With the 2024 NHL Entry Draft and Development Camp now in the rearview mirror, the countdown has begun for the 2024-25 campaign and the 2025 Draft. Here's a look at where the Flyers' selections in the 2023 and 2024 Drafts are slated (as of now) to play next season, and a scouting calendar for the next year to track recent draftees and candidates for the 2025 Draft.
Flyers 2023 Draftees
Matvei Michkov (RW): Who will be the first Flyers' draftee since 2020 (Tyson Foerster, Emil Andrae and Elliotte Desnoyers) to make his NHL debut with the Orange and Black? In all likelihood, it'll be the 19-year-old Michkov. The offensively gifted and creative winger, selected seventh overall in the 2023 Draft, has an inside track for an opening-night NHL roster spot.
Oliver Bonk (D): The 19-year-old defenseman is coming off an excellent Draft-plus-one season for the Ontario Hockey League champion London Knights in 2023-24. He also earned a spot on Team Canada at the 2023-24 World Junior Championships. Bonk is not eligible for the American Hockey League in 2024-25, and he does not appear to be immediately ready for the jump to the National Hockey League. As such, the likeliest course as of now for the 22nd overall pick of last year's Draft is one more season with London and another WJC chance with Team Canada.
Carson Bjarnason (G): As with most goaltenders, the 19-year-old Bjarnason needs further major junior seasoning, followed, most likely, by one or two full seasons in the AHL. The 2023 second-round pick will aim for a strong Draft-plus-two season with the Western Hockey League's Brandon Wheat Kings and a chance to play for Team Canada at the 2024-25 World Junior Championships. Having been the starter for Team Canada at the Under-18 Worlds in 2023, the U20s in 2024-25 is a natural progression if he can earn a spot.
Yegor Zavragin (G): Zavragin, who will turn 19 on August 23, made huge strides last season after the Flyers selected him with the 87th overall pick of the 2023 Draft. Not only did he dominate at the Russian junior level (MHL), he didn't skip a beat when promoted to the minor league pro level (VHL). The netminder's contract was purchased in May by the high-profile SKA St Peterburg team in the KHL. The likeliest course of development over the next year would be for SKA to assign him to their VHL-level farm club, SKA-Neva. He could also dress, at least as a backup, in a few KHL games, Alternatively, he's still young enough to see game action at the MHL level.
Denver Barkey (W): A center/wing swingman entering his Draft season (2022-23), Barkey has since become a full-time winger for the OHL's London Knights. He's coming off a huge developmental leap this past season (102 regular season points) into an all-situations player at the major junior level. He still needs to add more weight and muscle to his 5-foot-9 frame to compete as a pro. However, he's very conscientious about his conditioning. A late cut from Team Canada at the 2023-24 WJC selection camp last December, Barkey will aim for a spot on the next Under-20 national team WJC roster. He'll continue to receive all-situations usage in London during his Draft-plus two season. Barkey's NHL entry-level contract -- just as with Bonk, Bjarnason, and 2024 first-round pick Jett Luchanko -- is eligible to slide back to his junior league for the 2024-25 season. The Flyers selected Barkey in the third round (95th overall) of the 2023 Draft. He'd almost certainly have gone earlier in a hypothetical re-draft.
Cole Knuble (C): Knuble has been working hard on his skating over the past two years. As a collegiate freshman at Notre Dame last season, Knuble played a fourth-line role in the early months of the season but earned his way up the depth chart as the season progressed. The 20-year-old son of Flyers Alum power forward Mike Knuble will play his collegiate sophomore season in 2024-25.
Alex Ciernik (LW): The 19-year-old son of former NHL player Ivan Ciernik got off to a promising start year, including scoring a goal for the Flyers in the first Rookies Game against the New York Rangers prospects, as well as earning a prominent lineup spot with Allsvenskan (Sweden's top minor league) team Västerviks lK. Unfortunately, a pair of concussions -- including one that curtailed his WJC for Team Slovakia -- cut the heart out of Ciernik's 2023-24 season. He'll remain in Allsvenskan for the 2024-25 campaign but is now with a different team (Nybro Vikings).
Carter Sotheran (D): The right-handed shooting defenseman, selected by the Flyers with the 135th pick of last year's Draft, is another player who took good strides during his Draft-plus one season. Unfortunately, a foot injury sustained in the clinching game of the Western Conference Final kept the Portland Winterhawks defenseman out of the Western Hockey League Final. He'll likely remain in the WHL for his draft-plus-two year.
Ryan MacPherson (C): After playing last season at the Junior A level for the Penticton Vees, the two-way center hopeful will debut in the NCAA in 2024-25 as a freshman for the University of New Hampshire.
Matteo Mann (D): The huge-framed defensive defenseman, drafted by the Flyers in the seventh round (199th overall) of the 2023 Draft, turns 20 on Dec. 31, 20024. As such, he qualifies either for an over-age season in the QMJHL or -- just within the birth-year cutoff, ala Alexis Gendron with the Phantoms for a portion of last season -- for minor league hockey. Mann played in one game late last season for the Reading Royals, the Flyers' ECHL affiliate.
Flyers 2024 Draftees
Jett Luchanko (C): Recently signed to an entry-level contract after being selected by the Flyers with the 13th overall pick of the 2024 Draft, Luchanko's contract is likely to slide back to the Ontario Hockey League for the 2024-25 season. The speedy playmaking center, who will turn 18 on August 21, figures to continue playing a major all-situations role for the Guelph Storm. A spot for Team Canada at the 2024-25 WJC is not out of the question, although roster-selection preferences tend to lean toward 19-year-old players.
Jack Berglund (C): The big-framed, two-way center appeared in eight SHL games for FBK Karlstad last season as well as 41 games for their J20 squad in the Under-20 National League. He'll likely split time again in 2024-25 between the junior and senior teams.The Flyers chose Berglund in the second round, 51st overall in the 2024 Draft.
Spencer Gill (D): A regular starter for the QMJHL's Rimouski Oceanic and a member of Team Canada's Under-18 World Championships squad last season, Gill will head back to his club in the Q for the 2024-25 season.
Heikki Ruohonen (C): The big Finnish center, who impressed at both the U18 Worlds and the Flyers' Development Camp, has set an unusual development path goal for himself for a European player. He will come to North America to play in the USHL for the Dubuque Fighting Saints in 2024-25 and then go to Harvard and play in the NCAA. Ruohonen is the second European player in Flyers Draft history to be accepted and commit to Harvard. The first was Czech forward Petr Placek (2011 sixth-round pick). Ruohonen's chances at an eventual North American pro hockey career, however, seem higher than Placek's at any point of his short hockey career.
Noah Powell (RW): It's been a big year for the 19-year-old Illinois native, After going unselected in the 2023 NHL Draft, the power forward led the USHL in goals this past season. He also made a splash -- with fellow prospects, coaches and Flyers fans alike -- at the recent 2024 Development Camp. Powell will play his freshman collegiate season for Ohio State in the upcoming 2024-25 NCAA season.
Ilya Pautov (RW): The crafty and elusive Russian winger, selected by the Flyers with the 173rd overall pick of the 2024 Draft, is part of the games CSKA Moscow (AKA Red Army) system. The 18-year-old has not yet advanced to the KHL (or VHL) level yet in Russia but he's shown himself to be a dynamic junior player in the MHL. He'll continue to play at the junior level for CSKA Jr. in 2024-25 but, hopefully, shows enough progress to start working his way up toward pro hockey.
Austin Moline (D): The big-framed defenseman played prep school hockey for the famed Shattuck St. Mary's program in 2023-24. This coming season, he's headed for Junior A hockey in the BCHL (Brooks Bandits). Thereafter, he'll play NCAA collegiate hockey for Northern Michigan, beginning in 2025-26.
Pre-2023 Draftees: In an upcoming Farm Report, we'll focus on Flyers prospects in the system who were selected (or signed as an undrafted free agent, such as JR Avon) from 2018 to 2022. This directory will only include prospects under entry-level contract or whose rights still belong to the Flyers.
Players who have already graduated to the NHL -- specifically Joel Farabee, Samuel Ersson, Egor Zamula (a 2018 undrafted free agent signing), Bobby Brink, Cam York, Bobby Brink, and Tyson Foerster -- will also not be included.
However, those who either played entirely or primarily for the Phantoms in 2023-25 will be included. So will players drafted in that time period who are still playing collegiate hockey, such as Alex Bump, or still playing in Europe.
2024-25 Scouting Calendar
The amateur scouting departments across the entire NHL have the lengthiest work cycles in the sport. The "scouting season" for the next Entry Draft gets underway each summer and continues straight through until the completion of the Draft the following June.
Organizations also track -- on an ongoing basis -- the post-Draft progress of their own draftees as well as those from other clubs. The latter group may become trade targets in the future.
Over the course of the 2024-25 scouting cycle, here's a chronological list of key dates to keep in mind before, during and after the regular seasons and playoffs across leagues worldwide.There are also multi-nation junior international tournaments in Europe during the season.
2024 World Junior Summer Showcase (July 26 to Aug 3, 2024): The 2024 WJSS will be held at USA Hockey Arena in Plymouth, Michigan. As usual, there will be two squads representing Team USA (USA Blue and USA White) and one apiece representing Canada, Sweden, and Finland. The WJSS tournament serves as the first competitive evaluation tournament for hopefuls trying to earn roster spots for the IIHF Under-20 World Championship (World Junior Championships) come late December.
2024 Hlinka Gretzky Cup (Aug 5 to 10, 2024): The annual international tournament marks the unofficial start to the scouting work that goes into preparing for the next NHL Entry Draft The 2024 tourney will be held in Edmonton. Participating national teams this year: Canada, USA, Sweden, Finland, Czechia, Slovakia, Germany, and Switzerland.
2024-25 European seasons: Preseasons, regular seasons and playoffs in European junior leagues (including the J18 and J20 levels) as professional circuits begin a month or so ahead of their counterparts in North America. By early to mid-September all of these leagues are underway as NHL training camps are getting underway. On the flip side, the European seasons are finished by late April whereas the NHL postseason is just getting underway.
2024-25 CHL seasons: Major junior preseason games in Canada usually begin shortly before NHL camps and exhibition games, The regular season in the Ontario Hockey League, Western Hockey League and Quebec Maritimes Hockey League begin in early October.
2024-25 NCAA Seasons: Collegiate hockey regular seasons vary widely in start and finish dates in the fall to early spring. Come March, it's time for regional tournaments and, later, the national Frozen Four tourney for the 2025 national championship. Note: The USHL and other pre-collegiate junior leagues based in the U.S. run on their own fall-winter-spring schedules.
2024-25 WJC Selection Camps: In early December, national hockey federations hold their selection camps for their final 2024-25 World Junior Championship (Under-20 Worlds) rosters.
2024-25 World Junior Championships ( Dec. 26, 2024 to Jan. 5, 2025): The highest prestige and highest-pressure international junior event on the annual calendar is the IIHF Under-20 World Championships. Periodically, top prospects for the next Draft are sufficiently advanced in their development to play in the WJC. More commonly, Draft-plus-one oe Draft-plus-two prospects -- especially the latter -- comprise the competing national team rosters. The 2025 World Juniors will be held in Ottawa.
2025 IIHF Under-18 World Championships (April 23 to May 3, 2025): The under-18 equivalent of the World Junior Championships is the prime international showcase for prospects eligible for the next year's Draft (or, in some cases, the following year's Draft). The 205 tourney will take place in Frisco and Allen, Texas. Participating national teams: USA, Canada, Sweden, Finland, Czechia, Slovakia, Switzerland, Germany, Norway and Austria.
2025 IIHF World Championships (May 9 to 25, 2025): The annual IIHF World Championships is much more commonly the domain of pro scouting departments than their amateur scouting colleagues. Rarely, a highly-touted prospect could see World Championships or World Championship prep tourney action prior to their NHL rival (for example, a 17-year-old Victor Hedman played for Team Sweden's men's team in a prep game against Norway before he debuted in the NHL).
2025 Memorial Cup (May 2025): The QMJHL's Rimouski Oceanic have been selected as the host team for 2025. Rimouski will compete with the 2024-25 champions of the OHL, WHL and QMJHL for the championship of the entire Canadian Hockey League. This is a final on-ice showcase for Draft-eligible players from the participating teams to potentially boost their final internal rankings a bit among NHL organizations.
2025 NHL Combine (June 2025): Held annually in Buffalo, the pre-Draft combine is one final chance for Draft hopefuls to showcase themselves to NHL organizations. Invitees undergo medical examinations, engage in 1-on-1 interviews with NHL teams and perform physical testing that measures strength, endurance, cardiovascular conditioning and other areas of fitness. Updated heights and weights are also recorded. Teams subsequently hold their final internal ratings meeting prior to the Entry Draft.
