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The Philadelphia Flyers prospects embark this weekend upon their annual two-game rookie series with the New York Rangers. Game time at the PPL Center In Allentown is 7 p.m. EDT on Friday and 5 p.m. EDT on Saturday. Both games will be streamed by the Flyers with Brian Smith handling play-by-play duties.
Who’s playing, who’s not: Flyers vs. Rangers
The Flyers announced on Thursday that 2024 first-round pick Jett Luchanko will miss on-ice activities during Rookie Camp. The speedy 19-year-old center also missed Development Camp and the World Junior Summer Showcase. However, the organization maintains it is simply using an abundance of caution ahead of NHL training camp. Luchanko dealt with a groin issue over the summer. The Flyers say they expect Luchanko to participate fully in NHL camp at the end of next week.
Apart from Luchanko, all Rookie Camp roster players are available for Friday and Saturday’s games. This includes 2023 first-round pick Oliver Bonk and fellow first-year pro Denver Barkey. Both former London Knights players missed Development Camp in July. Barkey was not yet fully recovered from a high ankle sprain, although he returned for the OHL Final and Memorial Cup championship series. Bonk, meanwhile, was a little banged up from the lengthy postseason run. He rested during the July camp.
On the Rangers side, 2023 first-round pick Gabe Perrault is the most notable Rookie Series participant. Meanwhile, it’s now or never for 2021 first-round pick Brennan Othmann. The annual Rookie Series participant is now 22 years old. He’s still trying to carve out an NHL roster spot for himself. Flyers counterparts Samu Tuomaala and Alex Bump (a first-time Rookie series participant after his college career) are also borderline overqualified for the caliber of typical Rookie series games. 2025 first-round pick Jack Nesbitt will play in his first Rookie Series.
The full Rangers roster is below. As of this writing, all listed players are available to play in the two-game set. As per NCAA rules that prohibit college players from attending pro camps that overlap with the academic calendar, none of the Flyers or Rangers collegiate prospects are in Rookie Camp. Likewise, most European league players are now with their club teams overseas.
Prospective line combinations
Flyers Rookie Series and Lehigh Valley Phantoms head coach John Snowden ran line rushes at Thursday’s practice in Voorhees. The team will also hold a morning skate at the Flyers Training Center on Thursday before they bus to Allentown. On Saturday morning, non-game roster players will skate at the PPL Center.
Thursday’s practice lines are subject to change by game time on Friday. On Saturday, it’s more likely than not that there will be some lineup and line combinations changes.
Alex Bump – Jack Nesbitt – Samu Tuomaala
Denver Barkey – Jacob Gaucher – Denver Kaplan
Alexis Gendron – Karsen Dorwart – Nikita Grebenkin
Nathan Quinn – Matthew Gard – Sawyer Boulton/Tucker Robertson
Hunter McDonald – Oliver Bonk
Ty Murchison – Spencer Gill
Andre Mondoux – Ethan Samson
Austin Moline – Luke Vloosywk
Carson Bjarnason
Joey Costanzo
Let’s Go Flyers