After a 2025 NHL Draft where I gave the Philadelphia Flyers an “A” grade, it’s time to look at their entire prospect pool. Inspired by Steve Dangle, we’ll be ranking players in tiers, not individually—it’s less volatile this way.
What Is a Prospect?
In order to define a prospect, I’ll be using the NHL’s definition of a rookie. “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.”
Matvei Michkov and Emil Andrae were two notable graduates from last season.
Tiers: What Do They Mean?
Tier 1 – Superstar (Example: Matvei Michkov)
Tier 2 – Top-half-of-the-lineup skater, starting goaltender (Example: Travis Sanheim)
Tier 3 – Middle-of-the-lineup skater, borderline starting goaltender (Example: Rasmus Ristolainen)
Tier 4 – Bottom-half-of-the-lineup skater, backup goaltender (Example: Garnet Hathaway)
Tier 5 – Emergency depth call-up (Example: Rodrigo Ābols)
This list consists of 32 players. Let’s dive in:
Tier 1: Porter Martone
Entering 2024–25, I wasn’t expecting the Flyers to land a prospect in this tier for a very long time. But with a bad start to the season, a mediocre middle, and a calamitous end, Philadelphia finished with the fourth-worst record in the league and the sixth-overall pick at the 2025 NHL Draft. Landing winger Porter Martone was quite the reward.
Related: Grading the Flyers’ 2025 NHL Draft
Though Martone doesn’t have the same pedigree as Michkov, he’s not too far off. Martone’s elite skill, hockey sense, and physical upside should be an asset to the Orange and Black for years to come.
Tier 2: Egor Zavragin
A very fun-to-watch prospect, Egor Zavragin’s highly athletic presence between the pipes has been a problem for teams at various levels in Russia. From juniors to the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL), he’s put up standout numbers and made shooters look silly while doing it.
In 2023–24, Zavragin stopped over 94% of shots in both the MHL and VHL—Russia’s top junior and second-tier professional leagues. He was a full-timer in the KHL last season, which is a rare feat for a 19-year-old. His .917 regular-season save percentage ranks fourth-best among netminders his age all-time with at least 20 games played—sandwiched between current NHL stars Andrei Vasilevskiy (.923) and Ilya Sorokin (.910).
Tier 3: Jett Luchanko, Jack Murtagh, Jack Nesbitt, Denver Barkey, Alex Bump, Shane Vansaghi, Oliver Bonk, Carter Amico, Spencer Gill
Jett Luchanko headlines Tier 3. A speedy center with playmaking and two-way ability, I have no doubts that his traits will be useful in the NHL. Playing for a low-ranking Guelph Storm team didn’t help his numbers, but only scoring 56 points across 46 games as a draft-plus-one Ontario Hockey League (OHL) player does make me question a top-six future. It’s possible, but that’s not the expectation.
Though he was the fourth player the Flyers selected in the 2025 NHL Draft, Jack Murtagh is a player I thought would’ve been a fair pick in the late teens. He has the potential to be a middle-six fan favorite for his motor and shot.
Jack Nesbitt was an upside play at 12th overall. Skating is a big weakness, and he could be more physically dominant, but he’s also a 6-foot-5 center growing into his frame. Though likely a middle-six forward at the NHL level, Nesbitt could be a true second-liner. I like his smarts.
Denver Barkey’s abnormally small stature (5-foot-10, 171 pounds) should be noted, but the 20-year-old has an elite motor and excellent numbers at the OHL level. Operating at 1.61 point-per-game efficiency since 2023–24 likely signifies an NHL future in some capacity.
Age 18-19 seasons, OHL, 100+ games played, 1.50+ points per game, last 10 seasons (per QuantHockey):
— Justin Giampietro (@justingiam) July 1, 2025
Alex DeBrincat
Morgan Frost
Jordan Kyrou
Akil Thomas
Taylor Raddysh
Easton Cowan
Nick Lardis
DENVER BARKEY
David Goyette
Nick Suzuki
Jason Robertson
Carson Rehkopf
Alex Bump was a high-impact forward in college and had an encouraging—albeit short—stint in the American Hockey League (AHL). The 21-year-old will bring championship pedigree and play-driving ability to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms in 2025–26 (or maybe the Flyers?). He could be a solid third-line NHL player.
Shane Vansaghi body-checked his way through the NCAA as an 18-year-old freshman. With immense strength and some legit skill, he could be a menacing third-line winger. I thought he would’ve been a fine pick late in the first round, so snagging him at 48th was nice value.
A trio of right-shot defensemen close out Tier 3: Oliver Bonk, Carter Amico, and Spencer Gill. To me, they project to be anywhere from No. 3–5 blueliners at the NHL level, but more likely on the lower end of that range. I like some of Bonk’s defensive zone work, while Amico and Gill are physically imposing puck-movers.
Tier 4: Ethan Samson, Aleksei Kolosov, Carson Bjarnason, Nikita Grebenkin, Matthew Gard, Max Westergård, Jack Berglund, Samu Tuomaala, Alex Čiernik, Alexis Gendron
I thought about moving Ethan Samson up to Tier 3—he really stood out in the AHL. A talented puck-mover with encouraging underlying numbers and a big 6-foot-3, 205-pound frame, he has bottom-pairing upside. The 2021 sixth-round pick is only 21 years old.
I’m grouping Aleksei Kolosov and Carson Bjarnason together, even if the former had an ugly .867 save percentage across 17 games for the Flyers. Young goalies are consistently inconsistent, after all. In my eyes, both netminders have shown the flashes to warrant an NHL backup projection. If he has a good debut season with the Phantoms, Bjarnason would likely move up to Tier 3 next year.
Nikita Grebenkin, Matthew Gard, and Max Westergård could all be fun, strong-motor forwards in the Flyers’ bottom six. Grebenkin has an infectious personality, a gritty side, and skill. Gard displayed a strong two-way game in his draft year. He’s a physical center with a 6-foot-5, 195-pound frame. Westergård may have been a fifth-round pick in this past draft, but I felt he should’ve gone in the second or third. He out-produced several high-ranking draftees from his league (J20 Nationell).
Jack Berglund produced like a potential bottom-six forward in several Swedish leagues last season. An injury right before the 2025 World Junior Championship prevented him from performing on the international stage, but he has one year left of eligibility. He’s a two-way center who uses his size to win battles.
Averaging 0.74 points per game since 2023–24, Samu Tuomaala’s production at the AHL level for a 22-year-old has him on the NHL radar. I’m not sure when, or if, that opportunity comes with the Flyers, but he provides speed and goal-scoring ability. He could be a bottom-sixer with power-play usage.
Alex Čiernik is a small but speedy winger who has produced decently in Sweden’s second-tier professional league, HockeyAllsvenskan. He had a brief three-game stint with the Phantoms but will take his talents back to Europe in Finland’s Liiga in 2025–26.
Alexis Gendron’s impressive goal-scoring rate in the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) has translated to the AHL. The 5-foot-10, 180-pound winger averaged 0.32 goals per game last season as a 21-year-old, an accomplishment mainly reserved for future NHL players.
Tier 5: Cole Knuble, Heikki Ruohonen, Nathan Quinn, Helge Grans, Hunter McDonald, Devin Kaplan, Noah Powell, Karsen Dorwart, Adam Ginning, Jacob Gaucher, Massimo Rizzo
Finally, we have the bottom tier. If given the chance, each of them could fill in adequately for an injured or traded depth piece, but probably shouldn’t be full-timers.
Cole Knuble had a productive draft-plus-three season in college, putting up 39 points in 34 games. I’m cautiously optimistic for his future, as I think he could move up to Tier 4 with even a slight point-scoring bump in his junior year. Standing 5-foot-10, he’ll have to earn his shot in the NHL.
Related: Flyers Prospect Cole Knuble Discusses Breakout Season
Heikki Ruohonen had a decent 2024–25 season production-wise and does some good things offensively. As a 6-foot-2, 205-pound center, he’ll likely lean on his physical and two-way upside to play NHL minutes someday.
Nathan Quinn is a little high for the Flyers’ last pick of the 2025 NHL Draft (No. 164), but I like his game. A bottom-six NHL future isn’t that unlikely, but he’ll have to prove it.
I’d imagine Helge Grans is a go-to AHL call-up if the Orange and Black need help on the blue line. He has over 300 games of professional experience across Sweden and North America, which is respectable for a 23-year-old. Hunter McDonald, the same age, has a large frame and shutdown ability that the Flyers are on record praising. However, he’ll have to improve his discipline, first and foremost, to be a viable depth contributor in the NHL.
Devin Kaplan and Noah Powell have similar trajectories in my eyes. Both decently skilled wingers with size, I could see them getting looks. Kaplan already did, in fact, even if it was a “let’s see what you got” type of opportunity on the last day of the season.
Karsen Dorwart was a top-six contributor at Michigan State University who was snagged by the Flyers and played sparingly toward the end of last season. He’s a call-up candidate.
When the Flyers were pummelled with losses on the blue line amid their playoff push in 2023–24, Adam Ginning stepped up and showed he could hang in there. But at 25, he’s on the lower end of this list.
Jacob Gaucher and Massimo Rizzo are both 24-year-old AHL centermen. Gaucher had a brief stint with the Orange and Black and saw first-line playoff usage in Lehigh Valley, while Rizzo didn’t get playing time past the regular season at all. I think he has more to give.
Two players who just missed the cut were defensemen Ty Murchison and recently drafted Luke Vlooswyk. A good 2025–26 campaign could see them reach Tier 5. To that point, is there anyone on this list that I’m underrating? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comment section!
