Flyers prospect report: Denver Barkey remains hot and more

The Philadelphia Flyers finally got their 2023-24 regular season underway, and so did most of their prospects. Philly has split their first two decisions evenly, with Emil Andrae making his highly-anticipated NHL debut for the Flyers. Both his performance and the game itself didn’t live up to the hype, but he’s another prospect the organization has managed to pass through the pipeline.

In last week’s Flyers prospect report, we covered:

• Ryan MacPherson’s award-winning month
• Cutter Gauthier’s OT winner
• and Matvei Michkov’s revenge game

This week, we’ll be talking more about those three Flyers prospects, as well as some 2023 draft picks who’ve stayed hot since the last report.

BCHL

• Ryan MacPherson (Penticton Vees)
  • The Flyers’ 2023 sixth-round pick has continued his hot start; he’s currently riding a three-game point streak (1G, 2A).
  • MacPherson currently has six goals and four assists in only eight games, and is on pace to score 41 goals and 27 assists in 54 games.

HockeyAllsvenskan

• Alex Ciernik (Vasterviks IK)
  • Vasterviks’ losing deluge continues, but Ciernik recorded another assist in a 5-2 loss to Mora IK.
  • The 2023 fourth-round pick is up to three goals and three assists in eight games and is currently producing at a 40-point pace in his first full season of pro hockey.

KHL & Russia

• Matvei Michkov (HK Sochi)
  • Michkov broke his four-game point streak in a 3-2 overtime loss to CSKA Moscow on Oct. 9 and hasn’t played since.
  • The Flyers and Flyers fans will be relieved to hear that it’s only an illness, and that their future offensive dynamo should be fine.
• Alexei Kolosov (Dinamo Minsk)
  • Kolosov has been the real deal for Minsk this season, and he pitched his third shutout (fifth of his KHL career) of the year against Kunlun Red Star in a 4-0 victory.
  • The 21-year-old dropped his next decision against SKA St. Petersburg 3-2, which snapped his four-game win streak. Kolosov has been rock-solid for one of the weaker teams in the KHL.
• Yegor Zavragin (Mamonty Yugry, Yugry Khanty-Mansiysk)
  • Zavragin’s latest two appearances came in the MHL for Mamonty Yugry, and he won both matchups.
  • The 2023 third-round pick stopped 41 of the last 44 shots he’s faced, and is now 3-1-2 in the MHL with a 0.951 save percentage.

Mestis

• Santeri Sulku (Hermes)
  • Sulku made his season debut in a 8-1 Hermes win over RoKi.
  • The 2022 seventh-round pick played 10:58 but recorded no points or shots on goal in the victory.

NCAA

• Bryce Brodzinski (Minnesota)
  • Brodzinski made his season debut for Minnesota in a 6-5 overtime win over the University of St. Thomas on Oct. 13, but recorded no points.
  • The 23-year-old notched his first point of the year the following day, assisting on a Jimmy Snuggerud (STL) power play goal in the second period.
• Alex Bump (Western Michigan University)
  • The new guy on campus played his first two games for Western Michigan University since transferring, and recorded an assist in each.
  • Bump had five shots on goal in his first game, and three in his second.
• Cutter Gauthier (Boston College)
  • Gauthier played in a 4-2 win over Long Island University, but the Boston College ace didn’t record any points.
  • The Flyers’ 2022 fifth-overall pick did fire 11 shots on goal though, giving him a total of 19 through two games. Gauthier is confident and he’s ripping it out there.
• Devin Kaplan (Boston University)
  • The Flyers’ 2022 third-round pick was a -3 in the 6-4 loss to the University of New Hampshire, and failed to register a shot on goal.
  • Kaplan played in an exhibition game against the U.S. National U-18 team, where Boston lost 8-2. He did, however, assist a Luke Tuch goal in the second period.
• Cole Knuble (Notre Dame)
  • Knuble played in a rematch against Clarkson University on Oct. 8 – one day after they defeated his Notre Dame 3-1.
  • Knuble emerged victorious this time in a 3-0 victory, but he’s yet to record a point still. The 2023 fourth-round pick does have multiple shots on goal in each game so far, though.
  • Notre Dame also lost to RIT 3-0 on Saturday; they have scored only four goals in three games, with just one win.
• Hunter McDonald (Northeastern)
  • The hulking defenseman played in an exhibition game against Quinnipiac University and took a minor penalty, but recorded no other stats.
  • McDonald did not appear in their next game against Bentley.
• Owen McLaughlin (University of North Dakota)
  • Appeared in two Ice Breaker Tournament games – 7-2 and 2-0 wins against Army and University of Wisconsin on Oct. 13 and 14, respectively.
  • The 2021 seventh-round pick didn’t pick up any points, but he was excellent in the faceoff circle, going 18-25 over two games.
• Ty Murchison (Arizona State)
  • The Flyers’ 2021 fifth-round pick was ejected in the first period against Merrimack on Oct. 13 for an illegal hit to the head.
• Massimo Rizzo (Denver)
  • Rizzo played against the University of Alaska-Fairbanks in back-to-back days on Oct. 7 and 8.
  • The recently-acquired Flyers prospect is now up to seven assists through just two games after posting three in the first game and four in the second.

National League

• Brian Zanetti (SCL Tigers)
  • Zanetti is currently out with an illness and hasn’t played since Oct. 3.
  • The 2021 fourth-round pick has one assist in nine games this season.

OHL

• Denver Barkey (London Knights)
  • With a hat trick against the Sarnia Sting, Barkey has now played four consecutive games with two or more points. He’s scored three in two of those games, including the game against the Sting.
  • The Flyers’ 2023 third-round pick is now white-hot with seven goals, six assists, and 13 points in eight games.
  • Barkey is on pace for *checks notes* 60 goals, 51 assists, and 111 points in 68 games. Last week, I said if his production improves he’s going to be a real player for the Flyers. If the 18-year-old really does hit 100 points or more this season, look out.
• Oliver Bonk (London Knights)
  • Barkey’s Flyers partner in crime Bonk has dished out more apples than an apple tree this season – he’s got six in eight games, including his two helpers against the Kingston Frontenacs on Oct. 13.
  • The 2023 first-round pick is on pace for 51 assists in 68 games, but he remains goalless. A healthy regression to the mean in the goal-scoring department should allow Bonk to push for a 60-point year, no problem.

WHL

• Carson Bjarnason (Brandon Wheat Kings)
  • The Wheat Kings might have found their game! Bjarnason has put together a nice little two-game win streak for Brandon, saving 65 of 67 shots to rack up 1-0 and 5-2 wins over the Lethbridge Hurricanes and Tri-City Americans, respectively.
  • The 2023 second-round pick’s shutout was his first of the season and fourth of his WHL career.
  • The Flyers will be very pleased to see his save percentage jump up to 0.927 and his goals-against-average to fall back down to a respectable 2.77.
• Carter Sotheran (Portland Winterhawks)
  • Sotheran’s Winterhawks are off to a perfect 4-0 start to their regular season with their latest win over the Kamloops Blazers, but the defenseman’s only offensive output this season came in his three-point outburst against the Vancouver Giants.

Another week, and another successful group of games for Flyers prospects around the globe. Hopefully some of the NCAA players start finding the twine to give us even more fireworks next week.