8 – Philadelphia – Score: 83.9

Top 15 Prospects

Individual Breakdown

Forward:

Philly’s top-ranked Forward prospect, Matvei Michkov scored an average of 9.5 from our staff, which ranked second in the entire exercise (age 23 and under with fewer than 82 games played) behind Connor Bedard’s perfect score of 10. Rounding out the top five were Adam Fantilli (9.2), Logan Cooley (9.0), and Leo Carlsson (9.0). Needless to say, Michkov is the fluffiest feather in the Flyers’ cap, especially with the sudden Cutter Gauthier trade earlier this year. To get him at seventh overall was a dream come true. He will likely join the Flyers in a couple years at age 21 and become an immediate scoring sensation à la Kirill Kaprizov in 2020-21 (ie. 76-point pace).

Behind Michkov, Tyson Foerster and Bobby Brink are already up with the pro team and contributing to the Flyers’ success. Foerster in particular played most of the year in the top six with Travis Konecny and Sean Couturier, a line that drove play exceptionally well (59 Corsi For %) against other teams’ top players. Brink is still acclimating but is shaping up into a solid complementary playmaker. Former NCAA scoring champion, Massimo Rizzo, and surprise rookie scoring sensation, Samu Tuomaala, should provide scoring depth in the near-term, with Denver Barkey, the OHL’s 5th-leading scorer, developing well in junior despite scoring a skeptical 3.9 from our team.

Defence:

On the blue line, heavy-hitting Ronnie Attard and smart, shifty Emil Andrae represent the next wave of assistance from the pipeline. Both have played big roles on the farm with Lehigh Valley this year and should be in line for roster spots with the Flyers come October. Oliver Bonk, OHL teammates with Barkey, added some offence this year in his D+1, but has continued to display the smart, sensible defensive play that got him billed as the least-sexy, lowest-risk pick from the first round of the 2023 Draft. He should grow into an all-situations top-four guy who could complement a more offensive presence like Andrae 2-3 years from now. 

Goalie:

With all the Carter Hart legal turmoil this year, the Flyers have fortunately been able to fall back on a very well-stocked goalie pipeline, starting with Samuel Ersson, who may garner Calder votes this year after putting Philly on his back down the stretch. Also making his Flyers debut this year—admittedly during their hellish late-season losing streak—was Ivan Fedotov, an older KHL goaltender whose North American arrival was delayed due to mandatory military service. The coaching staff is on record expressing a lack of confidence in potential backup Felix Sandstrom, so it looks like that position is Fedotov’s to lose heading into 2024-25. Still a few years away, Aleksei Kolosov is slowly becoming one of the top prospect goaltenders in the game.

Team Breakdown

The addition of a true game-breaking talent in Michkov means Philadelphia’s prospect pool is somewhat overachieving this year. The team did take a notable step forward, but there remains a lot of work to do. Their star power feels quite light, as they really just have one star currently (Konecny) but a number of their young guns are potentially knocking on that door, including Owen Tippett, Morgan Frost, Joel Farabee, Jamie Drysdale, Cam York. And Sean Couturier remains one of the league’s top defensive forwards after a very successful return from a multi-year back injury. If the ageing core can hang on a few years while the younger players continue developing well, there may be a contention window shaping up here—though there remain a ton of question marks.

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