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The Philadelphia Flyers announced the first 15 cuts to their preseason camp roster on Saturday. There were no surprise cuts in the mix. However, there were a couple mild surprises among the players who will stay on for the start of the exhibition slate.
The roster now stands at 42 players in camp. The Flyers open their four-game exhibition schedule Monday. The team travels to Hershey to take on the Washington Capitals at the Giant Center.
Junior player cuts
The Flyers returned seven junior players to their respective CHL clubs. For five draft-plus-one players, this was more a reflection of the shortened training camps in the NHL than the players’ performances at Rookie Camp and the Rookie Series.
Draft-plus-one
Maksim Sokolovskii (D): The Flyers 2026 first-round pick reports to the OHL’s London Knights. He fared better than expected in Development Camp, Rookie Camp and the Rookie Series. That said, the 18-year-old is raw and needs patient development. He earned a main group (A/B) assignment on the first two days of practice at the NHL camp.
Brek Liske (D): Liske, the Flyers 2026 second-round pick, earned power play time during the Rookie Series. The organization also rewarded him with a Group A assignment on the first two days of NHL Camp. That’s a strong indication that they liked what they’ve seen of the 18-year-old Manitoban. Moreover, Liske also earned a spot of Team Canada at the World Junior Summer Showcase. He heads to the defending WHL champion Everett Silvertips with boosted confidence.
K.J. Sauer (F): The raw but physically aggressive forward showed some flashes of potential this summer. He was assigned to Group C on the first two days of NHL Camp. The Flyers have always considered him a multi-year project player. As a Draft-plus-one prospect, the 2026 fifth rounder has plenty of time to progress. Meanwhile, he heads to the Western Hockey League’s Edmonton Oil Kings.
Martin Psohlavec (G): The Flyers were very encouraged with their first camp glimpses at the 62nd overall pick of the 2026 Draft. The big Czech netminder will head to the WHL’s Saskatoon Blades.
Marek Sklenicka (G): The “other Czech goalie” the Flyers chose in the 2026 draft, fourth rounder Sklenicka, is not as developmentally advanced as countryman Psohlavec. Nevertheless, the Flyers like his physical potential and athleticism, too. That’s why they ultimately selected both goalies from the Czeck national junior team. Sklenicka returns to the WHL’s Seatttle Thunderbirds.
Draft-plus-two
The Flyers returned two 2025 draftees (draft-plus-two season) to their junior teams. Neither advanced beyond Group C in the first two days of NHL Camp. Meanwhile, neither got invites to Team Canada for the World Junior Summer Showcase earlier this off-season. That is not a “death sentence” for a prospect’s hopes of an entry-level-contract before their NHL rights expire (June 1, 2027). Nevertheless, it does indicate — much more than one’s junior point totals — if the player needs to pick up his overall development pace this season.
Luke Vlooswyk (D): The Flyers like the size and mobility of their 2025 fifth-round pick (157th overall). He also showed flashes at Development and Rookie Camp after playing well (often paired with Liske) for Everett last season. Nevertheless, the fact that he was assigned to Group C at NHL camp and needs to demonstrate further advancement as a puck mover gives him some important homework this season for Everett. It’s hard to make it these days as solely a stay-at-home defensemen unless the player is an elite shutdown defender. The potential is there for more diversity in his D+2 year.
Nathan Quinn (C/W): The smallish QMJHL forward is potentially on a minor league contract opportunity track as he enters his D+2 year with Simon Gagne’s Quebec Remparts. He has some skill and creativity. Nevertheless, the prime read on his development status is this equation: no national team consideration plus lower lineup role in the Rookie Series plus Group C assignments in NHL Camp equals a player who needs accelerated growth this season for Entry Level Contract consideration. Those things are more telling than his regular season QMHL point totals (73 points in 58 games, six playoff points in 11 postseason matches) as D+1.
Phantoms camp
This group of eight players — some under NHL entry-level deals, some on AHL contracts — will head to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms training camp this week. For some, the 2026-27 season marks their final chance to carve out a potential NHL track career. For others, it’s AHL business as usual. Meanwhile, for two, it’s the beginning of a developmental path.
Brady Berard (C): The 22-year-old Providence and Boston College alum enters his first professional season. He’ll try to eventually earn AHL ice time with the Phantoms over the next year.
Alex Ciernik (W): The smallish Slovak has skill. He needs to show more consistency and stay healthy as he enters his first full season in North America.
Devin Kaplan (W): The big winger saw one NHL game in 2024-25 to burn the first year of his ELC. He had a good AHL opening night last season for the Phantoms but had a just OK season overall. In 2026-27, he enters the final season of his NHL two-way contract. Kaplan skated with Group C on the first few days on NHL camp and has dropped on the depth chart. He needs dramatic advancement in Lehigh Valley in 2026-27.
Owen McLaughlin (W/C): The Chester County native is on an AHL deal. His immediate goal is to earn his way from probable ECHL (Reading Royals) assignment to AHL lineup consideration over the course of 2026-27.
Ilya Pautov (W): The Russian winger took an ambitious step this summer. He will attempt to skip the KHL and advance directly for the MHL (Russian junior) and VHL (Russian minor league) level directly to the North American pros. He’s skilled but very small and very raw. The Flyers have the option of loaning Pautov to the QMJHL’s Gatineau Olympiques for the 2026-27 season. That may be the best step in the short term, although he’s officially an over-age player (20) for the Q. He simply does not look physically ready for the demands of the AHL yet.
Zayde Wisdom (W): Wisdom, on an AHL deal, is no longer considered an NHL prospect. However, the tough 24-year-old winger has emerged as a well-respected young AHL veteran. He’s part of the Phantoms’ leadership core.
Jackson Edward (D): The 22-year-old London Knights alum and former Boston Bruins prospect is a borderline ECHL/ AHL depth piece for the Phantoms. He’s on the final year of the ELC he signed with the Bruins in 2023.
Andrew Perrott (D): The rugged 25-year-old minor league veteran defenseman has progressed from ECHL player to an AHL semi-regular. He’s not an NHL candidate but could give some quality games to the Phantoms in 2025-26. He’s another London Knights alum.
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2025 late second-round pick Matthew Gard survived the first round of roster cuts in camp. This was for two reasons:
- The big, rugged center performed well in development camp, Rookie camp, and the Rookie Series. Gard displayed two-way awareness and ability to win battles on the wall and near the net. The organization seems him as a viable future bottom-six pro forward.
- Gard has one more junior season to play (WHL’s Seattle Thunderbirds) before he heads to Michigan State in 2027-28. Come next year, he’ll be ineligible for Rookie Camp or NHL Camp due to NCAA regulations.
Therefore, the Flyers will take a little extended look at Gard in camp this year. Eventually, he’ll head to Seattle for the 2026-27 campaign.
Did you know? Gard was a full-time defenseman at the minor hockey level in his native Manitoba. In fact, his defensive partner for one season was none other than fellow Flyers draftee Brek Liske.
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