Observations From Flyers Rookie Camp

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The Philadelphia Flyers commenced their 2025 Rookie Camp with a two game Rookie Series against the New York Rangers at the PPL Center in Allentown, PA.

The Flyers won the first game on Friday, 4-3 in overtime, while the Rangers took Game Two, 5-2 on Saturday.

Normally, this set of games is played at the end of camp, but the teams are trying to get an early bearing on their prospects. As a result, it shouldn’t be judged based on executing systemic hockey with limited run-up time. Therefore, neither game was a display of such.

“I didn’t think it was great hockey by either side if you really look at it,” Lehigh Valley Phantoms coach John Snowden said. “It was pretty sloppy, which is to be expected in these kinds of games. Back-to-back games. Guys haven’t done it in months and months.”

With that in mind, let’s take a look at how the Flyers prospects performed.

Who Impressed?

Denver Barkey-One of the standout players over the weekend, Barkey showed why fans can be excited about his pro future. He scored a goal and generated two excellent scoring chances. Moreover, Flyers director of player development Riley Armstrong called him “a mini-Konecny” which was plainly evident as he was relentless on his shift

Jack Nesbitt-The 12th overall pick in the 2025 Draft, Nesbitt’s line combined with Alex Bump and Samu Tuomaala was a puck possession machine. Though they were unable to score through the weekend, Nesbitt especially showed an “all-zones” tenacity.

Ethan Samson-Now in his third pro season, Samson’s intelligent play on the ice should put him on the Flyers radar. He consistently jumped into the play offensively during the weekend and ran point on the power-play. His goal on Saturday night was the result of vision and patience, capping a two point weekend (with an assist on Friday).

Tucker Robertson-Recently acquired for J.R. Avon, Robertson was really good playing on the wing. A natural center, his playmaking flashed with an excellent cross ice pass that found Barkey for his first pro goal on Friday.

Spencer Gill-While it wasn’t a perfect weekend for Gill, he showed an innate awareness of when to step up into plays and when to drop back. Importantly, with Snowden’s intention for his defensemen to be offensively involved, that ability bodes well for his rookie season.

Matthew Gard-Really liked what we saw of Gard. In his fourth line center role, he was defensively responsible and engaged throughout the weekend. Made an impressive pivot and spin move off a Rangers defender to get a scoring chance. He will be fun to watch this season in Red Deer.

Played To Expectations

Nikita Grebenkin-Grebenkin scored the overtime winning goal on Friday and finished the weekend with three points.

However it wasn’t a flawless set of games for the Russian forward. The key for him to make it to the NHL will be consistency in all zones. He is likely to project as a bottom six forward, but he can’t be as invisible as he was in Friday’s game. Additionally he made a terrible turnover in the slot area on Saturday that the Flyers were able to recover from.

Alex Bump-While most are looking ahead to training camp for Bump, his rookie series performance was going to be watched. If you looked at the stat sheet alone, you would have thought he was invisible as he went without a point. Conversely, anyone who watched him saw a player who was able to get wherever he wanted and could hold on to the puck as long as he wanted to.

Karsen Dorwart-The Flyers college free agent signing out of Michigan State last season, Dorwart plays a defensively conscious game with some big hits baked in. In addition, he notched two assists and is likely to be a quick call-up if a bottom six player gets injured.

Alexis Gendron-Despite his size, Gendron’s ability to find the net was on display with a goal in both games. While he may not have a well rounded pro game yet, I wouldn’t be surprised if he earned a call-up at some point.

Samu Tuomaala-The Finnish forward is at a “make or break” point of his career. His work with Nesbitt and Bump proved that he can be a complimentary part of a strong line. However, the Flyers are hoping for more than that. Perhaps his unexpected fight with Ranger Rico Gredig shows a heightened sense of urgency.

Some Room For Improvement

Carson Bjarnason-There should be tempered expectations heading into Bjarnason’s first professional season. Both games showed why as the 2023 second round pick gave up three stoppable goals. However, after this weekend’s trade of Ivan Fedotov, his pathway to development time is clear. He’ll be competing with second year goalie Aleksei Kolosov for playing time.

Devin Kaplan-Was hoping to see more from him this weekend. The Boston University product did get an assist on Jacob Gaucher’s game tying goal on Friday. He also delivered a couple of big hits and got work on the power play with Bump and Barkey. We’ll see how he looks in training camp and preseason.

Ty Murchinson-The former Arizona State defenseman had an up and down weekend. He showed a willingness to push play in the offensive zone, but it was occasionally detrimental.

One such circumstance on Saturday saw him collide with Nesbitt behind the Rangers net, which led to a three on one goal for New York. Furthermore, he let Brennan Othmann go right by him in the defensive zone due to a bad read, which led to another goal.

It will be a learning experience for him in Lehigh Valley this season.

Luke Vlooswyk: It’s good to have a 6 foot 5 right shot defenseman like Vlooswyck who can move the puck. Nevertheless, you can also see there’s a lot of work to be done in his overall game. Expect to see him refine things back in the WHL.