As the National Hockey League trade deadline and regular season stretch drive approach, many other leagues are gearing up for playoff hockey.
In the CHL, many teams have either already clinched postseason spots or are close to doing so with roughly one month remaining in the regular season. In the NCAA, the countdown to the Frozen Four tournament is underway with about two weeks left in many programs' regular seasons. Over in Europe, most regular seasons conclude near the end of February or within the first week to 10 days of March.
As such, many prospects in the Flyers' farm system will soon enter the most important stage of any hockey calendar: playoff time. Others will soon be done for the 2023-24 season and will go into offseason mode before the Stanley Cup playoffs open in the NHL
Our last farm system update focused on the play of London Knights (OHL) players Oliver Bonk and Denver Barkey. This week, we will focus on Flyers prospects in the NCAA ranks. Next week, on the Prospect Pipeline podcast, we'll cover the Phantoms and players in Europe as the main emphasis.
College Prospect of the Week: Cole Knuble
Cole Knuble's dad, two-stint Flyers alum winger Mike Knuble, was one of the ultimate NHL late-bloomers during his distinguished playing career. The younger Knuble, a center, has also been something of a late bloomer.
A 19-year-old fourth-round selection (103rd overall) by the Flyers in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft, Knuble is playing his freshman season at the University of Notre Dame. Nothing has been handed to him. He started out the season on the Fighting Irish's fourth line after attending the World Junior Summer Showcase (Knuble did not make the cut for Team USA's December selection camp or final roster).
As is typically the case for players situated in the bottom six of a lineup, Knuble did not produce much by way of points early in the season. Through 10 games, he had not recorded a goal or an assist (he finally had an assist and an empty-net tally in a 3-0 win over Ohio State on Nov. 11). Nevertheless, Knuble showed steady improvement in a variety of areas as he adapted to the demands of NCAA hockey after spending the two previous years in the USHL preparing for college hockey.
Knuble, like his much larger-framed father, showed himself to be a tenacious forechecker and a responsible two-way player. In the offensive zone, he went to the "greasy" areas. He started to see ever-increasing ice time, to the point where he was eventually promoted to the top line.
Correspondingly, the points have started to come with ever-increasing regularity, too. Over his last 16 games, Knuble has posted 15 points and he's now up to nine goals (two on the power play) and 17 points through 32 games overall.
Last Friday (Feb. 16), Knuble posted his second multi-goal match of his freshman year. He tallied a pair of goals in a 6-1 win over Minnesota. Back in Dec. 30, the Michigan native notched his first collegiate hat trick.
There are still areas of Knuble's game that need further improvement, particularly the continued refinement of his skating. Nevertheless, he's coming along overall at an encouraging rate and has made big jumps in his progress in each of the last two seasons.
Flyers NCAA Prospect Roundup
Bryce Brodzinski (RW, University of of Minnesota, senior)
32 GP, 13g, 15a, 28 points, 14 PIM
A fifth-year senior due to eligibility adjustments for players affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, Brodzinski ranks fourth on the Gophers in total points. He is coming off a solid performance in Minnesota's 3-2 win over Knuble's Notre Dame team on Feb. 17.
Alex Bump (LW, Western Michigan, freshman)
28 GP, 9g, 15a, 24 points, 14 PIM
Bump was the NCHC conference's Rookie of the Week for Feb. 5 to Feb. 12. The Broncos did not play this past weekend. Over the course of his freshman season to date, the now 20-year-old forward has shown the same combination of creativity, ice vision and hands that made him a standout at the Flyers Development Camp last summer. He is also progressing in his 200-foot game and continued to work on refining his skating last offseason. Bump is one of the higher offensive upside prospects in the Flyers system currently playing collegiate hockey.
Devin Kaplan (RW, Boston University, sophomore)
27 GP, 5g, 12a, 17 points, 30 PIM
The sturdy power forward has shown himself to be a versatile player in the Terriers lineup over the course of his two collegiate seasons since being selected by the Flyers in the third round (69th overall) of the 2021 NHL Entry Draft. Kaplan can be slotted in different spots around the lineup and adjust accordingly. He's a good straight-line skater and a down-low presence in the attack zone. Ranks eighth on his team's scoring leaderboard this season. Most recently scored against Northeastern on Feb 12. The Bridgewater, NJ, native displayed some of his forechecking tenacity and heaviness on the puck in back-to-back wins over Providence this past weekend, although he did not get on the scoresheet.
Hunter McDonald (D, Northeastern, sophomore)
16 GP, 1g, 4a, 5 points, 22 PIM
McDonald was injured in the regular season opener and missed the next 14 games. Since his return, the physically imposing (6-foot-4, 215 pounds) late-blooming prospect has picked up where he left off last season. At the collegiate level, the 21-year-old sophomore is a defenseman in a similar mold to the Flyers' Nick Seeler: blocks a lot of shots, plays a physical brand of hockey, makes simple but effective plays with the puck and, although he doesn't collect many points, is effective at getting pucks through to the slot and netfront areas from the point. The Flyers initially selected the NAHL and USHL product in the sixth round (165th overall) of the 2022 NHL Entry Draft.
Owen McLaughlin (C, North Dakota, sophomore)
29 GP, 9g, 20a, 29 points, 6 PIM
The 20-year-old Chester County native (Spring City, PA) has shown the sort of playmaking vision and deft passing touch that made him a big point-getter in the USHL and lower leagues prior to joining the Fighting Hawks a season ago. He is still working on rounding out his game and has gains to make in terms of physical strength, explosiveness and his overall game, but there's no doubt that McLaughlin's creativity and ability to thread the needle have opened eyes in the NCAA this year. He is tied for second on his team in assists and is tied for fourth in goals. McLaughlin is a player who needs to generate offense to make an impact and he's showing growth and confidence in those areas.
Ty Murchison (D, Arizona State, junior)
32 GP, 2g, 4a, 6 points, 41 PIM
The USNTDP product is best known for his physicality and high level of competitiveness. These traits and his athleticism on a 6-foot-2 frame were the traits that got him selected by the Flyers in the 5th round (158th overall) of the 2021 NHL Entry Draft. Murchison has worked on his overall awareness and defensive reliability. He's third among Sun Devils defensemen in traditional plus-minus rating and is ranked second on the team in blocked shots.
Massimo Rizzo (C, Denver, junior)
28 GP, 10g, 34a, 44 points, 10 PIM
Currently dealing with an injury that kept him out of action this past weekend, the 22-year-old forward (he'll turn 23 on June 13) has been one of the top offensive player across the entire NCAA this season, currently ranking third in Division 1 hockey (New York Rangers prospect Gabe Perreault, a Boston College freshman, leads all collegiate players with 48 points). Rizzo was NCAA Co-Player of the Month in October, along with the NCHC conference's Player of the Month.
There's no question anymore as to whether Rizzo can offensively dominate at the collegiate level with his hands, anticipation and vision. The question mark is how well he can eventually adapt to the pro game as a smaller-framed player who lacks high-end natural speed (Rizzo compensates with awareness and quickness). Is he better off in the pros as a winger, given the wider demands of a center?
Rizzo, who was a Pioneers teammate of Lehigh Valley Phantoms forward Bobby Brink in 2021-22, had his NHL rights acquired by the Flyers from the Carolina Hurricanes on Aug. 9, 2023, in exchange for the NHL rights to Czech forward David Kase.
