Following the recent conclusion of the Memorial Cup, the 2024-25 season has officially ended for all the Philadelphia Flyers prospects.
Some prospects saw their stocks within the organization slashed this season, while others either remained neutral or showed signs of positive development as they caravan towards an NHL future with the Flyers.
Our end-of-season Flyers prospects rankings will objectively reflect that progress, or lack thereof, as we crown a new king and give credit where credit is due to a couple of dogs who like to play nice… sometimes.
For the sake of this exercise, we’ll name only the top 25 Flyers prospects, as anything more will include graduating or underachieving players without a clear path to a future in the organization. Note that these players have been ranked on their upside as well as projected NHL contribution.
Tier 1: Starter, Regular NHL Contributor
No. 1: Egor Zavragin, G
Egor Zavragin is the king of Flyers prospects at the end of the 2024-25 season. In 43 KHL games, his first season in Russia’s top league, Zavragin went 20-14-3 with a 2.50 GAA, a .917 save percentage, and four shutouts. Still just 19 years old, Zavragin added a 10-5-0 record in the Gagarin Cup playoffs to the tune of a 2.29 GAA, a .918 save percentage, and two shutouts. He was even better under pressure!
The Flyers’ former third-round pick is already borderline dominant in the KHL in his teen years, making him an easy choice for No. 1 in these rankings.
No. 2: Spencer Gill, RHD
Spencer Gill was drafted later than Oliver Bonk was and scored fewer points this season, but is rated higher. Why? For me, the answer is simple.
Neither defenseman will be a scorer at the NHL level, and Gill is bigger and meaner, making him a more friendly projection for the role they will play with the Flyers.
During training camp, I was blown away by Gill’s pace of play, nastiness, defensive stick, and tenacity. It’s a shame that his season ended prematurely due to a reported broken ankle, but I’m excited to see the progress he’s made over the last year at the Flyers Training Center this summer.
No. 3: Oliver Bonk, RHD
Back-to-back OHL champion and Memorial Cup winner: Oliver Bonk just wins. I’m not sure how good he’ll be defensively or what the offense will look like, but he has all the tools needed to become a middle-pair NHL defender down the road. That could happen sooner than later if all goes well.
No. 4: Denver Barkey, LW
Dog.
No. 5: Jett Luchanko, C
Jett Luchanko, like Denver Barkey, is a high-energy forward who can make plays offensively and plays with good details. The difference is, Luchanko was drafted 13th, while Barkey snuck into the third round of 2023.
Luchanko’s D+1 year was a marginal improvement on his draft year, and some of that is due to the Guelph Storm selling off all their talent aside from him. Plus, Luchanko played for them, Canada, the Flyers, and the Lehigh Valley Phantoms this year. He needs stability and people to play with, and I’m concerned with his shooting still. That said, I’m not out on Luchanko yet, but I would like to see more.
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For me, Barkey is the better all-around prospect at this time because of that.
No. 6: Nikita Grebenkin, LW
Tier 2: NHL Contributor, But to What Degree?
No. 7: Alex Bump, LW
No. 8: Carson Bjarnason, G
No. 9: Helge Grans, RHD
I’m a big fan of Helge Grans and think that he can beat out Emil Andrae and Egor Zamula for an NHL roster spot with the Flyers this fall.
He’s 6-foot-3, skates like a gazelle, can move the puck with ease, and makes physical plays when necessary. The 23-year-old still has time on his side and just had his most productive AHL season, by far, since 2021-22.
If Grans can put it all together, he can easily steal a roster spot in the wake of Rasmus Ristolainen’s triceps injury. That could be all the Flyers need to be forced into making a tough decision down the road.
No. 10: Emil Andrae, LHD
No. 11: Aleksei Kolosov, G
Tier 3: Potential NHL Contributor
No. 12: Jack Berglund, C/LW
No. 13: Ethan Samson, RHD
I didn’t care much for Ethan Samson’s performance in camp last year, but the former sixth-round pick really opened some eyes this year, mine included.
Samson doubled his offensive output from a year ago, jumping from just 12 points in 63 games to a more respectable 24 in 69 games. At 6-foot-1, 181 pounds, Samson isn’t the biggest guy on the ice, but he’s not afraid to play with a physical edge.
It’s hard to imagine him leapfrogging Gill or Bonk down the road, but in a thin Tier 3, Samson is showing some signs of life and could eventually be a No. 7 defender at the NHL level.
No. 14: Cole Knuble, RW/C
After an underwhelming D+1 season that saw him score just nine goals and 20 points in 36 NCAA games with Notre Dame, Knuble quietly finished 2024-25 with 12 goals and 39 points in 34 games.
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Knuble, the son of former Flyers forward Mike Knuble, quietly out-produced Alex Bump (1.15 PPG vs. Bump’s 1.12.)
I think Bump plays with more offensive poise, but Knuble’s hockey sense and increasingly refined details are helping him find success in the NCAA. I wouldn’t write him off just yet.
No. 15: Alexis Gendron, RW
No. 16: Hunter McDonald, LHD
Tier 4: May or May Not Make an NHL Roster
No. 17: Alex Ciernik, RW
No. 18: Zayde Wisdom, RW
No. 19: Samu Tuomaala, RW
Samu Tuomaala is struggling to both produce and stay healthy, and I think it has significantly hampered his development and crushed his chances of making the Flyers.
The 22-year-old Finn was a candidate to sneak onto the roster last fall before suffering an injury, which came on the heels of a season-ending injury from the season prior.
Then, Tuomaala suffered another injury during this season that sidelined him from March 1. In 46 games, the speedster was a team-worst -19 and scored only 11 goals before his season ended.
It’s hard to imagine Tuomaala becoming anything more than a bottom-six energy guy with a good shot, but if I want a bottom-six energy guy, I prefer Zayde Wisdom, who just had an excellent and potentially career-saving season.
After all, they say the best ability is availability…
No. 20: Karsen Dorwart, C
No. 21: Heikki Ruohonen, C
Heikki Ruohonen looked like a nice late find for the Flyers with the 107th pick last year based on some strong international production with Finland and the Kiekko-Espoo U20s. The Harvard commit played in North America for the first time this season, scoring 16 goals and 39 points in 49 games for the USHL’s Dubuque Fighting Saints.
Ruohonen finished sixth in scoring among D+1 NHL-drafted USHL skaters this season, though it’s worth noting that his 0.8 points per game ranked third in that group. Will Zellers was the only one with more than a point per game, so it’s hard to penalize Ruohonen for his so-so production. I like his potential as a future fleet-footed bottom-six center with that prototypical 6-foot-2, 200-pound frame.
No. 22: Massimo Rizzo, F
No. 23: Noah Powell, RW
No. 24: Devin Kaplan, RW
No. 25: Ty Murchison, LHD
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