At the 25-game mark for the 2024-25 season, the Philadelphia Flyers are 12-10-3 and just above the playoff line. They’re on a 109-point pace through their last 18 contests, so they have bounced back after a rough stretch early on. There’s some upside with this team even if it might not seem it on the surface.
With a pretty long break until their next game (Dec. 5), it’s a good time to look at the Flyers’ individual players and give them a grade for their play. Who has been the sharpest through October and November?
Related: Penguins’ Player Grades Through 25 Games
The only requirement to qualify for a grade is games played. Skaters must have at least 10 games played, while goaltenders must have at least five. This disqualifies Anthony Richard, Nicolas Deslauriers, Helge Grans, and Jett Luchanko.
Flyers with A-Grades
Travis Konecny
Role: First-line winger
Age: 27
Contract: One year, $5.5 million cap hit (eight years, $8.75 million cap hit starting in 2025-26; no-movement clause; NMC)
Basic stats: 25 games played, 13 goals, 17 assists, 30 points, even plus/minus, 38 hits, 21:06 average time on ice (ATOI)
Advanced stats (5-on-5): 49.30 Corsi percentage (CF%), 53.53 shots percentage (SF%), 50.79 expected goals percentage (xGF%), 53.02 high-danger chances percentage (HDCF%)
Sure, this is usually the time of year when Travis Konecny shines, but he is playing the best hockey of his career right now. He has provided offensive firepower to a team that lacks it severely. He’s made timely and intelligent plays with the puck, leading to plentiful scoring chances. His 79 high-danger scoring chances at 5-on-5 (on-ice, not individual) are the 16th-most in the NHL.
Grade: A-plus
Matvei Michkov
Role: Second-line winger
Age: 19
Contract: Three years, $0.950 million cap hit
Basic stats: 23 games played, nine goals, 10 assists, 19 points, even plus/minus, 14 hits, 17:17 ATOI
Advanced stats (5-on-5): 45.74 CF%, 49.82 SF%, 46.58 xGF%, 38.61 HDCF%
What rookie Matvei Michkov is doing as a teenager is remarkable yet unsurprising. Two seasons removed from being drafted, he is in the 81st percentile for points per game (0.83) among forwards with 10 or more games played. That production is similar to some current NHL superstars when they were also in their second post-draft season. Percentile-wise in points per game, Leon Draisaitl was 86th, Matthew Tkachuk was 84th, and Nathan MacKinnon was 78th. Those three aren’t the only ones to be this effective at the ages of 19 and 20, but it’s an exclusive club.
Considering his age, the fact that Michkov is on pace to fall just short of Konecny’s career-high in points (68 in 2023-24) is astounding. The rookie has superb hockey IQ, which has allowed him to instantly live up to the demands of a high-impact forward. He’s likely nowhere near his peak yet, which inspires belief that he may be one of the best players in the NHL someday.
Grade: A
Sean Couturier
Role: Top-six center
Age: 31
Contract: Five years, $7.75 million cap hit (NMC)
Basic stats: 24 games played, six goals, eight assists, 14 points, minus-1, 19 hits, 58.1 faceoff percentage (FO%), 18:17 ATOI
Advanced stats (5-on-5): 50.20 CF%, 52.69 SF%, 52.78 xGF%, 57.03 HDCF%
Sean Couturier has been everything the Flyers could have hoped for this season. The captain is the only full-time center on this list not in the D-tier, and he’s three letter grades above it. He has 14 even-strength points, a very good FO%, and he’s out-chancing opponents in his minutes. After finishing his 2023-24 campaign in the bottom six and playing some of 2024-25 in the same spot, he has been rolling.
Grade: A-minus
Emil Andrae
Role: Second-pairing defenseman
Age: 22
Contract: Two years, $0.903 million cap hit
Basic stats: 15 games played, one goal, four assists, five points, plus-4, 19 blocks, 18 hits, 19:22 ATOI
Advanced stats (5-on-5): 52.87 CF%, 58.37 SF%, 58.07 xGF%, 56.57 HDCF%
Emil Andrae started 2024-25 as a healthy scratch for four games, then was sent down to the American Hockey League (AHL). This was after a very inspiring training camp and preseason, so it was disheartening to not see him get an opportunity. With several injuries to the blue line, however, he finally did get inserted into the lineup toward the end of October. Since then, he’s been a breath of fresh air.
Related: Philadelphia Flyers’ Emil Andrae Is Adding Much-Needed Spark to the Defense
Andrae seems like a long-term piece to the Flyers’ puzzle. They have something going with their young defenders, as the 22-year-old Swede has been excellent at both ends of the ice. His point-scoring isn’t high-end by any stretch but he could see improvement with age.
Grade: A-minus
Travis Sanheim
Role: First-pairing defenseman
Age: 28
Contract: Seven years, $6.25 million cap hit (no-trade clause; NTC)
Basic stats: 25 games played, five goals, 10 assists, 15 points, plus-2, 59 blocks, 19 hits, 25:30 ATOI
Advanced stats (5-on-5): 47.51 CF%, 52.13 SF%, 49.45 xGF%, 53.80 HDCF%
Second to only Roman Josi in total ice time, Travis Sanheim has been leaned on by the Orange and Black. He’s frequently up against some tough competition, so his results are admirable—taking on this burden is a big ask. Sanheim is a high-quality offensive defenseman who hasn’t dominated his minutes (to be expected) but is still earning them.
Grade: A-minus
Cam York
Role: First-pairing defenseman
Age: 23
Contract: One year, $1.6 million cap hit
Basic stats: 12 games played, two goals, one assist, three points, minus-1, 19 blocks, seven hits, 22:29 ATOI
Advanced stats (5-on-5): 50.33 CF%, 52.84 SF%, 56.62 xGF%, 59.76 HDCF%
The third blue liner in the A-tier, it’s clear what the strength of this hockey team has been. Cam York is finally back from a long stint on injured reserve and has picked up right where he left off. His scoring is nowhere near the level of Sanheim’s, yet his 5-on-5 offense has been better by the numbers. Even if the goal is to turn York into a more dynamic, point-productive player in the future, out-chancing opponents at his rate is encouraging.
Grade: A-minus
Flyers with B-Grades
Rasmus Ristolainen
Role: Second-pairing defenseman
Age: 30
Contract: Three years, $5.1 million cap hit
Basic stats: 25 games played, one goal, six assists, seven points, plus-1, 45 blocks, 47 hits, 20:40 ATOI
Advanced stats (5-on-5): 46.21 CF%, 50.13 SF%, 46.42 xGF%, 47.52 HDCF%
Rasmus Ristolainen had some of the best metrics of his career in his injury-shortened 2023-24. Under head coach John Tortorella and associate coach Brad Shaw, their strategy to help the notoriously poor defender advanced-stats-wise was to decrease his strength of competition. But with many banged-up bodies on the defense this season, Ristolainen has played a good chunk of minutes. Despite the increase in workload, he has arguably been even better. He seems to be a legitimately solid top-four defender, which is incredible progress from his days with the Buffalo Sabres.
Grade: B-plus
Bobby Brink
Role: Bottom-six winger
Age: 23
Contract: Two years, $1.5 million cap hit
Basic stats: 22 games played, four goals, eight assists, 12 points, minus-8, 25 hits, 12:34 ATOI
Advanced stats (5-on-5): 41.69 CF%, 44.39 SF%, 42.86 xGF%, 48.86 HDCF%
Don’t let Bobby Brink’s underwhelming advanced stats fool you. Even with limited usage, being on the second power-play unit, and having nearly 80 percent of his ice time spent away from the A-tier forwards, he’s tied for fifth on the team in points. The undersized youngster has some exciting potential—it’s up to Tortorella to let him unleash it.
Grade: B
Samuel Ersson
Role: Starting goaltender
Age: 25
Contract: Two years, $1.45 million cap hit
Basic stats: 11 games played, .902 save percentage (SV%), 2.70 goals-against average (GAA), one shutout, 5-2-2 record
Advanced stats: 0.41 goals saved above average (GSAA), 0.54 goals saved above expected (GSAx)
Samuel Ersson has spent the past couple of weeks healing from injury. Right before his absence, he was playing some terrific hockey, as he sports a .940 SV% in his last five games. If he can sustain this level of play (that was a big issue for him last season), Ersson might have plenty of upside as an NHL starter.
Grade: B-minus
Flyers with C-Grades
Garnet Hathaway
Role: Bottom-six winger
Age: 33
Contract: One year, $2.375 million cap hit (two years, $2.4 million cap hit starting in 2025-26)
Basic stats: 24 games played, two goals, six assists, eight points, even plus/minus, 77 hits, 12:12 ATOI
Advanced stats (5-on-5): 43.38 CF%, 50.25 SF%, 49.00 xGF%, 58.75 HDCF%
Even without elite skill, Garnet Hathaway does well in his minutes—a long-time theme for him. While the gritty bottom-sixer has better on-ice metrics than many of his peers, he’s not a game-changer by any means so his grade has to be limited a tad. He’s useful on the penalty kill, though.
Grade: C-plus
Aleksei Kolosov
Role: Backup goaltender
Age: 22
Contract: Two years, $0.925 million cap hit
Basic stats: Seven games played, .891 SV%, 2.94 GAA, zero shutouts, 3-4-0 record
Advanced stats: Minus-1.66 GSAA, 0.72 GSAx
For a 22-year-old backup netminder who was called up to the Flyers on a whim, Aleksei Kolosov has played well. Flashes of athleticism have been there, which will be key to his success in the NHL.
Seeing as Egor Zavragin is continuing his unprecedented play in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL), the Flyers’ crease could be shared by these two KHL alumni someday. Kolosov, Zavragin, Ersson, and prospect Carson Bjarnason make quite the youthful group.
Grade: C
Tyson Foerster
Role: Middle-six winger
Age: 22
Contract: One year, $0.863 million cap hit
Basic stats: 24 games played, five goals, three assists, eight points, minus-3, 17 hits, 15:00 ATOI
Advanced stats (5-on-5): 44.71 CF%, 49.78 SF%, 47.94 xGF%, 46.99 HDCF%
Tyson Foerster has started to improve scoring-wise, but the young goal-scorer is on pace for 27 points by season’s end. His two-way play was a big reason he got consistent looks in the top six in 2023-24—he’s been generating less in the offensive zone this time around. Foerster has the potential to be a good second-line producer, though that must be realized sooner than later if he wants to be a long-term fixture in the City of Brotherly Love.
Grade: C-minus
Scott Laughton
Role: Third-line center/winger
Age: 30
Contract: Two years, $3 million cap hit
Basic stats: 25 games played, three goals, six assists, nine points, minus-15, 67 hits, 45.8 FO%, 14:33 ATOI
Advanced stats (5-on-5): 44.13 CF%, 53.53 SF%, 47.45 xGF%, 53.10 HDCF%
You’ll want to close your eyes for that plus/minus, but Scott Laughton is playing better hockey than he was a season ago, ironically. He’s a decent third-line forward with some leadership ability. Trade rumors have engulfed him for years now, so it’s safe to say the 12-year Flyer is here to stay until a true, finalized deal is publicized.
Grade: C-minus
Flyers with D-Grades and Below
Joel Farabee
Role: Middle-six winger
Age: 24
Contract: Four years, $5 million cap hit
Basic stats: 25 games played, three goals, five assists, eight points, minus-8, 30 hits, 15:12 ATOI
Advanced stats (5-on-5): 44.88 CF%, 47.16 SF%, 46.27 xGF%, 51.26 HDCF%
This was a lose-lose season for Joel Farabee regardless, but his play hasn’t been up to par. The good news is that he has gotten some chances on the first line recently and looked better there, picking up some high-danger chances. Farabee can definitely turn it around, but he’ll need the trust of the coaching staff for that to happen. Has he earned this trust?
Grade: D-plus
Ryan Poehling
Role: Third-line center
Age: 25
Contract: Two years, $1.9 million cap hit
Basic stats: 22 games played, one goal, seven assists, eight points, minus-2, 10 hits, 51.8 FO%, 13:54 ATOI
Advanced stats (5-on-5): 43.57 CF%, 50.94 SF%, 47.05 xGF%, 56.00 HDCF%
The first of three centers in the bottom tier, Ryan Poehling has essentially been a penalty-kill specialist. He’s spending too much time in his zone to be useful at 5-on-5 and he doesn’t have the high-end skill to take advantage of the possessions he gets. He’s been passable, but not exactly what you’d want for a player who got a raise on his previous contract ($1.4 million cap hit).
Grade: D
Nick Seeler
Role: Third-pairing defenseman
Age: 31
Contract: Four years, $2.7 million cap hit (NTC)
Basic stats: 20 games played, one goal, five assists, six points, minus-6, 50 blocks, 18 hits, 16:52 ATOI
Advanced stats (5-on-5): 39.00 CF%, 42.13 SF%, 38.32 xGF%, 40.00 HDCF%
Nick Seeler was one of the Flyers’ most underrated players during his previous two seasons. As a physical veteran presence for the defense, his on-ice metrics were phenomenal and he was someone who his defensive partners could lean on. This season hasn’t been anywhere near as promising, though. With four years left on the extension he signed last winter, he’ll need to turn it around for the sake of both the team and the front office.
Grade: D
Ivan Fedotov
Role: Backup goaltender
Age: 28
Contract: Two years, $3.275 million cap hit
Basic stats: Nine games played, .881 SV%, 3.39 GAA, zero shutouts, 4-4-1 record
Advanced stats: Minus-4.78 GSAA, Minus-3.84 GSAx
Ivan Fedotov’s numbers aren’t great, especially with that contract. But in the month of November, he put up a .909 SV% and won four times. He has finally begun to look like a true NHL netminder. Although it wouldn’t be fair to ignore his October starts, Fedotov is on an upward trajectory.
Grade: D
Egor Zamula
Role: Depth defenseman
Age: 24
Contract: Two years, $1.7 million cap hit
Basic stats: 17 games played, one goal, five assists, six points, minus-10, 27 blocks, six hits, 16:08 ATOI
Advanced stats (5-on-5): 45.51 CF%, 49.52 SF%, 48.34 xGF%, 47.19 HDCF%
When he received a two-year extension, the hope was that Egor Zamula would take a step forward. Unfortunately, he has taken one backward. He’s found some difficulty getting into an injured lineup consistently, so his goal for the rest of the season should be proving he’s a legitimate NHLer.
Grade: D
Morgan Frost
Role: Middle-six center
Age: 25
Contract: One year, $2.1 million cap hit
Basic stats: 21 games played, three goals, seven assists, 10 points, minus-8, 17 hits, 50.6 FO%, 15:13 ATOI
Advanced stats (5-on-5): 42.77 CF%, 43.60 SF%, 46.39 xGF%, 42.17 HDCF%
During his previous two seasons, it sometimes felt as though Morgan Frost was being unfairly picked on by Tortorella. In 2024-25, he has regressed beyond each of those campaigns considerably. Even when he has centered Konecny or Michkov, Frost hasn’t been able to get in a rhythm. He’ll likely be headed elsewhere this offseason, if not at the trade deadline.
Grade: D-minus
Owen Tippett
Role: Second-line winger
Age: 25
Contract: Eight years, $6.2 million cap hit
Basic stats: 25 games played, five goals, seven assists, 12 points, minus-10, 42 hits, 17:00 ATOI
Advanced stats (5-on-5): 46.86 CF%, 47.40 SF%, 49.82 xGF%, 41.82 HDCF%
The first 25 games of Owen Tippett’s eight-year deal have not gone well. He’s usually a high-energy player, but he just hasn’t been able to get going. Offensive creation has been difficult for Tippett, but that hasn’t stopped him from trying—he has killed quite a few possessions as a result. Often a liability to the top six, the Flyers will need him to turn it around to build on their recent success.
Grade: D-minus
Noah Cates
Role: Bottom-six center
Age: 25
Contract: One year, $2.625 million cap hit
Basic stats: 21 games played, one goal, four assists, five points, plus-10, 27 hits, 51.7 FO%, 12:47 ATOI
Advanced stats (5-on-5): 45.33 CF%, 48.68 SF%, 41.11 xGF%, 43.37 HDCF%
Most see a plus-10 rating for a bottom-six player and are fine with his play, but the eye test backs up the advanced stats with Noah Cates. Lines centered by him spend too much time without the puck, leading to forgettable shifts.
Through the first two months, Cates has been a replacement-level player with a little too much ice time for that role. He showed stints of defensive excellence during his previous two seasons, but this has objectively been the worst showing of his young career (even with the favorable plus/minus rating).
Grade: D-minus
Erik Johnson
Role: Depth defenseman
Age: 36
Contract: One year, $1 million cap hit
Basic stats: 15 games played, one goal, one assist, two points, minus-2, 10 blocks, 23 hits, 13:22 ATOI
Advanced stats (5-on-5): 37.69 CF%, 35.00 SF%, 35.72 xGF%, 34.69 HDCF%
Erik Johnson’s numbers are unsurprisingly not very good, but he’s a member of the Flyers for his leadership abilities and not his on-ice talent. He’s played a bit more than expected because of the team’s aforementioned poor health, but his ice time has been limited in those appearances. Still, it’s a hard sell when a player is being outshot 91-49 overall.
Grade: F
Jamie Drysdale
Role: Second-pairing defenseman
Age: 22
Contract: Two years, $2.3 million cap hit
Basic stats: 15 games played, one goal, two assists, three points, minus-10, 28 blocks, two hits, 20:35 ATOI
Advanced stats (5-on-5): 40.41 CF%, 44.83 SF%, 38.06 xGF%, 35.56 HDCF%
In the fifth season of his injury-riddled career, Jamie Drysdale hasn’t been able to return to the success he had as a prospect. During his two brief campaigns as a Flyer, the 2020 sixth-overall pick has struggled with the same issues as Poehling regarding zone time. For Drysdale, though, his lack of confidence might be the problem.
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know Drysdale is a gifted player. But, potentially due to his injuries, he limits his own upside. For a defenseman with the physical tools he has, he rarely goes up the ice with the puck on his stick. Instead, he’ll usually try low-reward stretch passes or opt for someone close to him to make some magic happen when he gains possession in the defensive zone. His hesitation to create offense has seemingly led to his subpar output, often putting him in situations where he is stuck in his own zone. When a player’s skill set is geared toward the other end of the ice, being caved in is a recipe for disaster.
There should be a glass-half-full approach with the 22-year-old. He deserves your time and patience, even if it’s easy to get frustrated.
Grade: F
An unfortunate number of Flyers find themselves in the bottom two tiers. However, most of the top players on the team have exceeded expectations, so there are things to be optimistic about. If their last 18 games are indicative of anything, the rest of the 2024-25 campaign might actually be a good one—something that seemed improbable a short while ago.
Advanced stats courtesy of Natural Stat Trick
