The Philadelphia Flyers began their organizational rebuild in 2023-24, and they hope to establish a strong prospect pipeline as a foundation of their future.
Danny Briere and Keith Jones took a big risk to select their top prospect Matvei Michkov. The former seventh-overall pick will begin his NHL career in 2024-25 as one of the favorites to win the Calder Trophy as the rookie of the year.
Flyers Prospect List
Eligibility for the list is based on prospect status defined by Calder eligibility. A player must be age 25 or younger, played 25 or fewer games last season, and never have played six or more games in two NHL seasons.
The list was assembled based on messaging from the organization, draft pedigree, prospect stock from the scouting industry, and original breakdowns.
Related Content: The Real Appeal of Matvei Michkov For Flyers Fans
The Flyers have promising young players like Tyson Foerster, Cam York, and Sam Ersson as part of their future. However, none of the three qualify for the organization’s prospect list.
Prospects within the Flyers organization are scattered across the world. Some will continue their development in foreign professional leagues. Some will play at the NCAA level in 2024-25, and others will play for the organization at the AHL or ECHL levels.
Most of them probably won’t play NHL games this season. The Flyers also currently own three first-round picks in the 2025 NHL Entry Draft.
7. Denver Barkey
Center, London Knights (OHL)
3rd-Round Pick (95) in 2023 NHL DraftKeith Jones draws from the loaded talent pool of the London Knights partly because of his connection his former teammate and London’s part-owner Dale Hunter.
The Flyers spent a third-round pick on Denver Barkey in 2023 just two rounds after they picked his teammate Oliver Bonk. Barkey spoke about how the fellow Flyers prospect has become like a brother during their time together in London, Ontario.
Barkey’s production skyrocketed in his draft plus one season in 2023-24. He scored 35 goals and added 67 assists in only 61 games. He credited the adversity of narrowly missing a roster spot with Team Canada at the World Junior Championship as the motivational spark that encouraged an aggressive offensive attitude late in the season.
Undersized prospects like Barkey sometimes slip in the draft because of concerns about physicality. The 5-foot-9 winger reminded everyone at Flyers Development Camp in July that a lot of these prospects haven’t fully developed physically. He still has time to grow.
The scouting consensus doesn’t view him as a top-six NHL winger, but his feisty style for an undersized player could help him play a valuable third-line role. He also has great potential as a penalty killer, especially if Brad Shaw’s “power kill” is still in place by the time Barkey reaches the NHL.
8. Emil Andrae
Defenseman, Lehigh Valley Phantoms
2nd-Round Pick (54) in 2020 NHL DraftThe Flyers gave a vote of confidence to Emil Andrae with an NHL roster spot to begin the 2023-24 season. The 21-year-old defenseman struggled with a mistake-prone game in a brief four-game stint.
Andrae scored five goals and added 27 assists in 61 games with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms last season. He’s one of the organization’s few prospects with a chance to push for NHL games in 2024-25. However, he must show a strong offensive game to overcome the league’s preference for bigger defensemen.
Andrae has time to develop at the AHL level at age 22. However, he’ll also face the harsh reality that undersized defensemen Cam York and Jamie Drysdale could potentially block his path to joining the Flyers.
He’ll have an opportunity under newly-extended head coach Ian Laperriere to gain footing toward the top of Philadelphia’s prospect pecking order.
9. Jack Berglund
Center, Farjestad BK J20 Nationell (Sweden)
2nd-Round Pick (51) in 2024 NHL DraftThe Flyers loaded up on centers at the 2024 NHL Draft in Vegas. They chose a big one in Jack Berglund.
The 6-foot-4 Swede carries a reputation as a physical player. The organization’s thin pipeline of centers might give him an opportunity to launch his way through an open door into the NHL.
Berglund earned a promotion to the SHL in Sweden, among the top tier of foreign professional leagues, for eight games in 2023-24. He’ll continue his development in Sweden for the 2024-25 season and possibly beyond.
10. Samu Tuomaala
Right Winger, Lehigh Valley Phantoms
2nd-Round Pick (46) in 2021 NHL DraftThe Flyers dealt their first-round pick in 2021 for Rasmus Ristolainen the week of the draft. They took Finnish winger Samu Tuomaala with their first selection in the 46th-overall spot.
Tuomaala battled injuries in his first season after getting drafted. He played only 21 regular-season games in the Finnish Liiga before coming to North America for a brief stint with the Phantoms.
He regained his footing in 2022-23 before starting his full-time North American professional career last season. He scored 15 goals and added 28 assists in 69 AHL games in 2023-24.
Charlie O’Connor compared Samu Tuomaala to former Flyers winger Darroll Powe, who used his speed and intensity to play a fourth-line role on the run to the Stanley Cup Final in 2010.
The Flyers aren’t as high on Elliot Desnoyers as they were two years ago. It’s possible that Samu Tuomaala could jump his Lehigh Valley teammate in the pecking order and earn a shot in the NHL when the Flyers need a depth forward.
11. Elliot Desnoyers
Left Winger, Lehigh Valley Phantoms
5th-Round Pick (135) in 2020 NHL DraftThe Flyers thought they had found a late-round steal when Elliot Desnoyers exploded for the Halifax Mooseheads in 2020-21. His gritty style and competitive attitude looked like ideal characteristics for an NHL role player.
“The Destroyer” earned a spot on Team Canada’s roster for the World Juniors in 2021-22. He also held his own in a four-game call-up to the NHL just over a year later.
Why haven’t the Flyers gotten him back in the mix as a possible bottom-six center? Flahr talked about Desnoyers’ reaction to missing the NHL roster in 2023-24.
“I don’t know if he just put too much pressure on himself to achieve. When he didn’t make the team and we sent him down (to the AHL), he just kind of got in a bit of a funk there.” -Brent Flahr
His play with the Phantoms reflected the letdown. Desnoyers scored only six goals and added 16 assists in 63 games last season. He has work to do if he plans on regaining the footing to salvage his NHL future.
12. Adam Ginning
Defenseman, Lehigh Valley Phantoms
2nd-Round Pick (50) in 2018 NHL DraftAdam Ginning held his own in nine NHL games at the end of the 2023-24 season. His performance during training camp in 2024 will determine his place on the organization’s depth chart for defensemen this season, but he’s fighting a bit of an uphill battle.
Ronnie Attard, who’s narrowly graduated prospect status, still hopes to push for an NHL future at age 25. He has a better offensive skill set than Ginning, who is well suited to play a depth role. Erik Johnson might eliminate the need for a player with Ginning’s skill set, however.
The 6-foot-4 Swede plays a decent physical game, especially in his own end, but he must push to be more than just a good full-time AHL player at age 24.
13. Noah Powell
Right Winger, Ohio State University (NCAA)
5th-Round Pick (148) in 2024 NHL DraftAll 32 teams passed on Noah Powell at the 2023 NHL Draft. He responded with 43 goals and 31 assists in 63 games in the USHL last season.
The Flyers nabbed the overager in the fifth round in Las Vegas in 2024. Powell stood out at Flyers Development Camp in July. He controlled the puck especially well with an aggressive approach in the final scrimmage.
He’s overcome a hearing impairment in his hockey career, and he’ll continue the admirable climb at Ohio State University next season.
14. Hunter McDonald
Defenseman, Lehigh Valley Phantoms
6th-Round Pick (165) in 2022 NHL DraftKeith Jones, Danny Briere, and the new Philadelphia front office have taken notice of 6-foot-4 defenseman Hunter McDonald.
“He’s a throwback defenseman. You don’t see guys like him. He’s a big, physical defenseman that loves to get involved with the physical side of the game. I think our fans are absolutely going to love him. He’s probably going to need a little seasoning this year in the minors to start. We’ll see how he goes, but he’s certainly a name to keep an eye out for in the near future.” –Danny Briere on 97.5 The Fanatic
The Flyers might’ve found a contributor at the bottom of their lineup when they spent a late-round pick on a 20-year-old. McDonald will begin the 2024-25 season with the Phantoms, but he’s not far away from the NHL.
15. Massimo Rizzo
Center, Lehigh Valley Phantoms
7th-Round Pick (216) in 2019 NHL Draft (acquired from Carolina Hurricanes in 2023)A sequence of moves resulting from the vetoed Tony DeAngelo return trade brought Massimo Rizzo to the Flyers in 2023.
The 23-year-old spent the past three seasons with the University of Denver and averaged well over a point per game on the way to the 2024 NCAA National Championship.
He’ll turn pro in 2024-25, but a high-ankle sprain held him back in Development Camp in July. If he’s healthy, he could work into a key offensive role for the Phantoms.
17. Spencer Gill
Defenseman, Rimouski Oceanic (QMJHL)
3rd-Round Pick (59) in 2024 NHL Entry DraftSmaller, puck-moving defensemen like Cam York, Jamie Drysdale, and Emil Andrae will factor into the future in Philadelphia.
The Flyers added more size to their blue line by adding 6-foot-4 Spencer Gill in the second round in Las Vegas in 2024. Gill has built a reputation as a physical, two-way defenseman during his junior career in Quebec.
He’s not likely to crack the NHL in the upcoming seasons, but the Flyers just saw Bonk make a huge jump in the pipeline one season after his draft year. They hope for another quick riser.
18. Devin Kaplan
Right Winger, Boston University (NCAA)
3rd-Round Pick (69) in 2022 NHL DraftThe Flyers selected Cutter Gauthier’s teammate with the US National Team Development Program two rounds after they spent the fifth-overall pick on the much-maligned star.
Devin Kaplan has continued his career at Boston University for two seasons without any splashy performances.
The 6-foot-2 right winger will need to increase his offensive production at the NCAA level to regain his footing in Philadelphia’s prospect pipeline.
