call it.

Maybe as the season goes on, there will be a more perfect line combination that Zegras finds himself on and any negative aspects of his game can be covered up — just for him to go out there and do what he does best. But, with just one game of Flyers hockey in the Trevor Zegras Era, we are satisfied but understand some people’s concerns. Exactly as advertised.

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Source

Source: https://www.broadstreethockey.com/p...as-advertised-in-first-flyers-preseason-game/

 

[Philadelphia Flyers]

Flyers 2025-26 Season Preview: Can the Flyers continue to maximize their defensive depth?

For our season preview series, we now turn to another area of the team – the defensive depth – as an important storyline to discuss as we get closer to opening night. Under John Tortorella and Brad Shaw, the Flyers were able to maximize the talents of quite a few defensemen, including the likes of Nick Seeler and Rasmus Ristolainen. As the team switches to Rick Tocchet and Todd Rierden, continuing to get the most out of the back half of the defense is essential to this team making a step.

Rasmus Ristolainen​

What did we see from Ristolainen last season?

Ristolainen’s time in Orange and Black has been hampered due to injuries, and last season was no different. After appearing in only 31 games in 2023-24, Ristolainen appeared in 63 games in 2024-25, but missed the final 19 games of the season after a triceps injury in March. It’s an injury that is going to hold him out of training camp and the first couple months of the season.

When he was on the ice, Ristolainen remained a really effective defenseman for the role that he was in, registering 4 goals and 15 assists and averaging 20:31 TOI. He was the mean, play-killing presence on the Flyers’ second pairing, and he essentially broke even from a play-driving standpoint. There was also a thought that Ristolainen rebuilt his trade value enough to be dealt at last year’s deadline. That never came to fruition – and the injury-riddled Ristolainen likely tanked his trade value by suffering yet another major injury. In reality, we are probably looking at Ristolainen playing out the remainder of his contract in the Orange and Black, as it’s going to be hard to find a suitor for a player that is injured as often as Ristolainen is.

What type of role do we expect Ristolainen to play this season?

Once Ristolainen fully recovers from his triceps injury, we certainly expect Ristolainen to slot into the Flyers’ second or third pair. As one of the main success stories under Brad Shaw, it’ll be really interesting to watch Ristolainen under new coaching, to see if he can keep up the legitimately solid second-pair work from the Shaw seasons.

But, with Ristolainen slated to be out for a few months, the Flyers are going to likely roll with a Sanheim-York-Drysdale-Seeler top four. As we’ll get to in a moment, Seeler will likely have an extended chance to develop chemistry with Drysdale while Ristolainen’s out. If that pair hits, we might see Ristolainen slot right into a third pair role when he is healthy, alongside a player like Egor Zamula, Emil Andrae, or Noah Juulsen.

Nick Seeler​

What did we see from Seeler last season?

Last season, Nick Seeler began his 4-year extension with the Flyers doing the same kind of things that warranted the contract in the first place. While he didn’t produce the same strong underlying statistics as he has in previous seasons, Seeler remained a steady presence on the backend in all the ways we’d expect. In 2024-25, Seeler blocked 200 shots and continued to be a leading “culture” guy for the team, while only putting up 3 goals and 17 assists across 77 games. Really, Seeler continued to be a passable second/third pairing player for the Flyers, as he was rarely the guy making key mistakes for the Flyers. Just solid, consistent work from a defenseman that the team relies on for 15-17 minutes a night.

What type of role do we expect Seeler to play this season?

We really expect more of the same from Seeler, a shot-blocking machine that sets the tone for how the Flyers play in their defensive zone. For the first part of the year without Ristolainen, we can probably expect Seeler to slot in on the second pair with Jamie Drysdale. That’s a pair that the Flyers have tried before, and one that showed flashes at various points last year, so we’d expect Tocchet to start with Sanheim-York and Seeler-Drysdale for the top-4. So, look for Seeler to be a stable defensive presence on a pair with the offensively-oriented Drysdale, and we’ll see if Seeler’s underlying metrics improve back to 2023-24 levels (~47 CF%). How the Seeler-Drysdale pair performs in the early goings is going to be a quick litmus test for the growth of Drysdale, because if it doesn’t work, the Flyers might not have two functional pairs without Ristolainen.

Egor Zamula​

What did we see from Zamula last season?

Zamula had an alright season in 2024-25, but the flaws that we witnessed in previous seasons remained. Zamula’s pace of play continued to be a sore spot, and his overall hockey IQ and decision making in all three zones was suspect. Zamula registered 3 goals and 12 assists across 63 games, and even with extended looks on the power play units, Zamula didn’t consistently show the offensive poise that he flashed in 2023-24. His underlying metrics were alright though, registering a 49.9 CF% and standing out as one of the best defenseman at denying the opposition entry into the zone and stopping transition rushes. The problem is, Zamula’s performance didn’t grade out well in almost any other way, as his ability to create offense and move the puck up ice to teammates was consistently bad. There just is a lot of question marks that Zamula left unanswered with his play last season, and it’s left his roster spot in a relatively questionable place in 2025-26.

What type of role do we expect Zamula to play this season?

Zamula is going to have another chance to be a de facto third pair player to start the season. With the injury to Ristolainen, the Flyers’ realistic third pair options on opening night go something like this: Zamula, Juulsen, Helge Grans, Emil Andrae. Zamula, with the most games in the Orange and Black out of that group, is essentially a shoe-in for opening night barring a total disaster. However, if he continues to struggle while Grans or Andrae are thriving in the AHL? We’d expect Zamula’s leash to be pretty short, as the Flyers will be really trying to figure out their eventual third pair when Ristolainen returns. He has to improve on his pace of play with the puck, as well as his decision-making, or we’ll be looking towards other options for the third pairing.

Noah Juulsen​

What did we see from Juulsen last season?

Juulsen is the “Tocchet guy” that was a fixture of the Vancouver Canucks as a No. 6 or No. 7 defenseman during his tenure. Juulsen was the subject of a lot of ire in Vancouver, where fans frequently lamented about Tocchet’s use of Juulsen on the Canucks’ third-pair. In his 35 games with the Canucks last year, Juulsen had zero points across an average of 16:17 TOI. His underlying stats were not very good, operating on a 43.57 Corsi-for percentage and a 41.12 expected-goals percentage. He’s a pretty physical player, but Juulsen hasn’t been much more than that in his NHL career thus far.

What type of role do we expect Juulsen to play this season?

We’d expect Juulsen to play a role similar to one he played in Vancouver, but perhaps he’s the odd man out of the lineup more times than he’s not as the No. 7. He will likely get a longer look with Rasmus Ristolainen out of the lineup for a month or two, but Juulsen is certainly below Seeler and Zamula on the depth chart. So, Juulsen is probably the No. 6 to start the season, but he’ll have a pretty short leash if things continue to go as poorly as it has to start the preseason. If poor play continues, it wouldn’t be shocking to see either one of Helge Grans or Emil Andrae called up to the big club.

Noah Juulsen looks just as rough tonight as he did yesterday in the scrimmage.

— Charlie O'Connor (@charlieo_conn) September 22, 2025

Source

Source: https://www.broadstreethockey.com/p...s-continue-to-maximize-their-defensive-depth/

 

[Philadelphia Flyers]

Can Jack Nesbitt impress enough to make Flyers’ roster?

As Philadelphia Flyers training camp ramps up and the battles for roster spots begin, there are a few new names to consider in contention for some early season NHL minutes. Could we a surprise?

Nikita Grebenkin, for one, has quickly made an impression both on and off the ice during his first Flyers camp. But the absence of Porter Martone, the Flyers marquee sixth overall selection in this past year’s draft who will play this season at Michigan State, has left this camp process without the organization’s new shiny prospect.

There was talk that Martone was possibly going to compete for a full-time NHL roster spot heading into the season, but as long as he has a commitment to an NCAA program, that’s not going to happen just yet. While Martone won’t get the chance to do anything drastic right away, how about the Flyers other first round pick?

The 12th overall pick in that draft, Jack Nesbitt, comes to Flyers camp with a man’s frame, at 6-foot-5, 185 pounds, and the defensive instincts and compete level to look impressive in drills and games against weakened opposition, right away. And while there really isn’t a chance that Nesbitt sticks in the NHL for a full 82 games, there is a chance that the big centerman shows enough promise that the organization allows him the opportunity to play some early season games, and see how well he can acclimate himself to NHL pace.

Nesbitt got right to business making his case to stick around early on in the Flyers’ first preseason game against the Islanders, when he picked off a stray neutral zone pass and dished out wide to Rodrigo Abols, who beat the goalie low glove and opened the Flyers account for 2025-26.

RODRIGO ABOLS!!! BEAUTIFUL PLAY BY JACK NESBITT, INTERCEPTING SCHAEFER'S PASS AND SLIDING IT OFF TO ABOLS, WHO SNIPES IT HOME. 1-0!#LetsGoFlyers pic.twitter.com/dlAAihzskv

— Flyers Clips (@Flyers_Clips) September 21, 2025

Even if Nesbitt was able to make such an impression that the Flyers do deem him worthy of a roster spot, it’s not as if he’ll really ever be a candidate to stay past nine games. As we saw last season with Jett Luchanko, even if coaches fall in love with certain players, the chances that they stay past the nine game mark, and burn a year of their entry level deals in the process, are exceedingly low. But while Nesbitt’s puck skills and offensive game aren’t anywhere near fully developed, he doesn’t seem like someone who would get overwhelmed by the league’s physicality and be unable to even play a depth role.

While the Flyers’ brass probably won’t be pushing for him to play a fourth line role for an extended period, a quick taste of the NHL life in order to reward a prospect’s hard work is never out of the question. It remains to be seen what kind of impression Nesbitt leaves, but the door is open for him to make the most of his first preseason opportunities.

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Source

Source: https://www.broadstreethockey.com/post/can-jack-nesbitt-impress-enough-to-make-flyers-roster/

 

[Philadelphia Flyers]

Philadelphia Flyers 2025 Top 25 Under 25, No. 1: Matvei Michkov

Welcome to Broad Street Hockey’s Summer 2025 Top Under 25! The series is back, and with the Philadelphia Flyers focusing so much on the future, it’s more important than ever. Join us as we rank the 25 best players under the age of 25.

No. 1: Matvei Michkov

2024-25 Primary League/Team: Philadelphia Flyers (NHL)
2024-25 Statistics: 26 G, 37 A in 80 GP
Age as of 9/15/2025: 20 (12/9/2004)
Acquired Via: 2023 NHL Entry Draft — Round 1, Pick 7

Only three things in life are certain — death, taxes, and Matvei Michkov earning the top spot on Broad Street Hockey’s Top 25 Under 25 ranking.

Michkov was a shoe-in to regularly top the list from the moment the Flyers selected him seventh overall in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft, and for good reason. He possesses skill unseen in the Flyers organization since perhaps the days of Eric Lindros, and as the club moves onward into its “New Era of Orange,” he is already emerging as the undisputed face of the franchise.

How did Michkov’s 2024-25 season go? Is his stock trending up or down from where it was entering the year?

Michkov had a lot on his plate going into his rookie campaign. Not only was he joining a new team in a new league that plays on a sheet of ice with different dimensions than what he was used to, but he was also coming to a completely different country that speaks a completely different language. The life transition Michkov made as a 19-year-old was enormous, and it would’ve been completely understandable for him to struggle as a first-year NHLer.

But he didn’t. Instead, he was nothing short of sensational.

Michkov logged 63 points last season, tying San Jose Sharks youngster Macklin Celebrini for the league lead in points scored by a rookie. He not only led all NHL rookies in goals with 26, but he also led the Flyers in that category, besting the likes of Travis Konecny and Owen Tippett in the process. He was one of the few bright spots on an otherwise miserable Flyers power play, posting 17 power-play points on the campaign to lead the team alongside Konecny, and he was just as effective with both teams at full strength, logging 40 points at 5-on-5 on the season. On most nights, Michkov stood out every time he stepped onto the ice. Whether it was due to his impressive puck skills, his laser of a shot, or his superhuman vision, he was nearly impossible to miss on any given shift.

That’s not to say he didn’t have some rough stretches, though. Michkov suffered multiple moderately sized scoring droughts throughout the season and was even scratched for a couple of games. But more often than not, when Michkov was on the ice, he made a significant impact.

What are we expecting from Michkov this season? What should we be looking for from him?

Despite bewilderingly not being named a finalist for the Calder Trophy, Michkov was one of the best rookies in the entire NHL last season. And going into the 2025-26 campaign, fans should expect to see a smarter, stronger, more confident version of Michkov.

And that’s scary (for opposing teams, that is).

Fans have already gotten a glimpse of Year 2 Michkov this preseason, and he didn’t disappoint. In the Flyers’ preseason opener against the New York Islanders on Sunday, he tied the game off a rebound late in the third period with the goalie pulled to force overtime. Later on in the shootout, he deked Parker Gahagen out of his skates to add yet another nasty dangle to his highlight reel.

Matvei Michkov shootout goals are still a joy to watch pic.twitter.com/D0ZR8JS9JO

— NHL (@NHL) September 22, 2025

Michkov is expected to continue skating on the Flyers’ top line this season, and with a full year of NHL experience now under his belt, he’ll likely see a considerable uptick in ice time. He’s still very young, so it would be reasonable for fans to temper expectations going into his second season. But given his immense talent, paired with increased usage, it wouldn’t be even remotely surprising to see him surpass his rookie scoring total with relative ease.

How does Michkov fit in the Flyers’ rebuild? Is it likely he’s going to be a part of the next good Flyers team?

To put it simply, Michkov basically is the Flyers’ rebuild. Sure, Travis Konecny is already an established franchise favorite, and Porter Martone also figures to be a longtime cornerstone once he makes the leap to the NHL, but the Flyers’ rebuild virtually began with the addition of Michkov in 2023. He is undoubtedly the centerpiece of the Flyers’ future, and when the club is eventually ready to start competing for a Stanley Cup again, it will likely be him making the biggest plays in the biggest games.

What do we think Michkov’s ultimate NHL upside is, and how likely is it that he gets to something approaching that?

Michkov is already one of the most electrifying young players in hockey, and it’s possible that he could one day develop into one of the top players in the world. He’s that good.

Michkov’s skill alone is enough to make him a household name, but what makes him truly special is his approach to the game. He is supremely competitive and possesses an unwavering desire to win. Not just fill the back of the net with rubber (although he clearly loves scoring goals, too). But even if he doesn’t reach a meteoric level of stardom, he is already on pace to develop into a no-doubt-about-it top-line winger capable of scoring 30 goals on a yearly basis.

And that’s just his likely floor.

Without question, Michkov has the potential to be a bona fide superstar, and he’s already well on his way to achieving that status.

Previously in Philadelphia Flyers Summer 2025 Top 25 Under 25:

• Intro / Honorable Mentions
• 25. Hunter McDonald
• 24. Cole Knuble
• 23. Samu Tuomaala
• 22. Carter Amico
• 21. Helge Grans
• 20. Jack Berglund
• 19. Jack Murtagh
• 18. Spencer Gill
• 17. Shane Vansaghi
• 16. Carson Bjarnason
• 15. Nikita Grebenkin
• 14. Jack Nesbitt
• 13. Denver Barkey
• 12. Emil Andrae
• 11. Alex Bump
• 10. Yegor Zavragin
• 9. Bobby Brink
• 8. Oliver Bonk
• 7. Jamie Drysdale
• 6. Jett Luchanko
• 5. Cam York
• 4. Trevor Zegras
• 3. Tyson Foerster
• 2. Porter Martone

Source

Source: https://www.broadstreethockey.com/post/philadelphia-flyers-2025-top-25-under-25-no-1-matvei-michkov/

 

[Philadelphia Flyers]

Takeaways: Goaltending drama headlines Flyers 4-2 loss to Canadiens

The Flyers made a quick trip up to Montreal this evening for the second of their preseason games, getting into the mix just about the rest of their big names who had not yet been able to debut. It was a difficult day on the whole and a choppy game which ensued, and while the Flyers were admirably able to rally part of the way back from the deficit they fell into, they found themselves outmatched in this one, and fell to the Habs by a 4-2 margin.

The Basics​

First period: 0:53- Cole Caufield (Hutson, Suzuki), 9:58- Florian Xhekaj (Thorpe, Tuch)
Second period: 11:11- Anthony Richard (Gilbert), 16:05- Nick Suzuki (Slafkovsky, Caufield), 17:35- Owen Tippett (Dvorak, Sanheim)PPG
Third period: 19:46- Arber Xhekaj (unassisted)SHG,EN
SOG: 21 (PHI) – 23 (MTL)

Some Takeaways​

Rust, matchup imbalance showing

This was a game that was, in truth, stacked against the Flyers from the start. With an off day scheduled for Monday, the Flyers schedule for today included a morning skate for the game group at the practice rink in Voorhees, a longer lingering around so that Rick Tocchet and the rest of the coaching staff could run the second larger session with the non-game group which carried them into the afternoon, and only after that did they jump on their flight to Montreal. Add into that the fact that this was a roster overwhelmingly comprised of players making their preseason debut and with a much less significant group of NHL veteran players going up against just about the full strength of the Canadiens’ NHL squad, and this was always going to be a tough one for the Flyers.

And, all in all, this team looked every bit the rusty and travel weary, often outmatched group that we expected. And while things did improve as the game went on (more on that later), the first period in particular was a lower energy, disjointed affair, as the Flyers struggled mightily to keep pace and connect with each other enough to get much going in the way of offense. Now, it’s only preseason and a slow start therein isn’t necessarily something worth overly reading into, but it was still a tough one to watch unfold, all the same.

Alex Bump settles in

This game was, without a doubt, something of a strange one for Bump. One of the players most anticipated to make an impression as camp goes on and he presses on in his push for an NHL roster spot, Bump had to work his way through a bit of an uneven showing. And he was put in a difficult position from the start — playing on a line with Jett Luchanko, who he had some mixed results with in the Phantoms’ postseason, but even more notably, with Nic Deslauriers, who offered nothing in the way of speed matching or offensive support, he was part of a trio that just wasn’t working from the start, and he looked a little stifled for it. But as the game went on (and after Deslauriers was taken off the ice for five minutes after a fight) and Bump was moved off of that line, things started to come for him a little bit more — his play seemed a little more active on the whole, and he was able to create a pair of excellent chances for himself. It wasn’t a perfect showing, as he also had a couple of instances where he was pushed off the puck a bit more easily than he likely would have liked, but he was able to get things trending up by game’s end, and he’s in a better position heading into his next opportunity, whenever that might be.

Goalie drama emerges already

It wouldn’t be a Flyers season without some kind of drama surrounding the Flyers’ goaltending situation, and that came up in a big way early in this one. At his post-practice availability this afternoon, Rick Tocchet said that Sam Ersson would be getting the start in this one, and was intended to play through the full game, as the team seemed committed to giving him a chance to knock off all of his offseason rust all at once. This, though, went out the window when Ersson let in two sort of soft goals to put the team in a hole early, and ultimately found himself pulled from the game at the first intermission.

Now, it’s been reported that the plan was always to have Ersson play one period only in this game and there was some miscommunication which led to the suggestion that he would play the whole game — though the suggestion seemed pretty clear from the room after practice, when Tocchet was asked directly if Ersson would play the whole game, and he said “yeah.” But maybe that’s still not what he meant to say, or perhaps that was the plan as of this morning and the plan changed at some point in the meantime. At the very least, it was not a great way to kick things off optically, nor the best chance to allow Ersson to find his footing.

Kolosov time again

The early removal of Ersson meant that Aleksei Kolosov was again called upon to play a pair of periods
(after getting the first two in their preseason opener), and stepped up nicely in this more or less relief showing. Kolosov made a handful of impressive saves, showcasing his post to post quickest and able to track shots and take away space laterally, and it was an effort which amounted to him being nearly perfect in this showing, as he stopped 12 of the 13 shots he faced — though we’ll place a bit of extra emphasis on that nearly perfect label, as the goal he did allow, though not the easiest shot to face (as it effectively came as being shot through two Flyers skaters in front), was one that Kolosov might have worked a little harder to square up for. But, all told, this was a positive showing for Kolosov, one where he was able to flex what he might be able to bring when he’s at his best, even if it came wrapped up in a reminder that he’s still a little raw in the end.

Anthony Richard steps up as a game breaker

While the Flyers seemingly struggled to get their offensive game going in the first, but the Flyers got a big play from Richard to break open their scoring for them, at last. Using his ability to cut through traffic and his separation burst to create more space for himself, Richard was able to come up with a huge play to pull away from a quickly gapping up Montreal defense and create a breakaway chance for himself, on which he was able to crash the net and beat the Canadiens’ goaltender one-on-one. It was a great little play, a reward for a speed game which had been working well pretty much all game, and a clutch moment not unlike those that Richard has come to be reliable in providing for the Phantoms.

Richard’s chance at making the Flyers’ roster right out of camp remains something of a long shot, but he certainly made it clear what his skillset can offer in bursts, at the very least, at this level, and how he got to be a dominant player at the AHL level as well.

Rodrigo Abols stands out

If there was one skater who consistently stood out for the Flyers across the whole of the game, it would be Abols, who built really nicely on his somewhat uneven showing in Sunday’s game on Long Island. He might not have ended up on the scoresheet in this one, but he did remain much more engaged from start to finish, using his frame and mobility to create a bit of chaos, and saw his offensive game popping even more — he led the team in shots on goal with three, and set up a couple of good looks for his linemates on top of that.

And this positive impression feels particularly notable, as it would seem that Abols has turned the heads of the coaching staff — Tocchet said as much after today’s skates, acknowledging that he wanted to get Abols in for another game right away after Sunday’s showing to see what he can do with a chance to play a handful of games in a row, if he can keep his game consistent beyond where adrenaline might carry him. There’s still a long way to go before any roster spots are claimed, but Abols is doing well to keep himself in that mix.

Source

Source: https://www.broadstreethockey.com/p...drama-headlines-flyers-4-2-loss-to-canadiens/

 

[Philadelphia Flyers]

Egor Zamula’s days as a Flyer could be numbered

It’s two games into the exhibition season for the Philadelphia Flyers. Of the 12 defensemen combined that have dressed, Egor Zamula is second only to Travis Sanheim in terms of ice time. Sanheim had 25:50 TOI in the Flyers 4-2 loss to Montreal Tuesday night while Zamula saw 25:29 in the exhibition season opener against the Islanders (a lengthy 3-2 shootout win). He also had an assist, was plus-1 for the night, and had five blocked shots. All in all a decent effort for the first of seven meaningless games.

Yet Zamula is probably looking over both shoulders as the Flyers beefed up the back end over the summer. Flyers general manager Danny Briere signed Dennis Gilbert and Noah Juulsen in free agency, both on the cheap and both on one-year deals. Low-risk acquisitions that could do the trick this year, helping the club throughout the highly-concentrated schedule. However, to Zamula, they are competition. Players who could perhaps shine in training camp and make an argument for them to be the sixth or seventh defenseman. As well, Helge Grans and Emil Andrae are also looking to make a strong statement to avoid the initial rounds of cuts. Suddenly, the solid footing Zamula thought he had last season is rather shaky ground in heading into the 2025-26 season.

Rick Tocchet mentioned how strong Gilbert has been in camp. He has also given kudos to both Andrae and Grans for trying to stand out, particularly Andrae given how smaller he is compared to the other blueliners. So Zamula probably doesn’t need a translator to tell him he needs to do everything possible to keep his spot on the third pairing. Otherwise, he might find himself playing far less than the 63 games he appeared in last season. Or possibly playing elsewhere. But first, let’s look at the bigger picture.

What we know​

What we know is Travis Sanheim and Cam York will be here for a while. Sanheim has a no-trade-clause and six years remaining on his deal while York (who has no such protection) signed a five-year deal in the summer. Ryan Ellis is on the roster and taking up cap space. But he’s never playing again, so that still makes two defensemen. Rasmus Ristolainen is presently injured but on the mend, and Briere expects the blueliner back with the club a month or six weeks into the season. That makes three. Nick Seeler is a steadying presence on the middle pair or bottom pair. That makes four. And Jamie Drysdale hopes to take a big step forward this year with his play, possibly becoming a keeper on the power play’s top unit and making a case to sign an extension with the Flyers. So that’s five spots it would seem to be spoken for once Ristolainen returns to full health.

That leaves the sixth spot with Zamula, Andrae, Grans, Juulsen, and Gilbert possibly vying for that position on the third pairing. Last season Zamula was sixth on the Flyers in terms of ice time for defensemen in all situations (1040:55). Andrae was seventh (728:28) while Grans was essentially called up for a cup of coffee (86:45). Meanwhile while in Vancouver, Juulsen saw just 570:10 as he missed the last three months due to a sports hernia surgery. Gilbert, who played 29 games, split his time in Buffalo (251:43) and Ottawa (52:06). Simply put, Gilbert’s usage was similar to what Erik Johnson had in Philadelphia before he was traded to Colorado: a spare that could be used if injuries flared up.

In the summer we looked at the underlying metrics between Zamula, Gilbert and Juulsen. Zamula led in a few categories but was second to Gilbert when it came to Goals For Percentage (GF%) and High Danger Goals For Percentage (HDCF%). Perhaps the one thing however that puts Zamula behind both Juulsen and Gilbert is Tocchet. Juulsen played for Tocchet and the physical defenseman was a pet favorite in Vancouver, and Tocchet has recently praised Gilbert so there is some level of desire there. He doesn’t know what Zamula can do outside of the small sample size in training camp and what he may have seen on tape. And if coaches are known for anything, it’s often leaning on the side of what they know versus what they don’t know.

Juulsen’s hit, Andrae, and Tocchet’s willingness factor​

The first big check of the Flyers preseason was thanks to Noah Juulsen. And although it was pre-season against an up-and-coming prospect, Juulsen levelled first-round Islanders pick Kashawn Aitcheson with a hard, heavy, open-ice hit. And the optics couldn’t have worked better for Juulsen.

Here is the hit on Kashawn Aitcheson that knocked him out of the game pic.twitter.com/E9X1S3gGV2

— Rob Taub (@RTaub_) September 22, 2025​

It’s a hit that doesn’t mean a lot for anyone not named Kashawn Aitcheson. Yet it does look great not just to Tocchet but Flyers’ president of hockey operations Keith Jones, who loves having big, mean players who play with an edge. A hit like that could do wonders for Juulsen this exhibition season. In the two seasons Zamula has played for the Flyers, it’s hard to remember him delivering something remotely similar on the opposition. Zamula is big but uses his size to separate the player from the puck, not to attempt to separate the player’s upper torso from his lower body. It’s a part of the game Zamula doesn’t really have or use much in his toolbox.

As far as Andrae goes, let’s see what Andrae did last season (granted a smaller sample size) compared to Zamula at 5-on-5, according to Natural Stat Trick.

CF%	GF%	xGF%	HDGF%
Emil Andrae	51.85	47.27	55.10	51.43
Egor Zamula	50.09	43.53	54.04	37.78

Andrae marginally edges out Zamula in the share of shot attempts (CF%) and also expected goals percentage. However he’s ahead of Zamula a bit more in the share of actual goals scored, and markedly ahead of him in the share of high-danger goals while on the ice. While small, Andrae seems to have more of an offensive flair to his game than Zamula. That could be the difference in seeing Andrae sticking around and Zamula on the outside looking in. Physically, Zamula has the advantage. But offensively, he’s behind Andrae.

When asked Tuesday morning about Andrae and if his spot could be the sixth spot or somewhere higher in the pairings, Tocchet said he was “in the mix.” “Every practice, every game he’s got to try to separate himself the way he plays,” the coach said. “You don’t always have to be a big guy to defend. You defend with your brain or you have the puck on your stick all night. Quinn Hughes has the puck on his stick all night so he doesn’t have to defend.

“He (Andrae) has his attributes and he’s good with the puck. Now he’s just got to understand the next play. He’s got to be careful not to throw pucks away or try too much. So that’s the balance for a kid like him. Yeah we want him to move the puck, we want him to join the rush. I want him to make plays at the blueline. If he wants to dance a guy, go for it. But be a little calculated. You got to be careful you don’t throw pucks away or make those ill-advised passes in the middle of the ice. So that’s the sweet spot he’s going to have to find.”

As well — and perhaps crucial to this discussion — Tocchet also said that players on the bubble during training camp are all capable of making a play. But for him it came down to “what are you willing to do?” “I have to see that, what are willing to do?” he said. “Are you willing to play aggressive? Are you willing to box out? Are you willing to block a shot? Are you willing to help out your teammate? Those are the intangibles.” Juulsen has made a case just from the Aitcheson hit alone what he’s willing to do. Zamula? Well we’re still waiting for some great defensive play, a strong rush up ice, or simply flattening somebody.

The Ristolainen dilemma​

Probably the main saving grace for Zamula that could keep him here is the situation with Ristolainen. Although he has two years left on his deal ($5.1 million AAV), it’s highly unlikely a team is going to take a chance trading for a soon to be 31-year-old oft-injured defenseman. Not without the Flyers eating part of the cap hit or adding a draft pick to sweeten the deal. Ristolainen isn’t in Ellis territory yet, but another injury to the same area in his upper body could be enough to end his season, if not his career. Knowing Ristolainen is somewhat damaged goods may be all Briere needs to keep Zamula around a little while longer. Zamula sliding up to the fifth defenseman would enable one of Juulsen, Gilbert or Andrae to play. A Ristolainen injury after a Zamula trade certainly throws more newcomers into the realm. Does Briere risk having two of Andrae, Grans, Gilbert or Juulsen in the lineup throughout most of the season due to a Zamula trade and a long-term Ristolainen injury?

On the other side of the coin, from a salary cap perspective, it might make the most sense to find a buyer for Zamula at some point soon. Both Juulsen and Gilbert combined make $75,000 more than Zamula’s final year of his contract ($1.7 million AAV). And both are basically one-year trials, seeing if there’s anything significantly there to warrant another short-term extension. Grans, 23, has two years left on his contract ($787,500 AAV) and remains a restricted free agent. Andrae has a year left ($903,333 AAV) with the Flyers still retaining his rights. Again, Zamula isn’t breaking the bank, but he could be in the way of a younger, cheaper (for now) and higher skilled defenseman on the horizon. And the team acquiring him would still retain his rights.

One only has to look back to earlier this month to realize Briere can clear up a personnel logjam quickly. The goaltending mess heading into training camp was resolved a bit more when Ivan Fedotov was sent to Columbus. That left the same number of spots with the Flyers and Lehigh Valley for the same number of goaltenders, a rather novel concept after the circus that was last season. Taking that into account, Briere could do the same thing on the blueline, simply clearing up a spot for a guy the Flyers think is better suited than Zamula.

Egor Zamula has done enough to keep himself as a third pairing blueliner on what has been at best a team seeking a wildcard spot. On a contender or Stanley Cup champion it’s doubtful he sees any action at all. Or is maybe a decent seventh or eighth on the depth chart. If Zamula, using Tocchet’s words, is unable or unwilling to do something that makes him a cut above his competition, it might be time for the Flyers to cut ties. He still has time to make a case to stick around. But time seems to be running out as Oct. 9 and a date with the Panthers approaches.

Source

Source: https://www.broadstreethockey.com/p...or-zamulas-days-as-a-flyer-could-be-numbered/

 

[Philadelphia Flyers]

Flyers reduce training camp roster by three players

With just under a week of training camp now in the books and a pair of games under their belts, the Flyers’ evaluation process is ever-proceeding, and they’ve continued in their pattern of decisiveness, delivering another early round of cuts this morning, as half of the team returns from Montreal after a tough loss on the road.

The Flyers announced that they’ve assigned all of Matthew Gard, Luke Vlooswyk, and Andre Mondoux to their junior teams — with Gard and Vlooswyk returning to Red Deer of the WHL and Mondoux (the last of their camp invites) heading back to Kingston and released officially from his ATO — which has brought their training camp roster down to 52 players in total.

And here, as with the first small round of cuts, there also aren’t any big surprises. As the CHL seasons have already gotten underway, and as there isn’t anyone in this group of players who had a significant chance at making a run at an NHL roster spot — especially with two players just drafted this summer and one camp invite in that mix — perhaps it makes more sense not to draw out this waiting game, and instead rip that metaphorical bandaid off early, and get these players back to their teams sooner, so that they can sooner get themselves settled back in, and begin towards tinkering with and growing their games in the contexts where that meaningful work is going to unfold this season anyway. Notably, though, the Flyers do still have three junior players — Jett Luchanko, Jack Nesbitt, and Spencer Gill — sticking around for a while longer.

This move, too, will also most likely allow the Flyers to cut their camp roster down to two main groups (though now each with a few more extras), allowing the coaching staff running these learning sessions (and also having to prepare for games) to be a little more targeted and economical with their time spent.

The Flyers have two more games on the schedule — one more on the road in Hershey against the Capitals tomorrow night before they make their home debut against the Bruins on Saturday — before AHL training camp is set to get rolling as well, and two more games of evaluating time on deck before we might reasonably expect to see the next round of cuts coming through.

Source

Source: https://www.broadstreethockey.com/post/flyers-reduce-training-camp-roster-by-three-players-2/

 

[Philadelphia Flyers]

Flyers reassign Samu Tuomaala in latest round of cuts

The Philadelphia Flyers continue to trim down their training camp roster.

The Flyers reduced the roster by 10 players Thursday afternoon. Samu Tuomaala, Tucker Roberston, and Massimo Rizzo were reassigned to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, while six players on AHL contracts — Sawyer Boulton, Cooper Marody, Yaniv Perets, Keith Petruzzelli, Garrett Wilson, and Zayde Wisdom — were also sent back to the minor league affiliate.

Transactions: We have reduced our training camp roster by 10 players. https://t.co/n0KWppwq3y

— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) September 25, 2025​

Oscar Eklind, a 27-year-old import from Sweden, was placed on waivers and will also return to Allentown if he clears.

Tuomaala and Robertson are two of the more noteworthy players reassigned to the AHL. Tuomaala, 22, was selected in the second round (46th overall) of the 2021 NHL Entry Draft, but has yet to carve out a role in the NHL. The slight, but speedy winger has established himself as a useful player for the Phantoms, though. He logged 11 goals in 46 games for Lehigh Valley last season, and despite missing a chunk of the season due to injury and illnesses, his 32 points ranked tied for fourth-most on the club. Still, Tuomaala’s quick demotion to Lehigh Valley is somewhat of a surprise considering his solid AHL production.

Robertson’s assignment to Lehigh Valley comes as less of a shock, but is still notable. The Flyers acquired Robertson from the Seattle Kraken in exchange for forward Jon-Randall Avon on September 4. Robertson, a 2022 fourth-round draft selection, appeared in 38 games for the Coachella Valley Firebirds last season, but struggled to make a significant impact. At just 22 years old, Robertson could theoretically still develop into an NHL player one day. But in all likelihood, he’ll be a mainstay for the Phantoms for the foreseeable future.

The Flyers’ training camp roster now stands at 42 players ahead of Thursday night’s preseason tilt against the Washington Capitals in Hershey.

Source

Source: https://www.broadstreethockey.com/post/flyers-reassign-samu-tuomaala-in-latest-round-of-cuts/

 

[Philadelphia Flyers]

Friday Morning Fly By: Did they just become best friends?

*In what can only be described as an extremely positive development, it would appear that Matvei Michkov and Trevor Zegras are the bestest friends in the whole wide world. This is great. [BSH]

*Anyway, the various Flyers and potential Flyers looked like crap last night in Hershey against the Capitals. First stinker of the year in the books! Recap!

*Prior to last night’s game the Flyers issued another round of cuts, bringing the total remaining players to 42. [BSH]

*This isn’t much of a surprise considering what a coach’s dream this guy seems to be, but Rick Tocchet seems to be very fond of Noah Cates thus far. [Inquirer]

*Before last season began, we here at BSH Headquarters made some predictions for Matvei Michkov’s rookie season. Time to see how far off we were. It’s good to hold yourself accountable, you know? [BSH]

*Speaking of predictions, here’s one for every team in the league. [ESPN]

*Oh what’s this, a prospect ranking? The top 23 under the age of 23? With Flyers’ Kids making a couple appearances? Yeah sure let’s do that. [Sportsnet]

*Anyone think Danny Briere might mine the waiver wire once teams really start trimming down their rosters? Might be some interesting finds out there. [The Athletic]

*And finally, after going a long time without saying much, John Tortorella went on the record about his being fired from your Philadelphia Flyers. Naturally, he had a few interesting things to say. [BSH]

Source

Source: https://www.broadstreethockey.com/post/friday-morning-fly-by-did-they-just-become-best-friends/

 

[Philadelphia Flyers]

Phantoms announce 2025 training camp roster

While the Flyers are getting well settled into their slate of preseason action up at the NHL level, we’re just a few days away from things kicking off for the Phantoms down in the American League. With their training camp set to open this weekend with their first day of on-ice work on Sunday, the Phantoms have announced the starting iteration of their camp roster. The main group is as follows:

Ben Meehan – D
Carson Golder – F
Tucker Robertson – F
Nick Capone – F
Massimo Rizzo – F
Emile Chouinard – D
Garrett Wilson – F
Cooper Marody – F
Carter Berger – D
Samu Tuomaala – F
Sawyer Boulton – F
Oscar Eklind – F
Zayde Wisdom – F
Yaniv Perets – G
Keith Petruzzelli – G

Additionally, the Phantoms have added the following players on a tryout basis:

Yvan Mongo – F
Wyllum Deveaux – F
Nolan Burke – F
Jacob Frasca – F
Artem Kulakov – D
Connor McMenamin – F
Jacob LeGuerrier – F
Jeremy Michel – F
Jack Page – D
Vincent Sevigny – D
Jordan Frasca – F
Vinnie Purpura – G

This brings their total roster for their camp, at least for the time being, to 39 players.

Now, as it stands, this roster is pretty heavy on tryout players as well as players who we might reasonably expect to fall on the bubble of a spot on the Phantoms’ final roster, who are competing more to make the positive impression necessary to put themselves on the map as the first necessary call-up, and light on players who will be playing in top roles for the team, and we can expect this to remain the case into at least next week, when they can get some further reinforcements, as they’re sure to get at least a few more players returned in the next round of cuts, and when some of the dinged up players (a Karsen Dorwart or an Oliver Bonk) are cleared to play and will be loaned down.

The Phantoms are set to kick off their preseason on the road in Hershey on Wednesday for their first of three scheduled games, before returning home for two final tune ups on Friday and Saturday, before they open their regular season on October 11. It’s a slower coming together of the AHL squad’s roster, but the first step is ahead.

Source

Source: https://www.broadstreethockey.com/post/phantoms-announce-2025-training-camp-roster/

 

[Philadelphia Flyers]

Breaking down Flyers candidates to play with Zegras and Michkov

The Philadelphia Flyers appear to be putting their two most-skilled players together on a line, at least here in training camp.

Matvei Michkov has found a new best friend and potential linemate in Trevor Zegras, who appears to be enjoying his time with the Flyers thus far. But if Michkov and Zegras are going to be on a line together, that is a lot of offense without a ton of defensive acumen. And the Flyers seem set on Zegras sticking at center for now, so it’s not as easy as putting them on the wings of someone like Sean Couturier to hold down the fort in the middle.

If the Flyers truly have found a center for Michkov, who should join him and Zegras on the left wing?

Christian Dvorak gets first crack with Zegras and Michkov​

It looks like free-agent signing Christian Dvorak might be the most obvious answer.

Tocchet acknowledged that if Zegras and Michkov are together, the Flyers “might need a reliable guy” to put with the duo. He then named Dvorak as one of the top options.

“I think Dvorak is that guy that can win battles in the corners and get the puck to a guy like Zegras or Michkov,” Tocchet said.

Tocchet and Dvorak might be in their first years with the Flyers, but the head coach helped the two-way centerman when he was a youngster in Arizona.

Dvorak can be that reliable presence that Zegras and Michkov need. More importantly, perhaps, is that he can step in to take the faceoff for Zegras, whose faceoff struggles to the tune of a 40.1% win-rate have been widely talked about. Dvorak won 55.8% of his faceoffs last season and 57.8% the year prior.

Moving Dvorak to the wing also solves a bit of the center “log jam” with guys pushing for spots. Sean Couturier, Noah Cates, Zegras, and Dvorak can all play center, so if he moves to the wing, that could open up the fourth-line center role for Rodrigo Abols or Jett Luchanko.

But if Zegras is able to improve in the faceoff dot, perhaps the Flyers can use a true winger alongside the skilled forwards.

Could Tyson Foerster fit with Zegras and Michkov?​

If Tocchet isn’t keeping the Tyson Foerster – Noah Cates – Bobby Brink line together, Foerster should be one of the top candidates to play with Zegras and Michkov.

The two-way forward is great defensively and can put the puck in the net with his shot. He had 20 goals two years ago and built on that to find the back of the net 25 times last season, with 18 assists to boot.

Even if Zegras still struggles on faceoffs, Tocchet could have Dvorak out there to take crucial draws and then have him go to the bench as soon as possible to get Foerster on for him.

Moving Foerster up with Zegras and Michkov would create a domino effect in the lineup as well. Dvorak may still play wing in Foerster’s role with Cates, who also isn’t the best at faceoffs, or Tocchet could use him as a reliable fourth-line center and bump up a prospect to the third line.

This may ultimately be my favorite line combination for Zegras and Michkov, but it might take them a bit to grow into this.

A Travis Konecny top line with Zegras and Michkov?​

There is the outside chance that Tocchet loads up this line with three of the Flyers’ best players. Konecny is still the Flyers’ best overall forward, although Michkov could challenge that as soon as this season.

Konecny won’t be able to take faceoffs like Dvorak would, but the same thing could apply where the veteran center takes key faceoffs and then gets off the ice for one of these three. There’s also the issue of Konecny preferring to play on the right side, which is where Michkov typically lines up as well.

Loading up the top line could be interesting, and I wouldn’t be shocked if this combination happened at some point in the season, potentially early on.

Could anyone else fit with Zegras and Michkov?​

Dvorak, Foerster, and Konecny might be the three most interesting names, but by no means are they the only options.

Nikita Grebenkin opened the preseason slate on a line with these two, and that could be fun to see. Granted, the Flyers probably wouldn’t run with that to start the season.

Alex Bump also falls into that category. Bump – Zegras – Michkov could be one hell of a fun line, but not quite yet.

It’s still early, and there’s no guarantee that Zegras and Michkov will even be on a line together to start the season, but the Flyers have a few solid options to choose from to complete the trio.

Source

Source: https://www.broadstreethockey.com/p...s-candidates-to-play-with-zegras-and-michkov/

 

[Philadelphia Flyers]

Takeaways: Flyers lose to underwhelming Bruins team 4-3 despite two power-play goals

The Philadelphia Flyers scored two power-play goals. But an Alex Bump boo-boo and Helge Grans falling at a bad time resulted in the Bruins defeating a rather full Flyers lineup 4-3 at the first game at Xfinity Mobile Arena.

The basics​

First period: 8:57- Travis Sanheim (Christian Dvorak, Sean Couturier) (PPG), 1959- Johnny Beecher (Unassisted)
Second period: 3:57- Dalton Bancroft (Mason Lohrei, Hampus Lindholm) (PPG), 7:12- Nikita Grebenkin (Matvei Michkov, Trevor Zegras), 13:04- Trevor Zegras (Matvei Michkov, Owen Tippett) (PPG), 15:58- Dalton Bancroft (Georgii Merkulov, Frederic Brunet)
Third period: 13:45-Jeffrey Viel (Patrick Brown, Henri Jokiharju)
SOG: 27 (PHI) – 27 (BOS)

Some takeaways​

Tippett tidy on special teams

Owen Tippett was rarely used on the Flyers penalty kill under John Tortorella. A new coach means changes, and Tippett saw some time on the penalty kill late in the first against Boston. Sadly, the successful penalty kill was forgotten when a brain cramp by Alex Bump cost Philadelphia dearly. Johnny Beecher took the puck and got it behind Sam Ersson with 0.6 seconds to go.

Beech playing to the buzzer pic.twitter.com/xOeNEytBG6

— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) September 27, 2025

After 40 minutes, Tippett had 11:21 ice time with an assist, a hit, a blocked shot and two shots. More importantly, he was noticed more often for good things he was doing on the ice. A wraparound in the third was nearly the go-ahead goal but DiPietro made the stop.

Power play, power play

Philadelphia’s initial power-play unit was talent-heavy, which should be effective as the season wears on. Trevor Zegras, Jamie Drysdale, Matvei Michkov, Travis Konecny, and Owen Tippett had one or two looks but nothing materialized. What worked was the second unit. Some quick passing down low had Christian Dvorak find Travis Sanheim tight on Bruins keeper Michael DiPietro. Sanheim banged it in for a 1-0 lead. A good second unit is going to be crucial this year, and they delivered.

PPG!

Travis Sanheim scores on the @PECOconnect Power Play on the feed from Christian Dvorak. #BOSvsPHI | #LetsGoFlyers pic.twitter.com/J8U92LCBTu

— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) September 27, 2025

A second Flyers power play had one backdoor chance foiled with the first unit. The second unit didn’t get set but it could be a unit that might be a fine compliment to the top five.

A third power play? Oh twas a beauty!. Zegras confidently strode over the blueline and fed the puck to Michkov. Michkov skated towards the center of the ice and then gorgeously fed the puck back to Zegras who buried the puck beyond the Bruins goalie for a 3-2 lead. Two power-play goals in one game? Well that happened five times all of last season.

ANOTHER PPG!

Welcome to Philly, Trevor Zegras. #BOSvsPHI | #LetsGoFlyers pic.twitter.com/sYoQvGLPF0

— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) September 27, 2025

The fourth chance of the night went for not despite Philadelphia pulling Ersson for an extra attacker to try and tie things up. They didn’t, but it’s still a step in the right direction for a power play that is seemingly heading away from horrible.

Batting cleanup, Nikita Grebenkin

After the second Bruins goal, the Flyers looked like they were mailing it in a bit. Tocchet might have said something, or one of the veterans might have piped up. Whatever was said, it worked. Nikita Grebenkin nearly found Matvei Michkov on a breakaway about a minute before Grebenkin batted the puck in mid-air to tie things up 2-2.

TIED UP!

The Russian connection comes through. #BOSvsPHI | https://t.co/qu7Cj9oPPa pic.twitter.com/oU7NDhUeZb

— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) September 27, 2025

It took a while, particularly against such an underwhelming Bruins lineup, but the Flyers finally looked like they were involved and engaged in the first home game in the “Xbox.”

Grebenkin also had a penalty shot attempt and had DiPietro beat. Just not the goal post. The score remained 3-2. Of the remaining Flyers not locks to be with the club, Grebenkin is starting to separate himself from others on the fence.

Fourth line futility

The Flyers fourth line isn’t going to be gangbusters this season. You do want to see some offensive zone time occasionally. The line of Rodrigo Abols, Jacob Gaucher and Garnet Hathaway were all kinds of paltry on some early shifts, especially one following the Sanheim goal. The fact the Bruins couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn helped Ersson out. Throughout the game, Hathaway (who took a good hit in the second period that stood him up) always seemed to be in the wrong end of the ice. It was a game he should forget rather quickly.

Hathaway tried dropping the gloves with Mark Kastelic. Nothing materialized from it, other than Kastelic’s helmet being knocked off.

D-day for Luchanko?

Maybe the newness has worn off Jett Luchanko, but he can still do the odd little thing to make you take notice. Luchanko changed gears around center ice and direction during a shift in the first and had the Bruins defender in knots, causing him to fall. Luchanko might be working against the stellar training camp debut he had last season. He didn’t look out of position but didn’t dazzle.

Had Luchanko made the impact last training camp at this year’s training camp he would probably be almost a lock to be with the Flyers all season. As it stands now the jury is still out and going to be for the next couple of weeks.

Konecny exits and enters sin bin

Konecny left the penalty box after sitting for a slashing minor. Then he tripped a Bruin as he turned up ice, returning to the box almost immediately after serving the first minor. The second minor was costly as both Luchanko and Garnet Hathaway missed chances to clear. The Bruins’ Dalton Bancroft blew it by Ersson for a 2-1 lead.

Bancroft on the second effort pic.twitter.com/M7BU5ONpVc

— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) September 27, 2025

Mental lapse for Bump

Alex Bump has had time to make a case he belongs with the Flyers. While a lot of offensive production hasn’t been seen, he has been knocking on the door at times. Sadly, the gaffe Bump made late in the first period is a no-no. Ragging the puck to end a period should be a given. But Bump misplayed it badly. A good first period and lead evaporated as Ersson wasn’t aware the puck was in the danger zone.

Bump might be ready at some point for the Flyers, but a play like that looms large for a young’un hoping to make a case. An established player could do the same thing. Bump simply doesn’t have that precious wiggle room to make a snafu like that. The forward finished the game with 11:18 ice time and was a -2 for the game.

Dvorak dyn-o-mite

Christian Dvorak is proving himself to be worth the one-year contract and the price tag that came with it. The center is big and is helping out whatever line he ends up on. Dvorak, who had an assist on the opening goal, made room for his linemates often. And he played a rather solid game in his own end. The combinations are still works in progress for some lines. Whatever line Dvorak is a part of during the regular season, his linemates should be the benefactors.

Parent remembered

Prior to the opening faceoff, the Flyers took a moment of silence to remember the late great Bernie Parent. The Flyers also announced they will be holding a celebration of life honoring Parent sometime in November. Details will be made public at a later date. Lauren Hart was also wearing a Flyers jersey with Parent’s name and number on the back as she performed the anthem.

Source

Source: https://www.broadstreethockey.com/p...bruins-team-4-3-despite-two-power-play-goals/

 

[Philadelphia Flyers]

Michkov, Zegras connect for must-see goal in Flyers preseason

As soon as Trevor Zegras was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers we all patiently waited to get extremely hyped and extremely excited at the thought of him linking up with Matvei Michkov. As we asked the big and massive question regarding whether or not the former Anaheim Duck would return to his previous form, we dreamt of Michkov finally having someone on the Flyers that can come even close to his individual skill level.

Well, the two of them have been partnered up for periods in the preseason and on Saturday evening, as the Boston Bruins visited Philadelphia for some exhibition action, Zegras and Michkov connected on a goal that is easy to describe as “Oh my God, that was so sick. Oh my God.”

ANOTHER PPG!

Welcome to Philly, Trevor Zegras. #BOSvsPHI | #LetsGoFlyers pic.twitter.com/sYoQvGLPF0

— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) September 27, 2025​

Zegras enters the zone cleanly on this power-play opportunity and as he draws three of the four Boston defenders to him, swiftly lays it off to Michkov just on the edge of the blue line along the boards. The 20-year-old Russian sees a gap open up as two of those Bruins keep follow Zegras into their own zone and drives to the slot. The Bruins defenders (those silly ones who decided to go skate with Zegras to the boards), quickly realize their mistake and both try to cover the net for Michkov, sprawling out to block his shooting lane. But, oh silly them. That leaves Zegras as open as anyone has ever been on a Flyers power play in the last five years and Michkov is able to make a crisp pass right to tape and Zegras was able to rocket it for his first ever (preseason) goal as a member of the Philadelphia Flyers.

It’s just beautiful. Something that we all thought of happening as soon as the Flyers acquired the 24-year-old center. Even if they wouldn’t be playing together on the same line at 5-on-5, at the very least they would eat up a whole lot of minutes on the man advantage and devour penalty-kill units like they were nothing.

While it is preseason and the goal doesn’t truly matter, we can still enjoy some evidence that they do, in fact, work well together and think on the same level. Or, Michkov is just so talented that just about anyone can score a pretty sick power-play goal off of his stick and as he progresses more to an even greater scoring threat, he’ll neatly be handing out primary assists for years to come.

The preseason matchup against the Bruins overall, did not go the Flyers way. After Travis Sanheim opened the scoring in the first period on his own power-play goal (when was the last time the Flyers had two power-play goals in the same game?), the Bruins came charging back and ended up leading 2-1 early in the second period.

A goal from Nikita Grebekin, which was assisted by both Michkov and Zegras too, would be followed by this lovely goal we spilled some ink on. The Flyers would lead the game 3-2 for just a couple more minutes until someone named Dalton Bancroft would score his second goal of the game to tie it and Jeffrey Viel would score the game-winning tally in the third period as the Flyers were unable to get on the board in the final frame.

Flyers head coach Rick Tocchet is still in search for the left winger to complement the Zegras and Michkov pairing — and tried multiple Saturday night — but so far, this connection is working just as perfectly as we could have dreamed of.

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Source

Source: https://www.broadstreethockey.com/post/michkov-zegras-connect-for-must-see-goal-in-flyers-preseason/

 

[Philadelphia Flyers]

Flyers’ 3 Stars of the Week: Michkov, Zegras lead the team

It’s the first week of the Philadelphia Flyers’ season (sort of)! We now have four preseason games behind us and just three in front of us, and while it is great to actually see this team on our various screens again, it was overall a somewhat miserable week for our Flyers.

A record of 1-3-0 in these exhibition games does not mean anything with the rotating rosters, but there is just a darker cloud over the team than normal. The prospects we were all extremely excited to watch have been somewhat underwhelming and the Flyers might just limp into the season where the games actually start to matter.

But, there were bright spots. And that’s what we’re here to focus on. Let’s look at the three stars of the week.

3. Sean Couturier​

1 A, 3 SOG, 69.35 CF% at 5v5, Having a coach that doesn’t hate him, in 2 GP

In his first week of playing hockey games without John Tortorella breathing down his neck in a few years, Couturier had glimpses of his old self. There might not be another Selke Trophy in his future, but he was certainly able to control play and provide an immense amount of support to his teammates. In classic Couturier fashion, the Flyers were the better team when he was on the ice in just about every category you can think of.

Add that level of control to being able to get on the scoresheet with a power-play assist on Travis Sanheim’s goal against the Boston Bruins. A beautiful display of maybe something to come?

TRAVIS SANHEIM GETS THE FIRST PECO POWERPLAY GOAL OF THE YOGI/TOCC ERA! BEAUTIFUL PASSING FROM COOTS AND DVORAK. 1-0!#LetsGoFlyers pic.twitter.com/vFNjOfj6Vm

— Flyers Clips (@Flyers_Clips) September 27, 2025​

This coming right after Couturier shot a very blatant and honest jab at Tortorella and the past coaching staff’s way of running a power play is even sweeter. His mention of the team being “scared to make plays” or else they would be pulled from the power play is certainly something to keep in mind when something like this happens and just how free-flowing it looked. Hopefully it translates into games that matter.

2. Trevor Zegras​

1 G, 1 A, 6 SOG, Looking really cool on a new team, in 2 GP

Trevor Zegras was actually on the ice playing hockey games for the good team that wears orange and black. In two appearances for the Flyers this preseason, the new center earned an assist, had six shots on goal, and was able to be the receipient of a very, very cool pass from Matvei Michkov (and he was able to actually put the puck into a wide open net).

Matvei Michkov and Trevor Zegras

Your new dynamic duo pic.twitter.com/cUUGBoHk30

— Nasty Knuckles (@NastyKnuckles) September 27, 2025​

Beyond the goal, Zegras also was able to earn an assist on Nikita Grebenkin’s first goal in a Flyers sweater in that same game against the Bruins on Saturday, potentially being just one of those players that can raise a younger player to his level or just utilize a dude who loves to crash the net. Zegras also managed to stay afloat and above the 50 percent threshold in most underlying statistics — while those don’t really matter at all in the preseason, it is at least nice to see something the nerds can praise him for.

It was so important for Zegras to have a good week to start his career in Philadelphia and already with a multi-point performance and being able to show off some slick skill, earns him the silver medal from us.

1. Matvei Michkov​

1 G, 2 A, 6 SOG in 2 GP

Yeah, duh. We have a feeling that this top spot will be Michkov’s a lot throughout this upcoming Flyers season, but here he is for the first week. The 20-year-old winger was a demon to start his preseason. He scored a very classic Michkov goal — the entire play running through him and then being able to cash-in after driving to the net just ever so slightly after some quick passing — against the Islanders to open the preseason, and then earned two assist against the Bruins including the perfect linking-up with his new teammate Zegras.

It’s one thing to currently lead the entire team in points in the preseason, but it’s another to be the player that so many are depending on to reach a new level while scoring a whole lot. Michkov is just that player and this past week he has been dominant — a player that an entire team’s defense can and probably has to focus on.

Now we’re just left hoping that this scoring and dominance can continue into the season, so that we can avoid ever thinking about a sophomore slump whatsoever.

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Source

Source: https://www.broadstreethockey.com/post/flyers-3-stars-of-the-week-michkov-zegras-lead-the-team/

 

[Philadelphia Flyers]

Despite hiccup, Rodrigo Abols still leads pack of Flyers roster bubble forwards

After what’s been, on the whole, a very successful preseason for Rodrigo Abols, last night’s matchup saw him hit a bump in the road, in his fourth start in seven days.

Something in the configuration of his line — having him moved over to the wing to play alongside Jacob Gaucher and Garnet Hathaway, at least to start — wasn’t really working last night, and it was evident pretty much from the jump, with one particularly rough shift which saw them hemmed in and getting cycled on, looking helpless while no one seemed to be able to step up to make a play to break them out of the zone. The numbers bear out similarly as well, with the line’s impacts at 5-on-5 averaged out to a meager 12.83 CF% and somehow impossibly low feeling 1.32 xGF%.

This game, all told, was the biggest test of that old “bend, but don’t break” approach for Abols and his linemates, and perhaps the silver lining here is that they essentially managed to pull it off — perfect but for the shift late in the third period during which Abols whiffed on a play on the puck which might have broken up the Bruins’ breakout attempt, but even worse, that routine breakout ended up in the back of the Flyers’ net after Helge Grans stumbled in an attempt to defend that building rush, and never was able to recover, and found himself again outpaced and outmuscled (in a play remarkably reminiscent of one which befell him in Thursday’s game as well) while the Bruins skater walked right in for a chance on goal. On the whole, it was a challenging game for Abols, but still one in which — despite what the numbers might suggest — he didn’t look outright poor to the eye, but rather just somewhat unremarkable.

It’s the type of game which, in isolation, one might imagine would hurt a bubble player’s case for a final roster spot with the NHL squad, but with how much momentum he brought into that game, this will likely serve as little more than a blip on Abols’s resume. That is, the gap that he’s built up between himself and the other players pushing for the same job might not be so large as it was at this time at the end of last week, before this last game, but the work he did to establish a baseline for himself should be enough to keep his stock steady through one not-so-great showing. Because in that Thursday game, most critically of all, that even what fatigue was setting in in a big way, he was able to keep up a reasonably solid level of impact.

“I think you can feel it today, I’m not gonna lie,” he said after the game, “you can feel it was the third game in five nights. But I think that’s where I gotta learn to pick my spots and kinda put myself in good positions, I think, not to cheat for offense, not get stuck out there, but I think that I managed that pretty well.”

Performance in a more sloppy than anything team effort on Saturday notwithstanding, Abols has largely been able to stick to that approach. What he’s shown over the course of the majority of this preseason is a promise of a game which can be more even, more sustainable, and bringing with that a promise of longer term success. That is, maybe there’s something to a commitment to playing one’s own game as he has, a game that is such that there’s no need to empty the tank on each and every shift in a scramble to make an impression — his game at the energy level which it usually sits at will be enough to speak for itself. And, in turn, perhaps this speaks as well to the maturity in his game — it’s not just that he’s been around the block here and knows the tricks and what goes into being a good pro, the subtle plays to make and the commitment to playing the right way which so quickly endears him to coaches, but also how to approach a rigorous preseason schedule, how to manage his energy so as not to leave him completely depleted by the time opening night comes around, and at risk of being a quick demotion because he can’t deliver to the same level that he did during these exhibition games. His game hasn’t been perfect, but it’s also avoided slipping into the myopic approach which feels all too common in these training camp battle. As they say, it’s a marathon, not a sprint, and Abols seems to know this well.

It’s not as though he’s running away with this race, and a good game from Nikita Grebenkin on Saturday did a good bit of heavy lifting to help close the gap, but Abols has built up a nice bit of insulation for himself through his strong first three games of the preseason, along with the fact that even in his lowest game to date, he kept his game to the level of something unremarkable, rather than something catastrophic — something a number of similar bubble players cannot say themselves.

With three games left on the schedule before the close of the preseason, there’s ample room for things to change, and players’ standings to shift. But, to date, Abols has been steadfast in his commitment to playing a well-managed and dependable game, and if he’s able to keep that up for however many more games he is dispatched for, regardless of what happens elsewhere in the lineup, this could well be enough to keep him at the top of the bubble pecking order, and carry him into a spot on the opening night roster in the end.

Source

Source: https://www.broadstreethockey.com/p...-leads-pack-of-flyers-roster-bubble-forwards/

 

[Philadelphia Flyers]

Mason McTavish hates that Trevor Zegras was traded to Flyers

As soon as Trevor Zegras was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers, everyone got extremely excited about his reunions with Jamie Drysdale and Cam York. Drysdale, a former teammate on the Ducks, and York, who was with the centerman during his time on the U.S. National Team Development Program, would be getting to pal around with their goofy forward once more and all is right in the world.

But we often don’t think about the other side and the teammates who are now losing a clearly positive player to have in the locker room. Well, of course we don’t as fans of the team acquiring the player. But, in his first media availability since signing his substantial six-year contract with the Anaheim Ducks, Mason McTavish made it clear that he hates the fact that Zegras is no longer going to be his teammate.

After answering a couple milquetoast questions about how the contract negotiation process was and how he spent his summer away from the team, the 22-year-old center gave his thoughts on the departure.

McTavish on Zegras trade: “That sucked. Brutal. I pretty much spent every day with him. He's happy there, which is good. I think it's a good thing for him, good fit. No, it's tough seeing your best friend go away.”@SportingTrib | #FlyTogether pic.twitter.com/dQbewZJWQe

— Zach Cavanagh (@ZachCav) September 29, 2025​

“Yeah, you know, it sucked. Brutal,” McTavish said when asked what it feels like not being on a team with Zegras. “I mean, I pretty much spent every day with him. You know, he’s happy there which is good, I think it’s a good thing for him and it’s a good fit. But yeah, it’s tough seeing your best friend kind of go away but at least he knows a couple guys there, Jamie obviously, so yeah it’ll be good to see them on the road.”

That’s about as honest an answer you’ll get for just how much a player hated that his general manager decided to trade someone that was well-liked among his teammates. Well wishes of course on a personal level, but to just be as honest as possible and straight forward in a way that you say trading him “sucked” is something you don’t see too often.

But McTavish clearly feels a kinship with Zegras and even his other former teammate in Drysdale. Later on, after saying just how much he didn’t want to see another person from his locker room traded to Philadelphia, McTavish mentioned that he spoke with both of his former teammates during his lengthy contract negotiation and they told him just how long it would take and what exactly to expect when trying to sort out a new contract coming out of their entry-level contract with this Ducks front office.

Of course, both Zegras and Drysdale experienced the same thing with Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek as restricted free agents needing a new deal. A lack of communication for months and months and then just getting a deal done days before the regular season started. Back in 2023, with both the current Flyers needing new contracts, they didn’t put pen to paper until the early days of October. And Verbeek just went ahead and went through the same negotiation strategy with McTavish, another young and promising player that might now have their relationship with management slightly soured.

And, well, now those two other players that had to go through that same terrible process are playing for the Philadelphia Flyers.

Are we saying that the same thing will happen here? We’re not not saying it.

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Source

Source: https://www.broadstreethockey.com/post/mason-mctavish-hates-that-trevor-zegras-was-traded-to-flyers/

 

[Philadelphia Flyers]

Tyson Foerster impresses Rick Tocchet: ‘He’s a really good hockey player’

Philadelphia Flyers head coach Rick Tocchet said he was “excited” to see Tyson Foerster make his preseason debut against the Boston Bruins Monday night. Tocchet’s excitement was warranted, and he wasn’t left disappointed after a strong performance from the 23-year-old.

After starting training camp wearing a non-contact jersey as he recovered from an offseason elbow procedure, Foerster was cleared for full contact last Tuesday, but was held out of the Flyers’ three ensuing preseason games. He finally drew into the lineup at TD Garden, though, and made quite an impression on the Flyers’ new bench boss.

“He’s a really good hockey player,” Tocchet told media postgame. “There’s just people that are just good hockey players. Knocks pucks down, he’s strong on the puck. He makes good puck decisions. He’s a really good hockey player.”

It didn’t take Foerster long to get on the scoresheet. In the middle frame, he set up Noah Cates with a quick feed in the low slot after some strong work on the forecheck.

Foerster got the play started by gaining the red line and firing the puck deep into the Boston zone. Some good hustle by Bobby Brink forced Jeremy Swayman to attempt an ill-advised pass and turn the puck over behind the net. Foerster then gathered the loose change, danced around Bruins defenseman Billy Sweezey, and connected with Cates for the score. Just textbook forechecking.

1-0!

The Foerster-Cates-Brink line picks up right where it left off. #PHIvsBOS | https://t.co/gztjKygSxs pic.twitter.com/nZkWloFMHn

— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) September 30, 2025

It wasn’t just Foerster who caught Tocchet’s attention, though. It was his entire line.

“There’s a lot of chemistry. You can tell the way they play. They’re connected. When you’re connected as a group, as a line, they kind of feed off each other, like that goal,” said Tocchet.

The line of Foerster, Cates, and Brink was the Flyers’ best trio of forwards last season. Most of the Flyers’ forward lines under John Tortorella were mixed and matched throughout the season, but the Foerster line largely remained intact thanks to its consistently reliable two-way play.

Per Natural Stat Trick, in 570 minutes of 5-on-5 ice time together, the Foerster line produced 30 goals and thrived at driving play, logging a 50.05 Corsi For percentage and 56.60 Goals For percentage, all despite only starting 37.62 of its shifts in the offensive zone.

Tocchet’s early approval of Foerster should come as no surprise. After Foerster drew high praise from the likes of Sidney Crosby, who played under Tocchet during the Pittsburgh Penguins’ run to back-to-back Stanley Cups in 2016 and 2017, the new Flyers bench boss came into the preseason with lofty expectations for Foerster.

It’s only one preseason game, but it’s clear Tocchet has already developed a soft spot for one of the Flyers’ top goal scorers.

Source

Source: https://www.broadstreethockey.com/p...rick-tocchet-hes-a-really-good-hockey-player/

 

[Philadelphia Flyers]

2025-26 Metropolitan Division Preview: Columbus Blue Jackets are trying to surprise

We’re continuing our glance around the Metropolitan Division and seeing which teams really improved over the offseason (and who didn’t). Next up, it’s the Columbus Blue Jackets who were an incredible story as they approached to making the playoffs last season but could end up even in the same realm as the Philadelphia Flyers after all 82 games are done.

Their offseason, in one sentence​

Added some decent depth, but didn’t do enough to transform themselves from a bubble team into an actual contender.

Blue Jackets’ biggest addition​

The Jackets sent Gavin Brindley, a 2025 3rd round pick (#77), and a 2027 2nd round pick to the Avalanche in order to acquire veteran center Charlie Coyle in late June. The 33-year-old was the ultimate ironman, with 35 points in 83 games split between the Avalanche and the Bruins, although he was much better once he arrived in Colorado. Coyle will probably slot in on the third line behind Sean Monahan and Adam Fantilli, giving the Blue Jackets a solid trio of dependable play down the middle.

With Coyle, the Jackets seem to be looking to try and assemble some depth in support of Fantilli’s development into, what they hope will be, their future number one center. Coyle will look to provide decent production around the half a point per-game mark while mentoring the aforementioned Fantilli, as well as Cole Sillinger, with his 13 years of NHL experience providing a steadying presence.

Blue Jackets’ biggest loss​

Columbus didn’t lose any major pieces to their lineup, but old friend James van Riemsdyk did sign with Detroit after putting up a decent line of 16 goals, 20 assists and 36 points while playing 71 games with the Blue Jackets. Some depth scoring will be lost due to his departure, but they seem to have sufficiently replaced whatever may be lost. This wasn’t prime JVR, and with a slew of young wingers circling around looking for an opening, it may just create an opportunity for someone to stake a claim to a top-9 spot.

Other stuff they did​

Columbus also added Isac Lundestrom in free agency, with the defensively-sound centerman coming over from Anaheim to provide even more forward depth, perhaps even filling the hole left by the departure of Sean Kuraly. Miles Wood also joins from Colorado to add some speed and depth down the wing.

The most significant pieces of business that the Jackets did was in house, they resigned Dmitiri Voronkov to a two-year, 4,175 million dollars a year deal, Dante Fabbro to a four-year, at 4,125 million annually, and most crucially locked up Ivan Provorov to a seven-year, 8.5 million dollars a year contract that will keep him in the navy blue until he is 35. They also made a trade with the Flyers to acquire Ivan Fedotov, who was immediately shuttled down to the AHL soon after. It’s a lot of the same core, with only a few alterations around the edges.

Are they better or worse right now than when they started the offseason?​

The Jackets are probably a bit better than they were when the season ended, by dint of the Coyle acquisition and some internal development that will be expected to come from some of their younger forwards. They also didn’t lose any specific pieces that would result in a massive difference to their roster, and any changes that did happen, they seem to have filled the holes reasonably well. It’s a slight improvement, but it is an improvement nonetheless. The real problem is that, besides the Fedotov reclaimation project, they didn’t do anything to improve their goaltending, and that was the real area of need.

The long-term outlook​

The Blue Jackets are in a strange place. They missed the playoffs by two points last season, but it came in the context of a Metropolitan division where the Rangers underperformed, and the other teams in the division were largely mediocre at best. The playoff format makes it so that unless they can crack the top three of Washington, Carolina, and New Jersey, the Jackets will still have to measure up against Atlantic division competition that, up until this point, has proven to be better.

And Columbus just didn’t level up their roster to the point where they should be expected to improve on their 89 point performance drastically. Now, they will look for jumps from Adam Fantilli and Kent Johnson in order to fuel their offense, but with Fantilli scoring 30 goals and Johnson having 57 points in 67 games last year, there may not be room for another massive jump from each. A breakout season from Kirill Marchenko was what really propelled them into contention, and it’ll be interesting to see if he can repeat it. Their defensive corps are always interesting with the dynamic Zach Werenski leading the way. Werenski is a workhorse, and with 82 points in 81 games last season he led the way points-wise too.

But it all falls apart between the pipes, the Blue Jackets impressively did all of this while getting a .892 save percentage and a 3.18 goals against average from their starting goalie Elvis Merzlinkins, and as much as you try to improve the forward depth, those numbers are going to have to be better in order for the team to take a real step forward. Jet Greaves had some great numbers in 11 games last year, so maybe he can take on a bit more responsibility and find his rhythm, but at the moment the situation in net caps whatever potential the Jackets think they may have. Sound familiar?

Columbus will have a chance to once again sneak into a wild card spot, or maybe even push for the final division spot, but once again, it will be hard to pick them to actually win a series or push to become a serious contender with the deficiencies they currently still have.

Source

Source: https://www.broadstreethockey.com/p...columbus-blue-jackets-are-trying-to-surprise/

 

[Philadelphia Flyers]

Oliver Bonk could still earn spot on Flyers’ blue line once healthy

Oliver Bonk had high hopes this training camp. He was going to dazzle during Rookie Camp and the two games against the prospects of the New York Rangers, then he’d be solid throughout the Flyers training camp. He would hope to survive the cuts and eventually end up as one of the six defensemen Philadelphia would carry to start the season.

However, Bonk got hurt early in Rookie Camp, reportedly an upper body injury he couldn’t quite shake. Two weeks ago he had imaging done to see what the problem was. Meanwhile Danny Briere described it as something that “just popped up on him.” And on Sept. 18 he was listed as being day-to-day with the upper body injury.

Injury update: Defenseman Oliver Bonk is day-to-day with an upper body injury.

— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) September 18, 2025

Now, with just two games left in the exhibition schedule, and no sign of Bonk being anywhere near ready for practice or game action, it appears he missed a golden opportunity to become one of the blueliners penciled in for the Flyers third pairing. However, when you look at just how ordinary to underwhelming some of the defensemen still vying for the fifth, sixth, and seventh positions have been, one could argue Bonk still has a puncher’s chance. In fact, he might be in the running simply by having not played.

That’s not to say Bonk will hit the ground running and establish himself as an outstanding rookie defenseman immediately. Yet, the average to rather uninspiring play from some of the blueliners not in the top two pairs has Bonk with a chance. Bonk might end up with the Flyers as soon as he’s physically ready to play. Most likely he’ll spend a few weeks in Lehigh Valley to get himself into game shape and work some of the rust off. Should he get the nod, it’s probably safe to say that Bonk is a cut the group of mediocre defensemen who were still with the club after five exhibition games.

Helge Grans had a great chance to make the club, particularly with Bonk and Rasmus Ristolainen both dealing with injuries. Yet some mind-numbing defensive miscues (and a very untimely fall) had the Flyers place him on waivers on Monday and cut him on Tuesday. Grans was given time to show his wares, but those wares wore thin on the Flyers coaching staff and management. He’ll now have a chance to hone his game in the American Hockey League. So we know Bonk is probably ahead of Grans on the depth chart.

On Monday night in Boston, it seemed like an audition for six defensemen for those final precious openings: Dennis Gilbert, Noah Juulsen, Egor Zamula, Emil Andrae, Adam Ginning, and Hunter McDonald. Gilbert has been better than Juulsen most of the camp, but considering Juulsen’s biggest highlights were two hits (one which was a kneeing penalty), it’s not saying a lot. However, Rick Tocchet saw it differently, praising Juulsen and Ginning for their play against the Bruins. Put head-to-head it seems the Flyers would opt for Bonk over Juulsen any day of the week given his ability, age, and potential. And the same could be said for Bonk regarding Dennis Gilbert also. Gilbert hasn’t been bad, and has looked decent at times, yet he’s not going to impede the development or readiness of Bonk if and when he’s good to go.

Tuesday afternoon the Flyers reduced their training camp by 10 players, with McDonald, Andrae, Ty Murchison and Grans assigned to Lehigh Valley. So that leaves Juulsen, Gilbert, Zamula and Adam Ginning still vying for two or three positions. Aside from Zamula and the two other free agents the Flyers signed this summer, Adam Ginning is still alive and well with the Flyers roster. Ginning took a hard hit on the numbers against Boston on Monday night but shook it off and had a good game (22:58 with four blocked shots, two hits, a takeaway and a giveaway). Again, one has to ask themselves if Bonk would be a better option than Ginning. Most would probably take Bonk over Ginning as he seems to have a better skill set.

Rick Tocchet didn’t mince words earlier in camp when he was asked specifically about Gilbert’s play. Tocchet seemed to put Gilbert in a quartet of defensemen he said he wasn’t overly impressed with. “I would put him in the pack with about four guys, you know, vying for the — you know, nobody’s really kind of stood out to me yet,” Tocchet said. “I mean, we need one of those guys to play a good game for us and they’re all kind of in that area. He’s in that mix but I’d like to see a little bit more from him, obviously. I mean, it’s not in indictment to him, it’s just, when you’re evaluating people, you’re looking for somebody to step ahead. And whether it’s [Gilbert] or [Juulsen] or McDonald or Ginning or whoever, you know, we’re looking for those guys to kind of take over what we’re looking for on the defensive side.”

Emil Andrae had some ups and downs in his game over the exhibition schedule, rarely looking like he was taking over a game. He might have had his best game Monday night against Boston where he had some offensive chances, had a big hit or two and generally moved the puck smartly and quickly. He was on the ice for the Bruins game-tying goal, but more often than not Andrae appeared to use his quickness and brains to get the puck out of the danger zones. Unfortunately for Andrae, it appears that the Flyers are going to send him back down to Lehigh Valley. Although nothing was confirmed by the club as of Tuesday morning, Andrae was seen skating with Alex Bump and Devin Kaplan and not part of the bigger group.

The foursome on the back end that were cut Tuesday leaves Bonk possibly looking at the sixth position if he is going to make the Flyers at some point. You wouldn’t want Bonk as the seventh as you want him playing, regardless of where he’s at. It also could lend some to believe that the Flyers are, at least for starters, leaning towards size and brawn over quickness heading into game one. Egor Zamula seems to have the upper hand on everyone in the depth chart for now not named Rasmus Ristolainen. And Tocchet stated on Tuesday afternoon that Zamula is going to be the fifth defenseman barring something unforeseen happening. Zamula has been average at best, often being used a lot yet not really tilting the ice towards the Flyers favor. What’s also apparent is he’ll most likely see himself with a new defense partner to start the season given Ristolainen’s status. He’s been okay for now. A healthy Ristolainen now probably would’ve put Zamula in jeopardy heading down the stretch to these final cuts. He’s fine, just hasn’t really moved the bar at all.

It’s truly strange (and to some maybe quite damning) that Bonk has an advantage over some Flyer blueliners on the depth chart simply because they have set the bar so low. The chance is there for him, especially if he can find his game early with the Phantoms and be the guy Philadelphia brings up should injuries arise. The Flyers provided some update on Bonk’s health Wednesday, announcing he’ll be out two weeks with the upper-body injury.

The idea heading into training camp was to have competition on the back end to see who would rise to the top. At least that was what both Tocchet and Briere preached before camp started. However, the truth seems to be a lot of the defensemen at camp outside the top two pairs weren’t turning heads or dropping jaws in a good way. It made everyone realize this group mentioned above were at best third-pairing blueliners, nothing more. None of them truly distanced themselves from the others when it came to crunch time. The batch of borderline third-pairing defensemen the Flyers are sorting through right now are living up to their billing as being borderline third-pairing defensemen. At the end of the day it’s not going to cause the rebuild to stall. It just would’ve been nice to see a bit more verve or oomph seen in this batch’s play. The only person smiling right now from this malaise on the backend might be Oliver Bonk. And for good reason.

Source

Source: https://www.broadstreethockey.com/p...l-earn-spot-on-flyers-blue-line-once-healthy/

 

[Philadelphia Flyers]

Jett Luchanko needs to start in the OHL, not on the Flyers

There have been several questions thrown around throughout Philadelphia Flyers training camp and we got the answer for most. The blue line is what it’s going to be and no young defenseman truly stepped up to take complete control of the opportunity with Rasmus Ristolainen’s absence to start the season. The goaltending has been good and we could at least see an adequate tandem in Philadelphia. Oh, and Matvei Michkov is going to ruin the lives of dozens of defensemen this season.

But beyond that, the major talking point has been whether or not center Jett Luchanko has played well enough to truly earn the chance to start his season with the Flyers. Famously, Luchanko was able to breakthrough and appear in four games throughout the first couple weeks of the NHL season last year. He demonstrated his ability to potentially be a top-end transition center with his speed, and have his stick work throughout all three zones be effective enough, but there was no pop. No true offensive juice was coming from his stick and that’s why he wasn’t able to be the ultimate surprise and play an entire season in the NHL at 18 years old.

Now, he’s been sort of doing the same thing one year later. So, again, we’re asking the same question and seeing if the decision should just be made even before the Flyers start their season on October 9 — to just send Luchanko down to the OHL’s Guelph Storm and for him to play out his final year of junior hockey.

It wouldn’t be a step back or anything. Luchanko has shown that he is capable of playing in the NHL and can live and exist as an NHL centerman, but that’s not really something as an end goal. Sure, if he stayed with the Flyers for the entire season as a bottom-six center, there could be some moments of development. We could hypothetically see some progress from Luchanko and he would finish the season with maybe eight goals and 20 assists while averaging 12 minutes a night. Sure, that’s a player. But do you want your first-round pick that you believe in so much, to have that experience at 19 years old? An age where some players are just starting to play college hockey, or even just get to a level where they can flourish offensively? Probably not.

Luchanko should simply just start his season down in Guelph and ride it out. There is no shame in playing the Draft+2 season as a first-round pick. It’s been done plenty of times before. And, well, actually let’s just look at the top points-per-game earners among OHL forwards who were taken in the first round for their Draft+2 season, since 2010.

PLAYER	SEASON	GP	GOALS	POINTS	POINTS PER GAME
Dylan Strome	2016-17	35	22	75	2.14
Morgan Frost	2018-19	58	37	109	1.88
Max Domi	2014-15	57	32	102	1.79
Quentin Musty	2024-25	33	30	59	1.79
Ryan Strome	2012-13	53	34	94	1.77
Mark Scheifele	2012-13	45	39	79	1.76
Scott Laughton	2013-14	54	40	87	1.61
Nick Suzuki	2018-19	59	34	94	1.59
Tanner Pearson	2011-12	60	37	91	1.52
Liam Foudy	2019-20	45	28	68	1.51
Easton Cowan	2024-25	46	29	69	1.50
Logan Brown	2017-18	32	22	48	1.50
Ty Dellandrea	2019-20	47	32	70	1.49
Calum Ritchie	2024-25	47	15	70	1.49
Zack Kassian	2010-11	56	26	77	1.38
Owen Tippett	2018-19	54	33	74	1.37

There are some Names on that lengthy list, but the general takeaway should be that it’s not so uncommon for a first-round pick forward to go back for another year. It will only become less common with now the option to go play in the NCAA or be the one 19-year-old that NHL teams are allowed to send to the AHL starting in the 2026-27 season, but in the OHL-or-NHL era, we saw plenty of high-level forwards go back to junior hockey.

A more specific takeaway should be that this doesn’t limit Luchanko’s ceiling whatsoever. There are players who are (or should be) top-six forwards on this list, or at the very least very solid contributors to their team in the future. Sure, it would be great if Luchanko scored at a high level and turned into Mark Scheifele or Nick Suzuki we would be overjoyed. But looking at the total scope of the very top producers for this age and while it’s a variety of outcomes. There are those top-end centers but also players who completely flamed out, or are just basic top-nine players on mediocre teams.

But Luchanko is different.

Luchanko is atypical from the returning OHL player​

The main reason why this is such a debate is something we already mentioned: Luchanko can survive in the NHL. Unlike other 19-year-olds (and the majority of the players on the list above), the Flyers prospect has tools like top-end hockey sense and defensive work already. Frankly, Luchanko already cares so much about playing in all three zones and we know that someone like Morgan Frost had to work on that. He’s already a step above the former Flyers center was in so many ways that actually contribute to winning hockey games.

For the other top players on that list — Dylan Strome, Max Domi, Easton Cowan, Ryan Strome, and the like — the reason they were sent back was because they didn’t have a complete enough game to stay afloat in the NHL. They would just get swallowed up and needed to go back to the OHL to just grow stronger with the puck and learn how to actually backcheck. Even if it was somewhat a waste of a season for some players, like Strome who was able to put up several points a night like it was nothing, it was the only option they could have without setting them back.

Luchanko already has the high-pace motor, the defensive ability, and the impeccable transition game that you don’t normally see a prospect even come close to developing until after they finish junior hockey and have a couple more seasons playing pro. He’s already there. It’s the offensive side of the game that he needs to work on. All the scoring that we do typically see in those top-end prospects like a Max Domi, who was able to score with ease in juniors and was able to develop the nose to the net, the offensive awareness, and everything else that made him a successful scorer.

That is what Luchanko needs to work on. All of these other prospects grew up with being able to dangle their way through minor hockey and be The Player on their teams. Luchanko was not. Even in minor hockey, he didn’t lead the team in scoring like he has already with the Storm.

There is a foundation laid with his game that is unlike most other prospects and what is typically built on top of it, is something that the score-heavy prospects already have but they’re without that stable foundation.

And if we are worried about Luchanko being yet another “Ty Dellandrea” on this list, we already know that he projects to be a better player than Dellandrea ever was as a prospect. And the other relative failures there are other reasons why they didn’t succeed. Logan Brown was slow and big, Liam Foudy just scored on a good London Knights team, and injuries derailed Tanner Pearson’s career. Every other player was at least a solid contributor in the NHL or is still a prospect.

Of course, that’s a list of the most productive Draft+2 forwards who were selected in the first round. We hope, if Luchanko is sent back to Guelph, that he finishes on that list by season’s end. That’s the goal and it’s fairly achievable.

Guelph is no longer that “bad team”​

One of the major talking points for anyone that wants Luchanko to stay with the Flyers is the thought that him heading back to the Guelph Storm wouldn’t even get his offense going because it is such a poor scoring environment. Well, that might have been the case in previous seasons but it isn’t anymore.

For the 2025-26 season, the Storm added some veterans and kept a whole lot of players around. Their main acquisition this summer was getting overage forward Ethan Miedema from the Kingston Frontenacs. The 20-year-old former fourth-round pick of the Buffalo Sabres already leads the Storm in scoring with five points through the first four games and should easily be in contention to be Luchanko’s wing if he returns to Guelph.

And even then, the Storm kept solid defenseman prospect Quinn Beauchesne on the team, have plenty of veterans like Carter Stevens, Hunter McKenzie, new captain Charlie Pacquette, and even extremely young top prospects like forward Jaakko Wycisk, who should be one of the best players of the 2027 NHL Draft class. Guelph is no London or Oshawa in terms of being loaded with NHL prospects, but there is easily a path that they can take to being a playoff team this season.

The narrative around the Storm being this terrible experience like it’s the worst hockey team ever put together, should probably stop.

There is, of course, always the possibility that Guelph can trade Luchanko at the OHL trade deadline to one of those top-class programs to really get his numbers juiced. Because, maybe being relied upon to be the main focus point of an entire team’s offense is exactly what Luchanko needs to develop more. If he was in Brantford with Jake O’Brien, or Windsor with Jack Nesbitt and Liam Greentree, or Sault Ste. Marie with Brady Martin — he would certainly produce more points but would his offensive game truly develop in the way that we want if he wasn’t so leaned on like he is in Guelph?

Plus, if all we want to see is Luchanko score triple-digit points and get his name up on that table above, and see these endless highlights of him destroying defenses, for us to feel more confident in his development, now is the year to do it. The OHL is seeing a grand exodus of top prospects leave the junior league to go play in the NCAA. We already know that from Porter Martone heading to Michigan State but it’s all over the league. Without those top-end players, scoring will become even easier and some players can get that push into getting more comfortable scoring in game scenarios — which might just be what Luchanko needs.

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All in all, it just makes sense. There is more historic evidence of players not plateauing or having their development affected by going back to junior hockey, than the opposite. Most of the time, if there is evidence of players growing lazy as scoring becomes too easy and they don’t get anything out of a crucial development year, it’s those players that have nowhere near the drive that Luchanko has.

We all know that he could survive, yes. But do we want a prospect just trying to grasp at straws and barely stay afloat to prevent them from drowning, at just 19 years old? Do we really think that his offensive habits would benefit from not being able to do anything while on the ice? There’s more risk there of truly becoming a bottom-six center for eternity.

By going back to the OHL, Luchanko can work as hard as he know he will and come in with a fresh understanding next year, of what he can do offensively and how he could start his full-time professional career. It just makes more sense for the 19-year-old center to know where he will be playing, to go be a main contributor on the World Juniors team, and then approach the Flyers’ 2026 training camp with an even higher drive to be an impact NHL centerman. We don’t want any players just doing what they can to get by. We want prospects to flourish.

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Source

Source: https://www.broadstreethockey.com/post/jett-luchanko-needs-start-ohl-not-on-the-flyers/