The Philadelphia Flyers currently have nine draft picks playing NCAA Division 1 college hockey. This group consists of seven forwards and two defensemen spread out across different programs in the United States.
Forward Cutter Gauthier, one of the organization’s top prospects, is off to an outstanding start with Boston College. Other prospects, such as Massimo Rizzo and Devin Kaplan, have put up big numbers for their schools in the first 10 games of the 2023-24 college hockey season. As the Flyers continue with their rebuild, many of these college players are getting valuable experience with top-tier college programs that can prove invaluable towards a smooth transition to the NHL-level game.
Cutter Gauthier – Boston College
Considered one of the Flyers’ top two prospects along with Matvei Michkov, Cutter Gauthier is listed as number two in the top 100 college NCAA players to watch during the 2023-24 season. Gauthier has certainly lived up to this ranking in the first ten games of the season, having scored eight goals with three assists for the top-ranked Boston College Eagles.
Gauthier’s ability to effectively play both center and left wing at high levels of competition is a big plus for the rebuilding Flyers. The 2022 first-round pick, number five overall in the NHL Entry Draft, starred at Boston College during his freshman season. During the 2022-23 season, Gauthier recorded 37 points in 32 games on his way to being named a Hockey East Association Third Team All-Star, and unanimous selection to the Hockey East Association All-Rookie Team.
Massimo Rizzo – University of Denver
Drafted 216th overall in the seventh round of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, Massimo Rizzo’s NHL rights were traded to the Flyers by the Carolina Hurricanes on Aug. 9, 2023. The center played Junior A ice hockey for parts of four seasons in the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL) with the Penticton Vees and Coquitlam Express. In the juniors, he scored 43 goals and tallied 80 assists.
Related: 4 Flyers Prospects Having Good 2023-24 Season Starts
Rizzo played his first season with the University of Denver Pioneers hockey team during the 2021-22 season. In his debut season, the Canadian recorded a respectable 36 points, scoring 12 goals and tallying 24 assists. He outdid this performance the next season, upping his total points by ten in 38 games. In his first ten games this season, Rizzo has been a solid offensive contributor recording five goals and 13 assists for a Denver squad that is considered one of the best programs in the country.
Bryce Brodzinski – University of Minnesota
The 2023-24 season marks Bryce Brodzinski’s fifth year of college hockey. The Minnesota Golden Gophers’ right wing is coming off his best season, which was highlighted by 31 points, 19 goals and 12 assists. Brodzinski was a big part of his team’s run to their 13th Frozen Four finals appearance, falling to Quinnipiac. Leading up to the finals, the Minnesota native was named NCAA Fargo Regional All-Tournament Team (Most Outstanding Player).
Drafted 196th overall in the seventh round of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft by the Philadelphia Flyers, the 23-year-old has seven points in ten games for Minnesota this season. The 2023-24 Golden Gophers have maintained their spot in the top six of college hockey polls since the preseason.
Alex Bump – Western Michigan University
Left wing Alex Bump made his college hockey debut this season with the Western Michigan University Broncos. Prior to joining Western Michigan, he played parts of two seasons in the United States Hockey League (USHL), where he recorded 56 points for the Omaha Lancers and Tri-City Storm.
Drafted 133rd overall in the fifth round of the 2022 NHL Entry Draft, Bump has three assists in eight games this season with the nationally-ranked Western Michigan squad. Scouting reports describe the 6-foot, 194-pound left-winger as “a skilled two-touch and catch-and-release shooter.”
Devin Kaplan – Boston University
Bridgewater, New Jersey’s Devin Kaplan is in his second season with the Boston University Terriers. The 6-foot-3, 200-pound right-winger recorded 23 points, 10 goals and 13 assists, in 40 games last season with the Terriers. This season, he has recorded eight points in ten games for a Boston University team that claimed the top spot in preseason college hockey polls.
Kaplan was drafted 69th overall by the Flyers in the third round of the 2022 NHL Entry Draft. He is known for his outstanding transition play and strong passing skills. A member of the 2021-2022 United States U18 World Junior Championships team, Kaplan contributed six points in six games to the silver medal-winning campaign.
Hunter McDonald – Northeastern University
Northeastern University’s Hunter McDonald opened the season as one of the school’s top two defensemen. In his sophomore season debut against Stonehill on Oct. 7, he recorded his first assist of the season. Unfortunately, this has been the only game of the season that McDonald suited up for the Huskies due to what is speculated to be an upper-body injury.
The 6-foot-4, 215-pound native of Fairport, New York, was selected by the Flyers 165th overall in the sixth round of the 2022 NHL Entry Draft. Last season, McDonald led Northeastern blueliners with 14 points from one goal and 13 assists. In 35 games, his leadership on defense was felt through a variety of skills, including blocks and blocked shots. He led all Hockey East Association conference skaters with 65 blocks and was third in the nation with 94 blocked shots. McDonald’s 2022-
23 freshman season was highlighted by Hockey East Best Defensive Defenseman and Hockey East All-Rookie Team honors.
Ty Murchison – Arizona State University
The nationally ranked Arizona State Sun Devils’ ice hockey team is off to one of the school’s best starts in their relatively young Division 1 college hockey history. A big part of the team’s success up to this point is the Sun Devils’ gritty play against opponents in the first 10 games of the season. Defenseman Ty Murchison is known for his tough and physical play.
Selected by the Flyers 158th overall in the fifth round of the 2021 NHL Entry Draft, the 6-foot-2, 205-pound blueliner is known as a player who always looks to use his size and physicality to gain control of the puck. In his third season with the Sun Devils, Murchison is in the top 10 across Division 1 hockey for penalty minutes with 25. Last season, he recorded 93 penalty minutes in 36 games.
Owen McLaughlin – University of North Dakota
Owen McLaughlin was selected by the Flyers 206th overall in the seventh round of the 2021 NHL Entry Draft. The 6-foot, 172-pound center grew up just under 40 miles northwest of the Flyers’ stadium. McLaughlin put the hockey world on alert when he recorded 72 points in 62 games for the Clark Cup-winning Sioux City Musketeers of the USHL during the 2021-22 season.
McLaughlin appeared in 37 games with the University of North Dakota last season, recording 15 points and winning 197 faceoffs. In his second season with the nationally ranked Fighting Hawks, McLaughlin has ten points, two goals and eight assists, in the first 10 games.
Cole Knuble – University of Notre Dame
Drafted by the Flyers in 103rd overall in the fourth round of the 2023 NHL Entry Draft, center Cole Knuble made his college debut last month with the University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Considered by scouting reports to be “a threat from anywhere in the offensive zone,” the 19-year-old recorded his first two points of the season, an assist and a goal, in Notre Dame’s eleventh game of the season. This statistic should not be an area for concern, as the freshman also scored a shootout goal in Notre Dame’s November 4th shootout victory over Penn State. Unfortunately for the 5-foot-11, 185-pound center, shootout goals do not officially count in statistics in the college hockey ranks.
Prior to joining the Fighting Irish, Knuble spent two seasons with the Fargo Force of the USHL. There, he recorded 115 points in 119 games, wearing the alternate captain “A” during the 2022-23 season.
The presence of so many promising college players in the Flyers’ farm system could serve as a vital part of the franchise’s rebuild in coming seasons. These college players complement the Flyers’ prospects in the juniors and overseas leagues very well, as the forwards and defenseman covered in this report currently represent a number of elite college hockey programs. This factor has proven critical for the quick and effective transition from college to the professional ranks for many players over the years.
