As the Flyers continue searching for their first win of the season, it's clear that some changes should be made. They recently made one, swapping Carl Grundstrom for Jack Studnicka. This move, on its own, hardly warrants much discussion. It's a swap of depth forwards and won't drastically change the season's trajectory.
A few questions come to mind, though. One in particular involves the young forward prospects in the AHL, like Jett Luchanko and Cole Knuble. Both, on the cusp of making the NHL roster, were edged out in favor of bigger roles and more time to develop. It's easy to understand that this was ultimately the right decision.
More importantly, the Flyers made the right call by not bringing them up in this specific situation. The Flyers are 0-5-2 to start the season. Dating back to their playoff loss to the Hurricanes, they have lost 11 straight. Last season is last season, but the numbers are ugly nonetheless.
They're getting heavily outshot; oftentimes, they can't make basic passes to each other, and even if they make it into the offensive zone, they're a mess. Shots aren't hitting the net, they're losing too many battles, or just passing the puck to no one in particular. At times, they've looked better, specifically in their recent loss to Ottawa.
They were right back to their mess of a start in their next game against Tampa, though, which blows up optimism generated from the previous game. And while they may have done some positive things against Carolina, the bar needs to be higher at this point. They shouldn't be getting kudos for showing fight when they were losing by multiple goals. They also shouldn't bring their top prospects into this mess.
There's a difference between learning and growing with NHL opportunities and being thrown into an environment where a team struggles to play fundamentally sound hockey. How can a prospect learn what it takes to play in the NHL when his teammates seem to have forgotten how? That may be harsh, but it's an accurate assessment of how the Flyers are right now.
If the Flyers called up Luchanko or Knuble instead, it's hard to see either making a strong impact when the team hasn't been able to sustain offensive pressure. The Flyers do need Luchanko specifically to lean more into his shot rather than pass. But what happens when they can't even get him the puck? He can't learn to balance his offensive game more if the team is already struggling in that area.
It's fair to argue, especially in Knuble's case, that at least one of them should've made the roster out of camp. Knuble was more than impressive and was arguably better than some of the players who did make it. But even if he or Luchanko made it, the Flyers would still likely be struggling to compete. Playing on a bad team isn't the issue. Bad teams can get better with their prospects in the NHL if they have defined roles and receive meaningful opportunities.
This would be putting them into a bad developmental situation, though. They are benefiting more from big minutes in a lower-stakes environment. The objective is still to win in the AHL, but player development is also a priority as prospects prepare for the NHL. Promoting one of their top prospects doesn't make sense just to shake things up or send a message to the rest of the team.
In this situation, bringing up a depth player is the right call while the Flyers work out their on-ice issues. It's not a prospect's job to inject life into a team that has this many structural issues, whereas a depth player isn't going to come with that same expectation.
Studnicka for Grundstrom won't move the needle, and that's okay in this instance. Studnicka isn't being asked to turn things around. As a depth player, he just needs to fill his role. The Flyers should be deliberate about who they bring up and even more so about who they don't. They can't fall into the trap of thinking a prospect's promotion will make a meaningful difference with the team in its current state.
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