Flyers season starts tonight — Here’s everything you missed

It has been a pretty busy summer in Philadelphia. The Eagles signed Saquon Barkley, the Sixers had another early exit in the playoffs, and the Phillies won the NL East.

The Flyers have kind of been pushed to the side. And, well, that will happen when you have been irrelevant since the pandemic. The Flyers have not made the playoffs since 2020, when they lost in the bubble in the second round to the Islanders in seven games. They have been all over the place since. But, after an impressive 2023-24 campaign, the Flyers have some things going their way in 24-25. It all starts Friday night in Vancouver at 10:00 p.m. ET.

So while you may have forgotten there was a hockey team in Philadelphia, here is a refresher on the squad and a breakdown of everything you have missed:

He is Here

Matvei Michkov was drafted by the Flyers with the seventh overall pick in the 2023. The expectation was for him to come over to the United States and play for the Flyers in four seasons from then.

And, well, the 19-year-old’s KHL contract was terminated, allowing him to sign a three-year, entry-level deal with the Flyers on July 1. 

In 91 career KHL games, Michkov recorded 66 points on 30 goals and 36 assists as a teenager. He was playing grown men. He dominated Russia’s junior hockey league, the MHL, posting 107 points with 68 goals in 84 career games.

When the winger came over this summer for camp, the Flyers front office was immediately impressed. His speed, his skills, and his goalscoring. He truly has the tools to become one of the NHL’s next major stars, and with that, stands as the face of the Flyers’ future. It showed in the preseason, where he recorded seven points on three goals and four assists in four games, including an overtime winner on September 29 at the Wells Fargo Center.

The expectations of course for Michkov are high. Of course, the Calder Memorial Trophy is an absolute possibility for the teenager. But, this is the first time he is ever playing in the NHL and in America. So, keep things, you know, reasonable.

“I’m realistic; it’s going to be a tough season for him,” general manager Daniel Briere said. “This is the best league in the world. It’s a big step. It’s not going to be easy… I’m excited to watch him play, but he’s going to have to go through a lot before he’s the player he expects to be.”

Another thing with Michkov is just how much he can help out this Flyers powerplay. Their power play ranked 32nd in the league for the second straight season at 12.2 percent. Michkov’s ability to score from pretty much anywhere will be huge for Philadelphia.

Michkov is expected to start on the Flyers’ top line in Vancouver with alternate captain Travis Konecny and captain Sean Couturier.

The Daycare

The Flyers have themselves a youth movement this season. Of the 23 on their opening night roster, 13 of them are 25 years old or younger. Nine of those will be younger than 25. 

Leading the charge with Michkov is Flyers’ 2024 first-rounder Jett Luchanko.

Luchanko was drafted 13th overall in June and turned 18 in August. His birthday is August 21, 2006. That is absurd. 

The speedy center was expected to be a few years away from the NHL. But in camp and the preseason, Luchanko impressed the heck out of the front office and now is getting a shot. He will become the youngest player to ever wear the orange and black.

“Going into training camp, I never thought he had much of a chance,” Briere said after the Flyers’ roster was submitted. “More of an outside chance, small outside chance, to be honest. But he’s blown us away from Day 1.”

Luchanko had just two assists in the preseason, but Briere and head coach John Tortorella said it was the little details that caught them. They will keep him around to see what he can do when the real games begin. The Flyers will have nine games to decide whether or not to keep Luchanko around as a full-timer in the NHL or send him back to Guelph in the OHL.

And do not forget about Jamie Drysdale, who the Flyers acquired from the Ducks in the wild Cutter Gauthier trade. He missed time with a shoulder injury and needed surgery for a sports hernia after the season. But the 22-year-old will add skill to the blue line this season.

Similar Group

While the Flyers continue their retooling, they are pretty much running it back with a similar roster as last season. They are of course gaining Michkov and Luchanko, along with hoping for steps forward from Morgan Frost, Owen Tippett, Joel Farabee, Bobby Brink, and Tyson Foerster.

All had good years last year but was not enough to make the postseason. Believe it or not, they were in the mix almost the whole year. But they just were not ready or furnished for it.

And do not forget about Konecny, who recorded 68 points with 33 goals this season and got a bag this offseason. He received an eight-year, $70 million contract extension, featuring an average annual value of $8.75 million which begins in the 2025-26 season. Tippett is a 30-goal scorer if he can stay consistent and Frost got more confident as a play-making center as last season continued.

They have talent on offense. Now, if it can be more consistent and if they can continue to win games with smart defense and on the transition, watch out for the Flyers.

Here is the full roster.

Who is in Net?

This may be the Flyers’ biggest question entering the season because there are a lot of options.

Samuel Ersson spent the summer preparing to be the No. 1 goaltender for the Flyers. Ersson last season in 51 games went 23-28 with four shutouts, a 2.82 goals-against-average, and a .890 save percentage.

Ivan Fedotov went into the offseason with the expectation of being the backup while getting more time to adjust to the team and the area, which he did not really get to do when he came over in the middle of the season. 

Then all of a sudden, Alexei Kolosov’s holdups to coming to America were resolved and showed up in Voorhees. The 22-year-old goalie, who was drafted by the Flyers in the third round in 2021, is here to be the Phantoms’ main goalie down in the AHL. He will likely get an NHL call-up if the Flyers need a goalie sometime this year.

Tortorella has praised Ersson’s toughness and work ethic in camp. But, he has no clue how this is going to end up.

“It scares the crap out of me,” Tortorella said. “It’s Ers’ first time really being the guy. As much as I love him mentally, I don’t know how that all works out. “

So, the Flyers have a plan. Which is crazy hearing they have the goaltender position figured out.

Schedule

Here is the Flyers’ full 82-game schedule.

They get started in Vancouver Friday night and come home for the first time on Saturday, October 19.

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