Top 10 reasons to watch the fast-rising Flyers this season

The Flyers are back, and with prized prospect Matvei Michkov in tow, expectations are the highest they’ve been on the ice in a while.

After narrowly missing the playoffs a year ago, the Orange and Black have their eyes firmly set on taking the next step in 2024-25, beginning with two points in their season opener Friday in Vancouver (10 p.m., NBCSP).

Here are 10 things to watch for from the Flyers this season:

» READ MORE: NHL predictions: Will Matvei Michkov lead the Flyers back to the playoffs? Who wins the Stanley Cup?

It’s been 15 years since the Flyers have had a 40-goal scorer. Michkov’s arrival likely means that the drought is near its end. But could another Flyer end it first? Travis Konecny scored 31 goals and 33 goals in the last two seasons and seems poised to push on from there. Look for Konecny, or maybe even Owen Tippett (28 goals last year), to make a serious run at the Big 4-0.

Look at the Flyers’ 23-man roster to open the season and you’ll notice a lot of “F’s.” In forwards Morgan Frost, Joel Farabee, Tyson Foerster, and goaltender Ivan Fedotov, the Flyers have four players whose last names begin with the sixth letter of the alphabet. All four are pivotal players, as Frost and Farabee are both at a career crossroads, Foerster is expected to take a big step forward in Year 2, and Fedotov, after a two-year delay, finally gets a chance to prove himself in the NHL.

» READ MORE: It’s now or never for Morgan Frost with John Tortorella and the Flyers ... for real this time

Danny Brière may be green when it comes to being an NHL general manager but you wouldn’t know it based on the first 17 months of his tenure. Brière has pulled off several major trades — Ivan Provorov, Cutter Gauthier, and Sean Walker — and negotiated the arrivals of Russian-based players Michkov, Fedotov, and Alexei Kolosov. The Flyers might look content with their roster right now but don’t be surprised if Brière swings another significant deal this season to net the team more draft capital. Could Frost, Farabee, Scott Laughton, or Rasmus Ristolainen fetch a worthwhile return?

This is hardly a hot take as the Flyers’ 12.2% conversion rate on the power play ranked dead last among the NHL’s 32 teams. The Flyers have finished bottom of the league with the man advantage for three straight seasons now, but help is finally on the way. Michkov should do wonders for the power play given his creativity and hockey IQ, as should inserting a healthy Jamie Drysdale, a defenseman with the type of lateral skating that the Flyers have longed lacked on the blue line. Look for the power play to make a significant jump.

Before returning last season, Sean Couturier went over 600 days between NHL games following a pair of back surgeries. But 2023-24 proved to be a tale of two seasons for Couturier, who racked up nine goals and 23 points over the first 31 games, but only two goals and 15 points over the final 43 contests. Flyers fans were hard on Couturier, but it is important to remember the serious nature of his injuries. Year 2 should provide a fairer assessment of where the captain’s at, especially after undergoing sports hernia surgery this summer. The Flyers need Couturier to resemble something closer to his former self given his hefty contract and their lack of strength down the middle. This season should provide a good glimpse of whether he can do it.

After a strong first half, Sam Ersson struggled down the stretch as a rookie, partially because of taking on an almost impossible workload following Carter Hart’s departure from the team. This season, Ersson is the clear No. 1 goalie and now has the 51 games he played last season as experience to draw on. The 24-year-old, who is known for his calm demeanor, will be the most important player to the Flyers’ playoff hopes.

Flyers fans have had Jan. 11 circled on their calendars since the NHL schedule was released in July. That’s the date the Anaheim Ducks, and Public Enemy No. 1, Cutter Gauthier, visit the Wells Fargo Center. For those living under a rock, Gauthier, the No. 5 overall pick in 2022, refused to play for the Flyers and demanded a trade. Brière flipped the highly touted goal scorer to Anaheim for Drysdale and a 2025 second-round pick on Jan. 8. Let’s just say Gauthier, who goaded he is “pumped” to play the Flyers, should expect an extra-warm Philly welcome, full of boos and vitriol.

» READ MORE: Trading Cutter Gauthier is the Flyers’ first big setback in their rebuild

While Michkov’s early arrival dominated the headlines over early summer, he won’t be the only teenager on the Flyers roster to open the season. The other is 18-year-old Jett Luchanko, who has in a matter of months transformed from a maligned first-round draft pick to one of only two players from the 2024 class to break camp with an NHL team. In Michkov and the speedy Luchanko, Flyers fans will get a look at both the present and future of the organization. While Luchanko’s stay might last only nine games, would anyone be surprised at this point if he stuck around for the whole season?

Flyers fans, and the players themselves, are craving the return of playoff hockey for the first time in four seasons, and the Wells Fargo Center’s hosting a postseason Flyers game for the first time in six. Last year, the team came agonizingly close, an eight-game losing streak dooming the Flyers to another disappointing dressing room cleanout day in mid-April. John Tortorella and Brière have done everything they can to temper expectations this season, with Tortorella saying last week that “we have so much [expletive] to do with our team before we even start talking about [playoffs].” But armed with a new offensive dynamo in Michkov, and youngsters like Cam York, Tippett, Foerster, and Ersson all a year older, the Flyers are not as far away from playoff contention as the brass would lead you to believe. Is this the year? The Flyers should at least be in the conversation.

Michkov’s rookie season isn’t just the biggest reason to watch the Flyers this year but maybe the biggest reason to watch the Flyers in a decade. The Russian phenom, 19, is a potential generational talent who possesses a level of creativity and skill that has been absent from the Flyers for years. After several down seasons, Michkov’s arrival finally gives Flyers fans a tangible sign of progress and a foundational piece to hopefully build a Stanley Cup contender around. If the preseason is any indicator, expect a lot of highlights, potentially some clashes with Tortorella, and a lot of orange No. 39 jerseys at the Wells Fargo Center. Michkov mania is here to stay.