With the 2024 NHL Draft out of the way, there’s no better time to assemble a prospect pyramid for the Philadelphia Flyers than the present. Instead of ranking each prospect individually, we’ll put them into tiers that best suit their projections.
Below, we visit dozens of Flyers prospects and put them into their objective rankings for what they have shown and produced. First, let’s establish some context.
What Is a Prospect?
To rank the Flyers’ prospects, we first have to define what a prospect actually is. For this exercise, we’ll look at the NHL’s definition of what a “rookie,” is: “To be considered a rookie, a player must not have played in more than 25 NHL games in any preceding seasons, nor in six or more NHL games in each of any two preceding seasons. Any player at least 26 years of age (by September 15th of that season) is not considered a rookie.”
Graduating from this definition in the 2023-24 season were Tyson Foerster, Bobby Brink, Egor Zamula, Ronnie Attard, and Sam Ersson. That’s a decent list of players, but Philadelphia has also seen some progression from their other youngsters. Right now, there are 40 prospects in the Flyers organization. We won’t talk about all of them in extraordinary detail, but they will all be mentioned.
Pyramid Tier Description
To understand what our pyramid tiers mean, we will define them. We could go on for a while debating which player should be 16th versus 17th on the Flyers’ list, for example, but being in one tier makes it much easier. At the most, all we can really do is argue that one player should move up or down a tier—that’s the goal of this exercise. Below are the definitions of our tiers, just to get an idea of what they mean:
Tier 1 – Franchise player
Tier 2 – Top-six forward, top-four defenseman, starting goaltender
Tier 3 – Middle-six forward, borderline second-pairing defenseman, low-end starting goaltender, or high-end backup goaltender
Tier 4 – Bottom-six forward, bottom-pairing defenseman, backup goaltender
Tier 5 – Depth or borderline NHL player
Tier 6 – Unlikely to be an NHL player
Tier 1: Matvei Michkov
This one is pretty obvious. Matvei Michkov, who is set to join the Flyers in 2024-25, is a franchise-level prospect. His offensive traits and hockey mind are both so advanced that they make him, arguably, the best prospect in the sport. Philadelphia is building its roster around Michkov, and he has proven that they are right to do that with his on-ice play and his numbers. Scoring 41 points in 48 games in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) as a 19-year-old, there is superstar upside here. As soon as his rookie campaign, Michkov could be a star in the NHL.
Tier 2: Alexei Kolosov, Yegor Zavragin, Jett Luchanko, Oliver Bonk
This is where we take a bit of a step back, but these are still some good prospects. Goaltenders Alexei Kolosov and Yegor Zavragin are both sensational in their own way. Kolosov, 22, didn’t have the numbers to back up this ranking but is an incredible athlete who could be a great starter in the NHL someday. Zavragin, 18, had comparable numbers to when Igor Shesterkin was his age in the Supreme Hockey League (VHL). In fact, those two are really the only goaltenders to play as well as they did. There’s some upside here, but we’ll have to let it play out over a couple more seasons to see just how high that upside is.
Related: Philadelphia Flyers’ Goalie Depth Bodes Well for Their Future Between the Pipes
Jett Luchanko is our first pick of the 2024 NHL Draft, and it was a controversial one. Look, it was a reach for where the Flyers were at (originally 12th overall but traded back to 13th), but there are a lot of things to like. Luchanko has speed, high-end hockey IQ, and can be an excellent force in all three zones. He had to be the best player on his junior team as one of the youngest players in the class, so there might be an extra level of offense that can be unlocked. Scoring 74 points in 68 games in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) despite his youth, the 17-year-old centerman could reach the 100-point mark in 2024-25 even on a relatively weak team in terms of talent. The playmaking upside is real here, it’s just about taking some steps along the way.
Defenseman Oliver Bonk’s talent might not translate to the NHL, but he has some desirable traits all the same. He has good size and there’s some offensive upside, as well. Bonk has some things to polish in his game, but there is a world where he could be a sensational top-four defenseman. He is pretty sound transitionally and is a threat in the offensive zone, so he can work on making those his strengths.
Tier 3: Carter Sotheran, Emil Andrae, Denver Barkey, Carson Bjarnason
As for our third tier, we’ll start with Carter Sotheran. He put up decent offensive totals with an incredible plus-minus rating in the Western Hockey League (WHL) across the regular season and the playoffs, but the right-handed defender was restricted in terms of ice time. Teammate Luca Cagnoni, who was one of the best players in the WHL and ahead of Sotheran on the depth chart, signed his entry-level contract (ELC) so he will probably move on to the American Hockey League (AHL). If that’s the case, we could see Sotheran explode in 2024-25. He is great in the defensive zone and transitionally, but perhaps he has more to unlock offensively.
Emil Andrae is a small defenseman who is a tremendous skater. The main point of his game is offense, which he produced quite a bit of in the AHL in 2023-24—this could translate to the NHL. He could make the NHL in 2024-25 for the Flyers, and it would be interesting to see how the 22-year-old can grow his game.
In his draft year in 2022-23, Denver Barkey wasn’t even a point-per-game forward in the OHL. In 2023-24, he had 102 points in 64 contests. He plays a fast-paced game and is a threat on the rush especially. He doesn’t project to be a dynamic scorer in the NHL right now, but he could be really effective in a middle-six NHL role.
Carson Bjarnason seems to be a bit below Kolosov and Zavragin as he didn’t put up dominant numbers and isn’t an elite athlete, but he was still pretty good between the pipes in the WHL. The important thing to note is that he was pretty solid as the regular season winded down despite getting a ton of usage. He has NHL starter potential, but might not be an elite one.
Tier 4: Samu Tuomaala, Alex Ciernik, Alex Bump, Jack Berglund, Hunter McDonald, Spencer Gill, Massimo Rizzo
Getting down to our fourth tier is where we find useful players but perhaps not those who will take on a significant role in the NHL. Winger Samu Tuomaala might have been on the brink of the third tier through most of his 2023-24 campaign, up there with some of the AHL’s best rookies, but he did regress a bit points-wise as time moved on. He is unlikely to make the Flyers’ roster in 2024-25, but he could be a good third-line player with some energy once he reaches his ceiling.
While winger Alex Ciernik unfortunately had his 2023-24 campaign ended due to injury, there is a similar talent aspect with him as there is with Tuomaala. He can be an energy player for a third line, but he is still a teenager with a lot to prove.
Another winger, Alex Bump, was fairly productive in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in 2023-24. His 2024-25 campaign could be a big one for him to prove that he is one of the better prospects in the Flyers’ organization.
Only our second 2024 NHL Draft selection, Jack Berglund, doesn’t seem to have a ton of upside but could be a good player. He wasn’t incredibly productive points-wise in Swedish juniors, but he could be a third-line NHL center given his abilities in all three zones and great skating ability to go along with that.
Hunter McDonald is a big defenseman who the Flyers really like. The 22-year-old can be effective as a shutdown player in the NHL if he shows progress in the AHL, but don’t expect anything crazy. He likely maxes out as a fifth or sixth defender, but that is still pretty great considering he was a sixth-round pick in 2022.
Defenseman Spencer Gill has some upside with his offensive abilities, size, and physicality, but that didn’t always show when he was on the ice in 2023-24. His production was good, but Gill is a work in progress—he’s 17, so that’s to be expected.
Massimo Rizzo is finally ready for professional hockey as he is set to join the Lehigh Valley Phantoms in the AHL for 2024-25. His offensive totals in the NCAA were great even with him being older—the 23-year-old could be a bottom-six forward.
Tier 5: Olle Lycksell, Adam Ginning, Owen McLaughlin, Heikki Ruohonen, Noah Powell, Cole Knuble, Devin Kaplan, Alexis Gendron, Ilya Pautov, Ethan Samson, Oscar Eklind, J.R. Avon
Our fifth tier is for players who could make it to the NHL level (or already have) but likely won’t get a significant role. Both Olle Lycksell and Adam Ginning were members of the Orange and Black toward the end of the 2023-24 season, but neither of them got incredible usage. They could both move up a tier, but they will need a bigger chance to allow for this.
Owen McLaughlin, a native of Chester County, Pennsylvania, is a player to especially root for due to where he grew up. The 21-year-old centerman was a point-per-game player in the NCAA in 2023-24.
Both Heikki Ruohonen and Noah Powell were selections from the 2024 class, and they seem to be good picks. Both were productive in their respective junior leagues, but it is noteworthy that Powell is an overager at 19 years old.
Cole Knuble, Devin Kaplan, and Alexis Gendron are three forwards who could be useful in a depth role. Knuble was an overager but has turned out to be pretty good, Kaplan could use that next step but he is a solid young player, and Gendron briefly went professional in the AHL but was sent back down to juniors in 2023-24.
These last five players are all a bit different, but we’ll group them together here. Winger Ilya Pautov was drafted in the sixth round in 2024 and productive in the Junior Hockey League (MHL), so he could be a nice snag. Defenseman Ethan Samson played for the Phantoms in the AHL in 2023-24, so he’s not too far off from the NHL already at 20 years old. Winger Oscar Eklind played professionally in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL) in 2023-24 and was signed by Philadelphia, so he is already close to NHL-ready. Center J.R. Avon is still just 20 years old and played a full season with the Phantoms just like Samson—he is a speedy skater who could be a nice depth player if he reaches his ceiling.
Tier 6: Santeri Sulku, Bryce Brodzinski, Zayde Wisdom, Elliot Desnoyers, Helge Grans, Will Zmolek, Ryan MacPherson, Austin Moline, Mason Millman, Brian Zanetti, Ty Murchison, Matteo Mann
The sixth tier is where we get to the players with the least NHL potential. Forwards Santeri Sulku and Zayde Wisdom seem to be the most likely to move up a tier, as there are things to like about their individual games, plus they are both under 22 years of age as of writing. Winger Bryce Brodzinski could arguably be up a tier, but he will have to sign his ELC with the Flyers to be in the organization for 2024-25, which may not happen. Regardless, he was good in the NCAA in 2023-24 points-wise.
Elliot Desnoyers has already debuted in the NHL—albeit for four games—but did not have the best 2023-24 AHL campaign at the age of 22. Considering the Flyers have pretty good prospect depth, it might be difficult for him to take that step again.
Helge Grans and Will Zmolek are two solid minor-league defensemen, but you generally have six of them in an NHL lineup. It’s a lot harder to be a defenseman and play consistently than a forward, hence the ranking. Both Zmolek and Mason Millman, who are in a similar spot, have to be qualified by the Flyers by June 30, otherwise, they will become unrestricted free agents (UFAs)—they will likely not be in the organization by July 1.
Ryan MacPherson and Austin Moline, a forward and a defenseman, will need to prove their worth in a higher-end league in the future. They were sixth- and seventh-round picks respectively in the draft (2023 for McPherson, 2024 for Moline), so this tier makes the most sense for them.
Defensemen Brian Zanetti, Ty Murchison, and Matteo Mann haven’t been productive in their careers thus far and seem like the biggest long-shots to be NHL players. Their ceiling seems to be the AHL, but anything is possible.
Final Thoughts
The Flyers have a superstar prospect here with Michkov, but aside from him, there is a lot of work to do. Philadelphia unfortunately didn’t make any major progress in the 2024 NHL Draft on paper, but they did load up for 2025. Whether or not they use every single one of their six picks in the first two rounds (three in the first round plus three in the second) is unknown, but they do have the chance to add to their core in the next class.
The Flyers’ rebuild is going to be a long process that isn’t going to be completed right away. They didn’t take any high-end players that most scouts were raving over in 2024, but they still added to their prospect pool. Now, we await the start of the hockey season for 2024-25 as the youngsters grow their game.
