The 2024-25 NHL season has finally arrived, but not for the Philadelphia Flyers quite yet (it begins on Oct. 11 versus the Vancouver Canucks). Before then, let’s look at some news and rumors for the Orange and Black, including an injury update on Nick Seeler, a big milestone to keep in mind regarding Jett Luchanko, and early-season prospect standouts in the team’s system.
Seeler Is Still Out
On Oct. 1 versus the Boston Bruins, Seeler blocked a seemingly innocent puck that stung him a bit. Unfortunately, this kept him out of the rest of that preseason contest (aside from one shift) and sidelined for future practices. Now a week later, he is still fighting off the pain—he was a non-participant in Tuesday’s (Oct. 8) practice.
Brad Shaw said Nick Seeler’s injury is taking longer than they thought. After a puck hits the nerve in the leg, numbness can subside within hours, Shaw said.
— Jordan Hall (@JHallNBCS) October 8, 2024
But this one is taking longer. Flyers still hope he can play in Friday’s opener, they’re still taking it day by day.
This isn’t the first time Seeler, 31, has suffered an injury following a heroic block. It happened just days prior to signing a four-year extension in March 2024, a deal that’ll take him through his age-34 campaign. Speaking of that contract, he’ll need to be healthy for it to pay off.
Seeler is an excellent physical presence on the Flyers’ blue line and it would have been a tough choice to part ways with him at last season’s trade deadline. However, if he is banged up in 2024-25, that could waste perhaps the most important season of that $2.7 million cap-hit deal. Not only would losing him be a big blow to the team, but 22-year-old Jamie Drysdale could be left without a quality defensive partner.
Related: 3 Flyers Bounce Back Candidates for 2024-25
As younger players such as Emil Andrae wait for their chance to graduate to a full-time NHL role, the hope is that Seeler can hold down the fort on the left side with Cam York and Egor Zamula. If Seeler is incapable of doing so because of his health, this might be trouble for the Orange and Black. His injury seems like a short-term one, but there aren’t any updates as to exactly how long the timeline is.
Luchanko Could Be One of the Youngest to Score an NHL Goal
Luchanko is a center prospect who will turn 18 years and 51 days old by the time the Flyers are ready to open up their season on Oct. 11. Since he made the team, he could be one of the youngest players to score his first NHL tally. How high up that list could he be?
Taken 13th overall in the 2024 NHL Draft, it’s interesting that only Luchanko and no-doubt first-overall selection Macklin Celebrini were the only two from the class to make their big clubs right away. Since Luchanko is less than a month away from the cutoff for being eligible for the 2025 class, he is one of the youngest prospects to play in hockey’s top league as a result.
If he scores in either of his first two contests, the highest Luchanko can be on the youngest first NHL goal list is 15th, surpassing Hall of Fame center Pierre Turgeon (18 years, 54 days). Most notably, if it takes fewer than six contests to notch his first goal, he’ll pass Sidney Crosby (18 years, 62 days) for 17th on the overall list.
Typically, only high-end draft picks debut in the NHL at Luchanko’s age. With that in mind, he has certainly shown his maturity and ability to hang with the best. The young center has a lot to prove, but playing at this level so early could be beneficial for his future. Notching that unforgettable first goal would almost surely put him first among Flyers players, beating out Dainius Zubrus (18 years, 111 days).
Flyers Prospect Standouts
Now, here’s a recap of where the Flyers’ prospects stand so far in their 2024-25 campaigns. Canadian Hockey League (CHL) action is pretty fresh, so not many of the team’s North American athletes have played much. Overseas, we have a bigger sample size to judge.
Starting in the CHL anyway, we have 19-year-old goaltender Carson Bjarnason, who plays in the Western Hockey League (WHL). He only has two games under his belt, but he has an elite .931 save percentage (SV%) in those contests. As opposed to last season where his Brandon Wheat Kings looked somewhat average, they have emerged as one of the best teams in the WHL—they are 4-1-0. Roger McQueen, one of the top prospects for the 2025 NHL Draft, has made all the difference and could make it easier for Bjarnason to have great performances. If the netminder’s team is better, he’ll be better.
Going outside of North America, we have goaltender Yegor Zavragin. The 19-year-old Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) netminder was taken in the third round in 2023, but he might be one of the best prospects between the pipes in hockey right now. Since I mentioned how incredible his .938 SV% through five contests was, he pitched a 41-save victory which moved him to a .941 SV%. Named the KHL’s Rookie of the Week, he has been lights out. It’s not normal for this kind of production out of a teenager, so I will still remain cautious, but Zavragin is proving that he’s the real deal. Not only is he producing like a star, but he’s producing like a superstar—this is phenomenal news for the Orange and Black regardless of whether he maintains his pace or not.
Next, Alex Ciernik has been productive in the early stages of his campaign in HockeyAllsvenskan. With four points in five contests in the professional Swedish league, that’s solid production for who the Flyers hope can be a future NHLer. The young winger looked promising last season but injuries limited him to just 26 games of action. Though he was a fourth-round pick in 2023, he turned 20 on Oct. 8 so he won’t be eligible for Slovakia’s 2025 World Junior Championship roster in the winter.
Last, Jack Berglund will be a player to keep an eye out for. It’s not the first time I talked about the 51st overall pick from the Flyers’ most recent draft class, but he is still looking at good production with 12 points in eight J20 Nationell games and a point in four Swedish Hockey League (SHL) matchups. The 18-year-old center isn’t an offensive dynamo by any means, but putting up points in these leagues will be crucial in determining whether or not he has NHL potential. I speculate that he’ll be a full-timer in the SHL (one of the best leagues in Europe) by 2025-26 and spend a good chunk there this season.
The Flyers start their 2024-25 season with a four-game road trip against the Pacific Division (meaning all 10 p.m. starts in Eastern Standard Time). After that rather grueling stretch, they’ll make their home-ice debut on Oct. 19 against the Canucks.
