The Flyers got embarrassed 5-1 by a mostly young Washington Capitals squad in their preseason finale last night at Xfinity Mobile Arena.

They iced a near full NHL lineup and still got outplayed after Jamie Drysdale’s early second-period goal. The Caps answered with three in the second (Cristall, Schäfer, Frank on the PP) and two more in the third. Charlie Lindgren was excellent for Washington (.970 save percentage), while Aleksei Kolosov went the distance and struggled —19 saves on 24 shots. It was a pretty poor outing, with some soft goals that shouldn’t have gone in, also two goals were from turnovers by Defensemen.

Fortunately, the pre-season doesn’t count, but finishing 1-3-0 and looking that flat against a prospect-heavy Caps team isn’t ideal heading into the regular season. The Regular season starts Wednesday vs. the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Rick Tocchet on the loss in the pre-season finale:

“I’m actually glad we lost 5-1. It’s a little humbling, which is good for us.”

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The Flyers have signed Yaniv Perets to a professional tryout agreement (PTO) today.

This is your backup for Aleksei Kolosov tonight

Yaniv Perets will wear #30 tonight. The main he will be sitting up tonight is vets can only play in two pre-season games. This excludes Dan is Vladar, if he were healthy, and Joseph Woll.

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Cole Knuble (son of former Flyer Mike Knuble) legitimately made a strong case and had a real shot at cracking the Flyers’ opening-night roster.

The 22-year-old Forward (2023 fourth-round pick out of Notre Dame) has stood out throughout rookie camp, training camp, and the early preseason:

• In the pre-season opener vs. Washington (Sept. 22 in Hershey), he had a goal and an assist in a 5-2 loss and was one of the team’s brightest spots. Coach Rick Tocchet specifically praised him as “flying out there.”
• He followed that up with more strong play (high motor, tenacity, generating chances) in subsequent games, including the 2-0 win over Boston. Tocchet called him “a really good, tenacious player” who’s good with the puck and not afraid to drive the net.

Knuble was in the mix for the final forward spots alongside guys like Jett Luchanko, with versatility (center/wing) and energy that fits a bottom-six role. Knuble will be a potential fill-in if there’s an injury (e.g., discussions around Denver Barkey). He’s still fighting a numbers crunch on a relatively set roster. His trajectory has been impressive and consistent—exactly the kind of “make it hard to cut him” that forced a painful decision for the Flyers.

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The Flyers have made some tough choices, as the following players have been sent to Lehigh:

Jacob Gaucher
Cole Knuble
Jett Luchanko
Oliver Bonk

The Flyers roster now sits a 26 players.

Knuble, Bonk, and Luchanko had great camps, Gaucher stood out at times too.

I believe Nikita Grebenkin and Carl Grundstrom will get the last two Forward spots.

The Flyers are dealing with some injuries to Dan Vladar, Denver Barkey, and Helge Grans, so it will be an interesting next couple of days to see how they manage the roster

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Matvei Michkov, Cole Knuble, Joseph Woll, and Jett Luchanko all had strong showings in the Flyers’ 2-0 preseason win over the Bruins on Thursday night (Sept. 24) at Xfinity Mobile Arena.

Michkov scored the opener just 4:02 in on a rebound (assisted by Porter Martone and Helge Grans), after serving a too-many-men bench minor and then racing out of the box. He looked leaner, quicker, and more confident after his offseason work, generating chances, making plays (including a nice through-the-legs pass), and generally standing out as one of the best players on the ice in his first preseason action of the year.

Knuble scored the insurance goal early in the third on a rebound. The 22-year-old prospect (son of former Flyer Mike Knuble) has been one of the brighter spots in camp and the preseason—he’s up to three goals across three preseason games plus a rookie game, is pushing hard for a roster look, and coach Rick Tocchet noted he’s “Definitely pushing some people.”

Jett Luchanko centered a line with Knuble (and Nikita Grebenkin) and continues a solid pre-season: an assist in each of his three games so far, good speed and playmaking, and chemistry notes with Knuble. He’s fully healthy after dealing with a core muscle issue that affected last season.

Joseph Woll got the shutout (28 saves). The Flyers improved to 1-2-0 with one preseason game left (vs. the Capitals on Saturday). Nice night for the young guys.

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Carl Grundstrom has cleared waivers, and will remain with the big Club. He won the extra forward spot.

The following players were sent to Lehigh:

Zach Aston-Reese
Nolan Foote
Danila Klimovich
Jack Studnicka
Cam Dineen

The Flyers roster now sits at 30

The Flyers have to submit their full roster, and be compliant by September 28th at 5pm EST

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The Flyers are set to play in their third pre-season game of the season tonight. Here is a look at tonight’s roster:

FORWARDS (12)

11 – TRAVIS KONECNY

14 – SEAN COUTURIER

17 – NIKITA GREBENKIN

22 – CHRISTIAN DVORAK

39 – MATVEI MICHKOV

46 – TREVOR ZEGRAS

52 – NOEL ACCIARI

54 – COLE KNUBLE

71 – TYSON FOERSTER

77 – JETT LUCHANKO

78 – JACOB GAUCHER

94 – PORTER MARTONE

DEFENSEMEN (6)

3 – HELGE GRANS

6 – TRAVIS SANHEIM

8 – CAM YORK

9 – JAMIE DRYSDALE

44 – SIMON BENOIT

55 – RASMUS RISTOLAINEN

GOALTENDERS (2)

35 – ALEKSEI KOLOSOV

53 – JOSEPH WOLL

Matvei Michkov, Tyson Foerster, Travis Konecny, and Trevor Zegras will make their 2026-27 pre-season debuts tonight.

Jett Luchanko and Cole Knuble will make their 3rd pre-season game tonight.

Porter Martone with his second pre-season game.

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Oliver Bonk, the Flyers’ 2023 first-round pick (22nd overall), has been impressing at the team’s 2026 rookie camp and into main training camp, drawing praise for his smart, two-way play and positioning himself as a contender for an NHL roster spot.

In the Rookie Series against New York Rangers prospects, the 21-year-old right-shot defenseman stood out, especially in the second game (a 4-1 Flyers win). He recorded an assist by setting up longtime junior teammate Denver Barkey on a 2-on-1 for the opening goal, while contributing on the power play (bumper), penalty kill, and by frequently joining the rush effectively. Coaches and observers noted his dominance at both ends of the ice.

Lehigh Valley Phantoms Head Coach John Snowden (overseeing aspects of the camp) highlighted Bonk’s hockey IQ: “He’s very smart, and he’s surgical on his decisions and when he jumps up into the play. He’s good at kind of hiding himself in those situations and just hitting with a burst and jumping into a spot at the right time.” Snowden also praised his transition game and ability to find “sneaky” soft spots.

Bonk entered Training Camp with limited but valuable NHL experience from the end of the 2025-26 season (debut goal against Montreal in the final regular-season game, plus a playoff appearance). He has emphasized improving his skating and overall readiness this summer and is treating the shortened camp seriously, knowing opportunities to impress are limited. He is competing for a bottom-pairing role alongside players like David Jiříček and Simon Benoit. As of late September cuts, Bonk remained in main camp.

Bonk continues to open eyes and boost his case for a full-time NHL look, even if an AHL assignment with the Phantoms remains possible due to numbers.

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Thd Flyers made some roster cuts, and placed six players on waivers today. If all players clear waivers, the Flyers roster will sit at 29.

Flyers Cuts:

The following six (6) players will be assigned to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms today:
F – Noah Powell
F – Riley Thompson
D – Spencer Gill
D – Hunter McDonald
D – Ty Murchison
G – Carson Bjarnason

The following six (6) players have been placed on waivers:
F – Zach Aston-Reese
F – Nolan Foote
F – Carl Grundstrom
F – Danila Klimovich
F – Jack Studnicka
D – Cam Dineen

Matthew Gard has been returned to the Seattle Thunderbirds

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Flyers’ Goaltender Dan Vladar suffered an upper-body injury (reportedly involving his right arm/shoulder area) during Tuesday night’s (Sept. 22, 2026) pre-season game against the Boston Bruins and did not return.

It happened in the first period (around the 13:31 mark) after he mishandled a dump-in/rebound and made contact with Bruins forward Tanner Jeannot. Vladar dropped his stick, favored his right arm/blocker hand, and left the ice. Aleksei Kolosov replaced him for the rest of the game, which the Flyers lost 5-1.

The team listed it as an upper-body injury. As of Wednesday (Sept. 23), Flyers’ Head Coach Rick Tocchet noted that he was day to day in his presser following Wednesday’s practice. The regular season starts next week, so the Flyers will be monitoring it closely.

“He’s day to day. You are kind of in that situation, you dodge a bullet, you dodge a bullet. He’s in good spirits today, could be 48-72, etc. hours, I don’t know,” Flyers’ Head Coach Rick Tocchet said after practice today.

Tocchet also said that he doesn’t know if he’ll be ready for the home opener

This was his first pre-season action of 2026-27 after a strong 2025-26 season with the Flyers (where he established himself as the Number 1 goalie).

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