Flyers Have Two of NHL’s Top 10 Prospects

The Philadelphia Flyers have two of hockey’s top nine prospects as selected by NHL Network — and three of the top 50.

Matvei Michkov was selected as fourth-best prospect. He was the seventh overall pick in this year’s draft. Cutter Gauthier was picked as the ninth-best prospect. He was the fifth overall pick in last year’s draft.

Michkov is playing for SKA in Russia. Gauthier will be a sophomore at Boston College.

NHL Network picked a top 50 and Flyers forward Tyson Foerster was selected 49th. Foerster was selected 23rd overall in the 2020 draft. Foerster is expected to make a strong run at a Flyers’ roster spot coming out of training camp.

The Flyers join the Devils and Blue Jackets with two prospects in the top 10.

The Criteria:

NHL Network experts ranked all players 25-and-under who have played fewer than 25 NHL games.

Some Interesting Tidbits:

David Reinbacher, selected fifth by Montreal (two ahead of Michkov), is ranked 17th.

Dmitri Simashev, selected sixth by Arizona (one ahead of Michkov), is unranked by NHL Network.

Ryan Leonard, selected eighth by Washington (one after Michkov), is ranked 18th.

The Top 10 Prospects:

1. Connor Bedard, Blackhawks
2. Adam Fantilli, Blue Jackets
3. Leo Carlsson, Ducks
4. Matvei Michkov, Flyers
5. Luke Hughes, Devils
6. Logan Cooley, Coyotes
7. Simon Nemec, Devils
8. David Jiricek, Blue Jackets
9. Cutter Gauthier, Flyers
10. Will Smith, Sharks

Prospects by Team

Ten teams did not have a top 50 prospect.

Here are the prospects by team:

Teams with Four Prospects on the List

• Blue Jackets (2, 8, 40, 47)
• Predators (22, 34, 38, 45)
• Sabres (19, 27, 28, 30)

Teams with Three Prospects on the List

• Flyers (4, 9, 49)
• Blackhawks (1, 33, 35)
• Ducks (3, 16, 23)
• Wild (21, 37, 41)
• Flames (29, 43, 48)
• Blues (31, 32, 46)

Teams with Two Prospects on the List

• Devils (5, 7)
• Sharks (10, 24)
• Red Wings (11, 25)
• Stars (12, 42)
• Kraken (15, 50)
• Canadiens (17, 26)
• Rangers (36, 44)

Teams with One Prospect on the List

• Coyotes (6)
• Kings (13)
• Maple Leafs (14)
• Capitals (18)
• Hurricanes (20)
• Senators (39)