Flyers Prospects, Core Players Rank Middle of the Pack Compared to NHL Peers

Despite being in the second year of the official start of the proverbial rebuild, the Philadelphia Flyers prospects have yet to vault into the upper echelon of young cores around the NHL.

TSN hockey analyst Craig Button and FloSports prospects analyst Chris Peters combined to grade every NHL team’s “core four” players under 24, ultimately ranking the Flyers 15th in the league and placing them in the middle of the pack.

To nobody’s surprise, rookie standout Matvei Michkov led the way for the Flyers, earning a grade of ‘AA’ (elite), the second-highest behind ‘AAA’ (superstar). The only players under 24 on the list to earn the AAA status were Jack Hughes, Macklin Celebrini, and Connor Bedard.

Flyers could improve supporting cast for Matvei Michkov

Behind Michkov, 2024 first-round pick Jett Luchanko earned an ‘A’ grade, which designates him as a future first-line forward. That ranking was a little curious, considering 23-year-old defenseman Cam York and star KHL goalie Egor Zavragin both earned ‘B’ grades.

This ranking classifies York as a top-four defenseman, and Zavragin as a tandem goalie. With York currently on injured reserve, it’s hard to argue his grade after only one full year in the NHL, which was last season. If York maintains the level of play he showed last year, he would indeed be a top-four defenseman. Not better, and not worse.

Given Zavragin’s elite level of play for a KHL powerhouse like SKA St.Petersburg at the age of 19, his grade seems a bit low.

Further to that point, Zavragin was ranked fifth of the five Flyers prospects, outside of the core four and being deemed “plus more”.

Defenseman Oliver Bonk, a 2023 first-round pick, completes the core four for the Flyers. Bonk has been excellent for the London Knights in the OHL, earning him a ‘B’ grade like York and Zavragin.

Zavragin may have the highest ceiling of all the Flyers players graded below Michkov, but Button and Peters felt differently at this point in time.

Notable omissions for the Flyers include 2024 second-round pick Spencer Gill, 2020 second-round picks Emil Andrae and Helge Grans, and 2021 third-round pick Aleksei Kolosov.