2026-27 NHL Prospect Pool Breakdown: Philadelphia Flyers’ Top 10

Aug 4, 2026, 10:30 EDTUpdated: Jul 30, 2026, 09:57 EDT

2026-27 NHL Prospect Pool Breakdown: Philadelphia Flyers’ Top 10

Credit: Steven Ellis

Welcome back.

It’s time for Daily Faceoff’s third annual NHL Prospect Pool Breakdown, looking at the best all 32 teams have to offer. We’re highlighting the top 10 prospects for every franchise, their biggest strengths and weaknesses, and so much more.

Here are the criteria for being labeled a prospect: players generally have to have played in 50 or fewer NHL games. Players over 23 years old are not included. Goaltenders are a bit more subjective, but they must be 25 or under and have played fewer than 20 games in the past season or fewer than 30 games over their career.

Today, we’re breaking down the Philadelphia Flyers.

The Flyers surprised many by making the playoffs and emerging victorious in their first-round matchup against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Interestingly enough, it was a rookie, Porter Martone, that ended up stealing the show late in the season. The team’s first-round pick in 2025 started the year in college, but finished as one of Philadelphia’s most valuable contributors.

Now, he’s set to have a huge role heading into the season, and will look to be a major part of Philadelphia’s future going forward. Beyond that, the Flyers have a so-so prospect pool. There are definitely some guys who you could envision playing decent roles throughout the lineup, but there aren’t a ton of high-impact players waiting in the wings.

I wouldn’t call it a bad pool, but I can say I haven’t loved all of their early picks recently. They have gone very heavy on the physical front, and I think that is a decent move forward. I do wonder if the Jett Luchnako selection will haunt them in the end, though (Konsta Helenius was always the better pick, hindsight or not).

Biggest Strength

Like the Utah Mammoth, the Flyers really covet size. A large chunk of their pipeline features players standing 6-foot-3 or more, and Maksim Sokolovskii is massive at 6-foot-8. Even some of the more depth guys, like Shane Vansaghi, play pretty heavy. It’s clear the scouting department wanted to bring back the Broad Street Bullies moniker, and it truly feels like Philly has one of the scarier pipelines in the NHL. Scary, of course, in the sense that I wouldn’t want to piss them off during a tight playoff game if I were the Penguins. Less so on the, “these guys are going to destroy us will skill” angle.

Biggest Weakness

Sokolovskii is the lone left-handed defender on this list, and I don’t think the others in the system are realistic threats to make the NHL. They’re especially weak on the puck-moving side of things; Sokolovskii will never be known for his transporting duties (except for transporting opponents to a different dimension). That’s something the team will need to address moving forward (especially after trading away Emil Andrae just as he started to establish himself as an NHLer. Philly has two-first round picks in 2027, and I hope they use one of them to boost this spot.

Fast Facts:

NHL GM: Daniel Briere
Dir. of Amateur Scouting: Brent Flahr
Dir. of Player Development: Riley Armstrong
AHL Affiliate: Lehigh Valley Phantoms
ECHL Affiliate: Reading Royals
Recent NHL Graduates: Nikita Grebenkin, LW; Emil Andrae, LHD

TOP 10 PROSPECTS

*Porter Martone (Luther Schlaifer-Imagn Images)*

1. Porter Martone, RW, 19 (Philadelphia Flyers)

Acquired: Drafted sixth overall, first round in 2025

Martone made headlines last season as one of the most high-profile prospects to transition from the CHL to the NCAA. Drafted sixth overall by Philadelphia in 2025, he spent three years in the OHL establishing himself as a premier natural goal-scorer and one of the top hockey minds in his age group. Heading to MSU was about testing himself against older, stronger competition. His 25 goals led all NHL prospects in college. Blessed with arguably the best vision in the 2025 draft class, he possesses elite offensive instincts. His wrist shot is remarkable, and he processes the game at speed as well as any incoming rookie. After an excellent end to the 2025-26 regular season, expect Martone to be one of the top challengers for the Calder Trophy.

2. Yegor Zavragin, G, 20 (Metallurg Magnitogorsk, KHL)

Acquired: Drafted 87th overall, third round in 2023

Goaltending development in Russia can be a bit of a mixed bag. For starters, the 20-year-old is set for his third KHL team already after spending time with HK Sochi and SKA. St Petersburg. SKA’s crease was a bit busy, so now he’ll have a chance to finally challenge for the starting gig with Magnitogorsk. Zavragin had incredible numbers in the VHL with five shutouts and a league-leading .949 save percentage in 18 games. Save percentage can be a bit inflated in the second-tier Russian league (40 goalies registered at least a .920) but Zavragin was clearly too good, regardless. He’s quite mobile with a solid 6-foot-2 frame and does an excellent job of tracking pucks. Zavragin’s KHL deal will conclude this spring, and he’ll likely make the jump to the AHL for 2027-28.

3. Oliver Bonk, RHD, 21 (Lehigh Valley Phantoms, AHL)

Acquired: Drafted 22nd overall, first round in 2023

*Oliver Bonk (Eric Hartline-Imagn Images)*

Bonk turned pro last season and had a remarkable NHL debut, scoring a goal and adding an assist against Montreal. He also played his first year with the Phantoms, where he was on pace for about 30 points over a full season. Bonk is a 6-foot-2 blueliner who’s known more for his defensive stylings than his offensive dominance. He’s fully capable of carrying the puck, but I’d prefer to see him paired with someone with more skill. I wouldn’t be surprised if he made a push to stay up with the big club at the end of training camp because he got much better defensively as the 2025-26 season wore on.

4. Denver Barkey, LW, 21 (Philadelphia Flyers)

Acquired: Drafted 95th overall, third round in 2023

Barkey was seven games away from being too experienced for this list. He had 17 points in 43 NHL games last year and joined the Flyers for the team’s full playoff run, too. While he served as more of a depth forward, it was a good spot for him because he plays with so much energy. I also liked him with the Phantoms, where he was in more of a play-driving role and succeeded for the most part. The former London Knight is an excellent passer, and while he’s not big at 5-foot-10, he’s not afraid of anyone, either. He did a lot of winning in the OHL, and that can be huge for a young player’s confidence. Let’s see how he evolves over the next few years.

5. Jack Berglund, C, 20 (Farjestad BK, SHL)

Acquired: Drafted 51st overall, second round in 2024

Berglund has impressed me for his all-around play for a few years now. Domestically, his numbers have always felt a bit underwhelming. But no matter the team or the age group, Berglund seems to elevate his game when the stakes are high. Berglund was one of the top forwards at the World Juniors and then had a huge net-front presence at the World Championship to close out the year. Berglund is a tremendous playmaker who uses his 6-foot-4 frame to create offense. I feel very confident in him as a bottom-six NHLer – and I feel like it won’t take long for him to achieve that once he makes the trek over to North America full time.

6. Jett Luchanko, C, 20 (Lehigh Valley Phantoms, AHL)

Acquired: Drafted 13th overall, first round in 2024

*Jett Luchanko (Eric Hartline-Imagn Images)*

I thought the Luchanko pick in 2024 was a bit early, and it feels like his development stalled a bit last year. He was lackluster at the World Juniors and fell short of a point-per-game with Brantford during the team’s outstanding regular season campaign. Injuries impacted him, no doubt. But it still felt like an underwhelming campaign by all accounts. Still, I get the positives in his game. Luchanko plays with a ton of speed and is reliable defensively. Few Flyers prospects work as hard to win shifts as Luchanko. He’ll have a chance to play a full season with one team for the first time since his draft year, which should help with consistency.

7. Alex Bump, LW, 22 (Philadelphia Flyers)

Acquired: Drafted fifth round, 133rd overall in 2022

Bump had an impressive 17-game stretch with the Flyers, registering five goals and nine points in 17 games. He also had 11 goals and 26 points in 35 AHL games, showing he could handle the pressure of pro hockey after two great years at Western Michigan. Bonk is a solid puckhandler who plays with quite a bit of muscle, but he could have learned to use that a bit more to his advantage in the NHL. Still, his raw skill is intriguing and I could see him be a decent middle-six forward capable of 30-35-point seasons. For now, Bump just needs to consistently impress the coaching staff to ensure he’s with the big club on a full-time basis.

8. Jack Nesbitt, C, 19 (University of Michigan, NCAA)

Acquired: Drafted 12th overall, first round in 2025

I still think Nesbitt was taken too early at 12 last year (starting to become a trend, huh?), but it’s hard not to see the appeal in a 6-foot-5, two-way center. He had 25 goals and 58 points with Windsor last year while also continuing to improve his off-puck game. Nesbitt is a great puck distributor, and he’s very capable of powering through the middle of the ice to create opportunities. There’s a ton of raw skill here, and I could see him having a strong career as a No. 3 center with the potential to play the power play as a dominant net-front presence. Nesbitt is going to be a problem for college defenders this season.

9. Shane Vansaghi, RW, 21 (Michigan State University, NCAA)

Acquired: Drafted 48th overall, second round in 2025

*Shane Vansaghi (Steven Ellis/The Nation Network)*

Vansaghi is one of the most meat-and-potatoes players in Philly’s system. He has never been a point-producer and will probably max out as a bottom-six forward. But the appeal here is easy: he’s physically strong and works as hard as anyone. Vansaghi won’t beat many guys in 1-on-1 skill situations, but he’ll push you around and take your space away immediately. It’ll be interesting to see if he can find his scoring touch in his third year of college. For now, I like his future as a role player, but it would be excellent to see him push beyond that in the near future.

10. Maksim Sokolovskii, LHD, 18 (London Knights, OHL)

Acquired: Drafted 27th overall, first round in 2026

The Flyers taking Sokolovskii when they did definitely felt like a bit of a stretch, but one that at least makes sense. The Flyers love big dudes, and at 6-foot-8, Sokolovskii is absolutely massive. Nobody will mistake Sokolovskii for an offensive demon – he had eight points between 49 regular season and playoff games. But he’s truly a terrifying human being when it comes to 1-on-1 situations – he makes it his life mission to kill you. I loved his play against the Soo Greyhounds because he repeatedly had to go up against top forward Brady Martin and succeeded for the most part. I really like Sokolovskii as a shutdown option. He makes it his goal to stop guys at any cost, which should allow him to get to the NHL.

Other Prospects: Alex Ciernik, LW (21), Noah Powell, RW (21), Ilya Pautov, RW (20), Cole Knuble, RW (22), Devin Kalpan, RW (22), Kent Sauer, C (18), Jack Murtagh, LW (18), Matthew Gard, C (19), Max Westergard, LW (18), Nathan Quinn, C (18), Heikki Ruohonen, C (20), Ryan MacPherson, C (21), Spencer Gill, RHD (19), Jackson Edward, LHD (22), Ty Murchison, LHD (23), Brek Liske, RHD (18), Max Laatikainen, RHD (17), Carter Amico, RHD (19), Austin Moline, RHD (20), Luke Vlooswyk, RHD (19), Martin Psohlavec, G (18), Marek Sklenicka, G (17), Carson Bjarnason, G (21)

SPONSORED BY bet365

Recently from Steven Ellis

MORE FACEOFF.IN YOUR INBOX.

CLICK TO SUBSCRIBE TO OUR DAILY NEWSLETTER