The prospects of the Philadelphia Flyers made a decent chunk of progress in 2023-24, but it seems that some of them have a little more to give. For many of their more highly regarded players, next season could be a huge campaign for them.
Specifically, which Flyers prospects might take a big step in the right direction in 2024-25? Below are three candidates to do so.
Oliver Bonk
Based on point production alone, you could probably argue that Oliver Bonk has already taken that next step in his career. With the right-handed defenseman scoring 40 points in his draft year in 2022-23 and upping that to 67 in seven fewer games this past season, he absolutely saw a bump in his scoring. However, there seems to be more that he can provide.
While Bonk put up great offensive totals on paper, he scored a very large majority of his 24 goals in the bumper spot on the power play, typically in a can’t-miss scoring situation. It’s not that these goals shouldn’t be valued, but how he scored is important to consider for contextual purposes. He might seem dominant offensively, but that wasn’t exactly the case in his 2023-24 campaign.
With that out of the way, there seems to be more that Bonk can do. The 6-foot-2 defender is comfortable in transition and possesses some desirable traits along with that. He has the size and offensive upside to be able to exceed his second-pairing projection in the NHL. At this stage, he is nowhere near a complete product—he has some defensive woes to solve.
Bonk is a good offensive-zone entry player and loves to get involved in all three zones. Sometimes, though, he was prone to turning the puck over or simply getting outworked in the defensive zone. These are aspects that he can improve with the right guidance from head coach Dale Hunter. Bonk has serious potential to be a borderline top-pairing player in the NHL, but it will have to start with him rounding out his game. The potential is there, and his age-20 season will be the perfect opportunity for that.
With size, skill, intelligence, and several on-ice strengths, Bonk has things in place to be a special player. There should be some confidence that he can work with these intangibles, especially since he will likely be paired with top prospect Sam Dickinson with the London Knights in 2024-25, just like he was through all of 2023-24. They complement each other well.
Carter Sotheran
Carter Sotheran was excellent this season yet extremely overlooked because of his numbers. The 6-foot-4 right-handed defenseman has much more value than the 51 total points he scored in 80 games during both the regular season and the playoffs in a high-scoring Western Hockey League (WHL). That much is evident based on how his Portland Winterhawks club lost in the postseason.
Related: Flyers’ Prospect Carter Sotheran Showing NHL Upside
The Winterhawks had an incredible roster in 2023-24 and were well on their way to a trip to the Memorial Cup. Unfortunately, he got injured in the penultimate round of the WHL postseason. After going 12-2 overall, Portland immediately folded and was swept aside by the Moose Jaw Warriors once Sotheran was out of the lineup.
Sotheran’s loss isn’t the only reason why they lost, but his impact most certainly could be felt. This is where the real interesting bit comes in—he was a second-pairing defenseman. For the entire season, he was stuck behind 2023 NHL Draft standout Luca Cagnoni, who scored an incredible 90 points in the regular season alone.
At the conclusion of the 2023-24 season, Cagnoni signed his entry-level contract with the San Jose Sharks. Very likely, this means that he will be joining the American Hockey League (AHL) and leaving the Winterhawks entirely. For Sotheran, this can allow him to take on a much more significant role and prove his worth. Based on what he showed, there should be some hope that he can take the next step.
Plus-minus is generally a stat that receives criticism, but it truly speaks to what Sotheran was able to accomplish. Throughout both the regular season and the playoffs, he had a monstrous plus-66 rating, essentially being on the ice to outscore his opponents by one goal each game. It’s a fun stat and all, but what makes it all the more interesting is that he seemingly backed it up.
Sotheran was an incredibly responsible on-ice figure, getting back on defense when necessary, making really solid breakout passes, and taking over in the offensive zone all by himself when his teammates needed him to. His intelligence seems to be off the charts, and he very rarely makes a bad play despite his age. With so few flaws in his game, the only thing he really did wrong was be on the same team as a potential star in the making like Cagnoni. Now that he is likely out of the equation, it can be Sotheran’s turn to unlock his offensive ceiling by getting legitimate power-play ice time and also being a little more involved during in-zone scenarios.
Alex Ciernik
Alex Ciernik, who was drafted just 15 slots before Sotheran was and going 120th overall, was definitely an overlooked player in the class. Likely falling to the fourth round because of his 5-foot-10, 179-pound frame, the 19-year-old winger has a lot of offensive skill to counteract that. With four goals and 10 assists for 14 points in 26 games in HockeyAllsvenskan, Sweden’s second-highest-ranking hockey league, he did fairly well for a teenager just in terms of production.
However, Ciernik still seems like he can give more. He didn’t progress very much points-wise from his draft year to this season, so a bit of a production burst seems to be looming for him. Almost definitely, getting injured around the middle of the season stunted his offensive growth.
Ciernik is an incredible skater and has a good offensive IQ. Really, there isn’t a single on-ice situation where you can’t trust him to generate scoring looks. Even if he plays in a challenging professional league, 14 points doesn’t exactly speak to how good of a player he is—he is more of a threat than that.
If Ciernik can see a spike in his offensive output, that might prove that he is ready for the AHL by just his third season after being drafted in 2025-26. He is a fun prospect who will be exciting to watch if and when he makes the trip over to North America.
The 2024 NHL Draft will be an exciting time since the Flyers will get to add a bunch of new prospects to their system, but it can sometimes make you forget which players are already there. Already, Philadelphia has some good ones that might just be even better than they bargained for.