Philadelphia Flyers: Ranking the Defensemen

Jan 21, 2016; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Michael Del Zotto (15) skates away from Pittsburgh Penguins right wing Patric Hornqvist (72) during the first period at the CONSOL Energy Center. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 21, 2016; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Michael Del Zotto (15) skates away from Pittsburgh Penguins right wing Patric Hornqvist (72) during the first period at the CONSOL Energy Center. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
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Philadelphia Flyers
Feb 7, 2016; Washington, DC, USA; Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Michael Del Zotto (15) shoots the puck as Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin (8) looks on in the first period at Verizon Center. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

Nine defensemen remain in the Philadelphia Flyers camp. Here’s my shot at ranking them 1-9 as roster cuts loom this week

The Philadelphia Flyers are now gathered in full force. Every player is back from the recently complete World Cup. Gudas is healthy to play (if the league lets him). And now the regular season opener is only 9 days away.

Thus far, the Flyers have sent a boatload of players to junior hockey and the AHL. Most of the decisions up until now have been pretty easy. The hard part is whittling down the 18 forwards and 9 defensemen still in camp to 13 and 7, respectively.

On each count, prospects Travis Konecy and Ivan Provorov headline the discussions. They are, however, only one player in each question.

Here I’ll take a crack at ranking all 9 Philadelphia Flyers defensemen, possibly gaining insight as to who will survive the final cuts.