The Philadelphia Flyers have a few things to be proud of. For one, with a lesser roster, they flirted with a playoff spot in 2023-24. They held a Metropolitan Division top-three spot for most of the year.
Things fell out of favor for them at the end and they ended up just missing the playoffs but it was a solid year nonetheless.
Now, it is time to think about what the future might hold for this organization. There are some good pieces there and they are just getting started with this new regime that is in charge.
With that said, it is hard to look at their prospect farm and wonder where some of the decisions came from. Scott Wheeler just released his Top 100 NHL Prospects ($) piece on The Athletic and it is a bit painful for the Flyers.
The Philadelphia Flyers could be in better shape if they made better decisions
Scott Wheeler just ranked his Top 100 NHL-drafted prospects for the summer
— Jon Bailey (@ByJonBailey) July 17, 2024
No. 2: Matvei Michkov
No. 5: Zeev Buium
No. 13: Gabe Perreault
No. 19: Cutter Gauthier
No. 22: Konsta Helenius
No. 50: Oliver Bonk
Not ranked: Jett Luchanko
Graduated: Bobby Brink
🤕
So it is really nice that Matvei Michkov is number two on the list. He fell to the Flyers and they didn't hesitate to take the risk. That is paying off for them as he has signed his entry-level deal significantly earlier than everyone thought.
After that, things get a little bit sad. For one, Anaheim Ducks forward Cutter Gauthier is the 19th prospect on this ranking. The Flyers had to trade him to the Ducks because they couldn't mend their relationship with him.
In the 2024 NHL Draft, the Flyers traded back one spot with the Minnesota Wild. With that pick, they selected Jett Luchanko. He's a good player but he didn't make this list at all. Meanwhile, guys like Zeev Buium and Konsta Helenius are.
The Flyers also saw Bobby Brink graduate from this list because he played enough games in 2023-24 to earn the rank of full-time NHL player.
This is by no means the end for this Flyers core. It is fair to raise an eyebrow at some of these issues but it is on them to develop the guys that they do have and move forward.
2024-25 should be a competitive year for them but if they want to win the Stanley Cup, they better start being much better with their drafting and developing.