The PPL Center Allentown will host a highly anticipated landmark event on Friday as 19-year-old Matvei Michhov plays his first game in a Flyers uniform. Michkov and other top Flyers prospects will take on their New York Rangers prospects in the first match of the annual Rookie Series. The teams will rematch on Saturday.
Game time on Friday evening is 7:05 p.m. EDT. The game will be streamed live on PhiladelphiaFlyers.com. Jason Myrtetus and Brian Smith will handle the broadcasting duties. The roster is available here.
Here are five things to watch in Friday's game.
1. The Jett takes off
Michkov is the marquee attraction in Friday's match but he's far from the only notable prospect on either side. It will be especially interesting to see if 2023 first-round pick Michkov shows immediate on-ice chemistry with Jett Luchanko, the Flyers' 2024 first-round pick.
Luchanko's combination of foot speed, playmaking vision and hockey sense make him an intriguing linemate for the fearless and creative Michkov. It's a one-two punch that could be a vital component of the Flyers' long-term future well beyond Friday's exhibition debuts for both players.
It is anticipated that Lehigh Valley Phantoms head coach Ian Laperriere, who will be behind the bench for the Flyers Rookies side, plans to deploy Luchanko in a variety of different game situations.
2. "Desy" on the comeback trail
Third-year pro Elliot Desnoyers has a golden opportunity in the Rookie Series to hit the ground running as he enters a crucial season in his development. The 22-year-old forward, who can play any forward position, is expected to be the third member of Friday's top Flyers line with Michkov and Luchanko.
Desnoyers, known for his two-way upside, led the Phantoms in goals as a rookie during the 2022-23 season. His 23 tallies were three more than Tyson Foerster scored that season in one more game played than Desnoyers. Foerster, of course, is now an NHL regular for the Flyers. Desnoyers dressed in four late-season games for the Flyers to cap off his rookie campaign but spent the entire 2023-24 season with the Phantoms.
Desnoyers got off to a slow start in 2023 camp and never got untracked thereafter. As such, he enters the 2024 Rookie Series at a crossroads. Desnoyers has an opportunity to reassert himself as an upwardly mobile prospect in the Flyers' organization.
3. Bumper Bonk
Top Flyers defense prospect Oliver Bonk (a 2023 first-round pick) had a breakthrough offensive season in the Ontario Hockey League last season for the OHL champion London Knights. He did not seem like a likely candidate to thrive as a player stationed in the bumper on the power play, but that's exactly where Bonk found his groove from an offensive standpoint last year.
It remains to be seen if deployment up front on the power play becomes a significant part of Bonk's role as he turns pro. What is clear is that the Flyers picture him as a potential top-three defenseman on their NHL blueline in the not-too-distant future. In the Rookie Series, look for Bonk to see all-situation usage in key minutes.
4. Between the pipes
The Flyers have two goaltending prospects at this year's rookie camp: 2023 second-round pick Carson Bjarnason and 19-year-old amateur tryout Sam Hillebrandt (Barrie Colts, OHL).
A top hopeful for a Team Canada roster spot at the upcoming 2024-25 World Junior Championships, Bjarnason will be the marquee Flyers goalie prospect in the Rookie Series. Fellow 19-year-old prospect Yegor Zavragin (Philadelphia's 2023 third-round pick) is playing in the KHL for HC Sochi, while all eyes in Philadelphia are on Bjarnason at Rookie Camp and the exhibition games against the Rangers' prospects.
5. Behind Enemy Lines: Rangers Rookies
Twenty-one-year-old left winger Brennan Othmann is coming off a promising rookie season with the AHL's Hartford Wolf Pack (49 points in 67 games) and the NHL (three games played). Selected by the Rangers in the first round (16th overall) of the 2021 Draft, Othmann will look to make his move to challenge for an NHL promotion.
Goalie Dylan Garand has seen extensive AHL playing time for Hartford over the last two seasons. Meanwhile huge-framed (6-foot-7, 238-pound) Swedish goalie Hugo Ollas turned pro late last season after three collegiate seasons at Merrimack College.
