It’s the dead thick of the Summer and offseason, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t Flyers happenings. Without further delay, here are our answers to your questions.
The Flyers roster is as it is now. Things have cooled off dramatically, in terms of players that were plausible for trade purposes. Maybe things start heating up again during the first week of the season.
Really the only trade I envision right now is trading Ryan Ellis’s contract, so a team can get to the cap floor. Teams like the Anaheim Ducks and the San Jose Sharks, in particular. However, I could see Danny Briere wanting to re-sign Cam York before the season begins, and heck it might be cheaper to do so.
Some players have reported early for training camp, like Matvei Michkov, Ivan Fedotov (Vacation recently), Jamie Drysdale, Cam York, Tyson Foerster, Hunter McDonald (Might go home for a week or two), Oliver Bonk (Until the Summer Showcase), and Bobby Brink (Left for Da Beauty League).
Noah Cates, Travis Konecny, Owen Tippett , Scott Laughton, and the newly wed Travis Sanheim all should be back here shortly. All come back in August, as did Morgan Frost last year.
Foerster, Frost, Michkov
Great tough line to beat. This is a big year for First, in a contract year nonetheless.
Some of the players that were invited to Developmental Camp will be invited for Rookie Camp and Training Camp. Players like Jack Williams, Matt Miller, Lee Parks, Cody Croal, Artyom Kudashov, and Josh Zakreski. Matteo Drabac (G) should also be invited back, as well.
Speed is the name of the game, hence why they drafted Jett Luchanko. Luchanko is so darn fast, so this is a work in progress. Do not forget how speedy Matvei Michkov is, some miss that detail.
Massimo Rizzo or Noah Cates would be abled, bodied, quality Centers. Rizzo has the best shot out of any prospect to make the team outright. Don’t forget that the Flyers also signed Rodrigo Abols to a contract. If he impresses, then who knows.
Jamie Drysdale has been in Voorhees, NJ all Summer. Drysdale is expected to be 100% healthy for the start of Training Camp. It might very well take time for him to get back to normal, but he will eventually. Sports Hernia surgeries are difficult to predict, but the one good thing is Drysdale had this surgery earlier in the Summer, which means more time to train and skate before the season begins.
If Alexei Kolosov does not come back, the Flyers have stocked the system with Parker Gahagen to backup Cal Petersen temporarily. Carson Bjarnason would be the short-term answer or Yegor Zavragin. Bjarnason did impress at the Work Junior Summer Showcase.
Don’t panic yet, I expect him back with the Flyers/Phantoms. First off Kolosov is under contract with Philadelphia, and the Dinamo Minsk hasn’t asked Philadelphia for a contract termination. The KHL season begins on September 3, 2024, so time is running out, with Training Camp slated to begin for those said teams here in a few weeks.
My thing is, if he wasn’t coming back at all, then why was he donning Flyers and Phantoms gear while training in Dinamo a few weeks ago? To me this is good news with the picture below.
Scott Laughton is an important key cog in the locker room for this young team. He holds the team accountable when need be, and it’s like John Tortorella says. It’s not just what happens on the ice that’s important, off-ice is just as equally important.
Laughton could be a good trade deadline piece, but he’s a Flyer for now. Who knows what the future holds for Laughton and the Flyers beyond the 2024-25 season.
If you would like to see your questions submitted in our weekly mailbag. Just submit your question on our Twitter page @flyersknitty using #Flyersmail, or @JameyBaskow. Thanks to all the fans for another great mailbag.
