Flyers Quick Hits: Rookie Camp Countdown and More

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Flyers Rookie Camp: Players to Watch

With each passing day, more and more Flyers players arrive in Voorhees to prepare for NHL training camp. Meanwhile, Rookie Camp gets underway later this week. On Friday and Saturday, the Flyers prospects will play their New Rangers counterparts in the fourth annual Rookie Series at PPL Center in Allentown.

With the notable exception of Gabe Perrault, the Rangers will not have have many top prospects at their Rookie Camp. On the Flyers side, due to NCAA regulations, 2025 first-round pick Porter Martone (Michigan State) is unable to attend. Likewise, collegiate prospects such as 2025 second-round picks Carter Amico, Jack Murtagh and Shane Vansaghi cannot take part in Philadelphia’s camp.

Nevertheless, the Flyers will still have a host of notable draftees in this year’s camp and Rookie Series. Here are seven players to watch.

Jett Luchanko (C)

The Flyers’ 2024 first-round selection (13th overall) made the team’s opening-night NHL roster and dressed in four games before the organization reassigned him to the Ontario Hockey League’s Guelph Storm. The 19-year-old center dealt with a lower-body issue this offseason. However, the speedy pivot expects to be fine for the 2025-26 season.

Luchanko is a fine playmaking prospect with advanced two-way awareness for a teenager. He has worked on shooting the puck more often to keep opponents honest. He’s always a breakaway threat in transition.

Jack Nesbitt (C)

The 2025 Rookie Camp is a starting point for the 18-year-old Windsor Spitfires (OHL) center. The Flyers will keep a close eye on how far he advances from now until next year and then the next two Rookie Camps after that. The organization does not see him as a fast-track NHLer. However, as he fills out his lanky frame and gains experience, the Flyers see Nesbitt as a second-line NHL center in the long term. His skating should improve as he gains muscle and explosiveness.

The organization believed strongly enough to move up 10 spots and select Nesbitt with the 12th overall pick of the 2025 Draft. Nashville Predators general manager Barry Trotz had a deal in place to move up and take Nesbitt 13th if Philly hadn’t jumped past them. Likewise, the Vancouver Canucks (15th) planned to take the player if available.

Oliver Bonk (D)

The 2023 first-round pick (22nd overall) enters his first professional season. He had an excellent junior career with the OHL’s London Knights and appeared for Team Canada at each of the last two World Junior Championships. However, he struggled in last year’s NHL preseason. The Flyers may experiment with Bonk on the power play bumper in the Rookie Series. He played as the power play slot shooter in London the last season-and-a-half on top of his shutdown blueliner role at 5-on-5 and the penalty kill.

Bonk, 20, is likely to start the 2025-26 season with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. However, Flyers Hockey Operations believe he’ll be NHL ready in the near future.

Carson Bjarnason (G)

The Flyers’ 2023 second-round pick also enters his first pro campaign. He’s the projected starting goaltender in at least one of the two Rookie Series games. The 6-foot-3 netminder has filled out considerably over the past three seasons. He dealt with a lower-body injury in the spring that hampered him in the WHL playoffs and made him unavailable to play for the Phantoms in the Calder Cup playoffs.

Bjarnason dressed as Cal Petersen’s backup after Parker Gahagen went down with an injury. However, Bjarnason would only have played if Petersen himself was physically unable to continue. Bjarnason will compete for AHL playing time this season (presumably with Ivan Fedotov and Aleksei Kolosov). However, he may get his feet wet in the ECHL at some point. That remains to be seen in the NHL/AHL preseason.

Denver Barkey (LW)

The high-motor winger dealt with mono last year around this time. The Flyers see the 2023 third-round pick as a potential top-nine forward as he gains experience. He was a dangerous penalty killer — a constant shorthanded scoring threat — at the junior level. The Flyers do not expect him to be a huge scorer in the pro game (he was a big point-getter in his last two junior seasons). Rather, they see him as a two-way energy player with the ability to chip some timely offense.

Barkey is not big (5-foot-10) but he’s quick and very competitive. He served as the Knights’ captain last year, winning both the OHL championship and the Memorial Cup. He’s a rookie pro in 2025-26.

Spencer Gill (D)

The 2024 second-round pick (59th overall) will head back to the QMJHL at some point in upcoming weeks. Flyers Hockey Ops staff was thrilled with his progress last year. Unfortunately, an ankle injury sidelined him from the QMJHL playoffs and Memorial Cup.

Gill appeared for Team Canada at the 2025 Summer Showcase. He’s added about 15 pounds of muscle to his 6-foot-4 frame over the last year, and now comes in at roughly 205 pounds. The Flyers like his mobility as well as his size. Gill also has some offensive upside.

Ty Murchison (D)

Here’s an under-the-radar player to track in camp and the Rookie Series. The Flyers signed the 5th round 2021 draftee (158th overall) on March 26 after he finished his four-year college career at Arizona State. Murchison, 22, brings a very physical style of play. He’ll block shots and stand up for teammates. Murchison impressed in four late-season games with Lehigh Valley. He even scored his first professional goal after not tallying any in his senior collegiate season.

Murchison, however, knows that he wasn’t signed for offense. The 6-foot-2, 205-pound USNDTP left defenseman needs to play a simple but feisty game. He showed that in his brief AHL stint late last season.

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