Photo Credit: Philadelphia Flyers PR
Matvei Michkov has been the talk of the Summer for good reason in the Philadelphia and surrounding areas. Every move he makes he gets this town buzzing, for good reason. Flyers fans realize what a special player Michkov could be in the future, so he’s going to attract attention. Now he makes his first rookie camp appearance. With that being said, here a couple of rookie camp prospects to watch throughout the course of rookie camp.
Obviously Matvei Michkov
The Flyers have been bottom feeders with the man advantage for the past few seasons. They were dead last in the league last season with a 12.2% success rate with the man advantage. That’s just not good enough to be a playoff caliper team, however, in the same token it’s quite evident they don’t have the offensive flare that is needed to have a successful Power Play.
Before Michkov’s arrival, Morgan Frost was the most gifted offensive player the Flyers had. He can create, but he needs help. Enter Michkov and his good pair of hands.
Michkov not only attracts players to him because of his skill, but he’s not afraid to get to the greasy areas to score goals. Maybe he can provide a net front presence that has been lacking with the man advantage for some time now with the orange and black.
Sam Hillebrandt
As an American born goalie, Hillebrandt has always been looking for a stable position within these ranks. He grew up in Port Huron, Michigan, Hillebrandt now is trying to seize a glaring opportunity before his eyes. With the Flyers facing uncertainty surrounding prospect Alexei Kolosov, Hillebrandt is trying to make a name for himself as an invite to Flyers rookie camp. A team can never have enough goalies, but maybe he could find his niche, and possibly earn a spot with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, or Reading Royals alike.
He moves laterally from post to post well, and could make a glorious glove hand save with the best of them. The sky is the limit for this young man, so it’s something to keep an eye on.
Hunter McDonald
Hunter McDonald is highly coveted throughout the Flyers organization. McDonald, 21, registered six points for Northeastern University during the 2023-24 season. He weighs 220 pounds and is a native of Fairport, N.Y. He lead the Huskies in blocked shots with 52, and can actually skate given his size.
The key to McDonald’s game is battling along the boards. He usually does not lose many battles along the boards, but his gap control is pretty solid given his size, as well. The Flyers are high on this young man, and mainly that is his size. McDonald can be, what the organization thought Samuel Morin could have been. He will be vying for that 6th/7th defensive position when training camp opens next week.
Emil Andrae
A young 22-year-old Flyers prospect Emil Andrae was the Captain of Team Sweden for a reason at the WJC in 2022. Andrae is a 200 foot player, that is as fast as they come, plus he has a blistering shot. He can play in any situation the coaching staff asks of him, and that became evident when he made the Flyers roster on opening night. Andrae has shown flashes of being a very good defenseman in the future, but he’s just not consistent enough yet. He was sent back to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms last season, for good reason. Andrae worked on consistency, and he found it towards the latter part of the season. This places him on the cusp of making the Flyers opening night roster, once again, as he will be vying for that 6th/7th defensive position, with the likes of Hunter McDonald and Egor Zamula.
Andrae needed a bit more seasoning and growth. We have to bear in mind, he’s only 22-years-old, look at all he has accomplished thus far in his short NHL career.
“I’d be stupid if I don’t have the goal of playing in the NHL,” Andrae said at training camp last season. “I’m going to do as best as I can in training camp, and try to prove to the coaches that I’m too good to play in the AHL.” This young man will be the real deal in the future, being sent back was not a demotion by any means. It just meant he needed some seasoning at the professional level.
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