Resetting the Flyers’ future: Which prospects beyond Jett Luchanko and draft picks do the Orange and Black have on the way?

The Flyers’ future is starting to come into focus.

By trading away Scott Laughton, 30; Erik Johnson, 37; and, Andrei Kuzmenko, 29, the Flyers took the long-term approach at the deadline, and now ice the third-youngest roster in the NHL, according to Left Wing Lock.

So what does that mean exactly? For one, it means some of the Flyers’ NHL-ready prospects should finally be given a chance to show whether they belong on John Tortorella’s proverbial “bus.”

Off the list of prospects from last season are winger Matvei Michkov, 20, and goalie Aleksei Kolosov, 23, with the former aiming to become the first Flyer to win rookie of the year, and the latter confusingly spending most of the season in the NHL as the No. 3 goalie. Also on the graduation list are forward Olle Lycksell, 25, and defenseman Emil Andrae, 23, who will be with the Flyers for the rest of the season.

» READ MORE: ‘Getting younger’ comes into focus after Flyers trade Erik Johnson, Scott Laughton, and Andrei Kuzmenko at deadline

In Lehigh Valley, 22-year-old winger Samu Tuomaala, who is out for six to eight weeks with a lower-body injury, and newly acquired forward Nikita Grebenkin, 21, are knocking on the door of the NHL. The Phantoms also have a couple of young developmental centers in Massimo Rizzo, 23; Elliot Desnoyers, 23; and 24-year-old Jacob Gaucher, who made his NHL debut in February. Adam Ginning, 25; Ethan Samson, 21; Hunter McDonald, 22; and 22-year-old Helge Grans — who was impressive during his NHL stint with the Flyers — are the defensive names to know.

But while these prospects are just one level down in Allentown, the guys in juniors and the college ranks are even more intriguing. Here’s a look at the Flyers’ top guys not yet playing pro hockey in North America.

Selected 13th overall by the Flyers last June, Luchanko was so impressive in training camp that he surprisingly earned a spot with the big club. The speedy center made his NHL debut in the season opener, and played in four games before being sent back to Guelph of the OHL. In December, he joined Bonk and Bjarnason on Canada’s World Junior team, but Flyers general manager Danny Brière was “disappointed” in the small role Canada gave Luchanko despite his being the team’s best skater. When he returned from the tournament, Luchanko was named the Storm’s captain for the rest of the season. Although Guelph did not make the OHL playoffs — its season ended Sunday — the center has continued to impress the Flyers and finished with 56 points (21 goals, 35 assists) in 46 games. Luchanko, who is No. 50 on the Athletic’s prospect rankings, is expected to be re-assigned to Lehigh Valley this week to finish the season with the Phantoms. Since Luchanko does not turn 20 until August 2026, unless he makes the NHL club next season, he would have to return to juniors for another year because of the NHL-CHL agreement.

The 19-year-old goalie has had a coming-out party in 2024-25. Although he was loaned to Sochi of the Kontinental Hockey League to start the season, Zavragin’s .941 save percentage in six games behind a bad team earned him a quick recall to SKA St. Petersburg. With the KHL powerhouse, he went 17-11-0 with a 2.55 GAA and .912 save percentage, remarkable numbers for a teenage netminder in the second-best league in the world. Drafted in the third round in 2023, the 6-foot-2 Zavragin has showcased athleticism, length, and a sound technical game. Zavragin was recently named one of the KHL’s players of the week after going 2-0 with a 0.50 GAA and .981 save percentage, which included a 23-save shutout of Sochi. Don’t expect him in Philly any time soon; he signed a three-year KHL deal in May 2024.

Moving up eight spots to No. 42 on the Athletic’s top 100 NHL prospects, Bonk continues to impress. After finishing with 67 points in 60 games last season, the London Knights defenseman saw his numbers dip to 40 in 52 games. But his defensive game has taken another step, punctuated by his going from plus-28 last season to plus-37, the eighth-best mark among blueliners in the Ontario Hockey League. The Canadian returned to the World Juniors in December and led the team in ice time. However, Brière was not happy with how he was used, stating in January that Bonk “had a big role, but they put him in positions that are not really what are going to be his strength moving forward, which was really weird to us.” Bonk, 20, is expected to turn pro next season.

» READ MORE: Flyers top 10 prospects: Matvei Michkov is No. 1, but where does Jett Luchanko land?

After putting together a solid freshman season with Western Michigan — he was a finalist for the NCHC rookie of the year award — Bump has exploded in 2024-25. The winger is tied for seventh in goals (23) and 12th in points (46) across NCAA men’s ice hockey. Of Bump’s 23 goals in 38 games, seven have come on the power play. On Saturday night, he scored twice as the Broncos rallied from a three-goal deficit to defeat the University of Denver, 4-3, in double overtime of the NCHC title game. His second goal was an overtime game-winner and delivered Western Michigan — Flyers president Keith Jones’ alma mater — its first NCHC title in program history. Bump, the Flyers’ fifth-round pick in 2022, was named tournament MVP. The Broncos now head to the NCAA tournament as the top seed in the Fargo Regional and will play Minnesota State on Thursday. Bump is expected to sign with the Flyers after Western Michigan’s season concludes.

A third-rounder in 2023, Barkey lit up the OHL despite facing adversity again. Named to Canada’s pre-tournament camp for the World Juniors, Barkey was one of the team’s final cuts for the second straight year. The snub did not negatively impact his play for London, as Barkey finished the regular season with 82 points in 50 games, his 57 assists ranking 10th in the OHL. He also tied for No. 2 in the OHL with five shorthanded goals, while his 14 career shorties are a Knights record. The size questions remain for Barkey at 5-foot-9, 154 pounds, but the 19-year-old plays much bigger and combines a great motor with shiftiness and skill. Barkey and the top-ranked Knights head into the playoffs with an eye on a return trip to the Memorial Cup.

The 18-year-old (he too is a summer birthday) broke his ankle during a game against Baie-Comeau in early March and is expected to be out 10 to 12 weeks while he rehabs in Philly. Gill, who was a second-round pick in June, hopes to be ready to go for the Memorial Cup in late May. The Flyers are high on the rangy 6-foot-4 defenseman who posted 35 points in 51 games for Rimouski of the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League before his injury.

Selected in the second round two years ago, Bjarnason has continued to grow and develop. The 19-year-old netminder, who made Canada’s World Junior team but did not play, finished the regular season 22-15-3 in 40 games for the Brandon Wheat Kings. He posted the ninth-best goals-against average (2.93) and second-best save percentage (.913) among goalies who played at least 30 games. Bjarnason, who is expected to turn pro next season, and Brandon will face Lethbridge in the first round of the Western Hockey League playoffs.

Other notable names: Center Heikki Ruohonen (12 goals and 32 points in 44 games for Dubuque of the USHL); center Jack Berglund (nine goals and 25 points in 36 games across multiple leagues in Sweden); right wing Noah Powell (left Ohio State for Oshawa of the OHL and had nine goals and 22 points in 28 games); center Cole Knuble (12 goals and 39 points in 34 games for Notre Dame); left wing Alex Čiernik (11 goals and 23 points in 46 games for Nybro in Sweden’s second-tier pro league); right wing Devin Kaplan (10 goals and 15 points in 34 games for Boston University), and right wing Ilya Pautov (17 goals and 45 points in 52 games for Krasnaya Armiya Moscow in Russia’s top junior league).

First round: three picks

The Flyers have an abundance of riches in the first round this June. They have their own pick, which should easily fall in the top 10 with how things are going — as of Monday the Flyers would pick fifth overall if the lottery played out true to record. The Orange and Black also have Colorado’s first from last year’s Sean Walker trade and Edmonton’s first for trading pick No. 32 to the Oilers at last year’s draft. While both picks are protected, each will convey and land late in the first round based on the standings.

Second round: four

The Flyers have their own draft pick, Anaheim’s pick from the Cutter Gauthier-Jamie Drysdale trade, Calgary’s pick from the trade that said goodbye to Morgan Frost and Joel Farabee, and Columbus’ pick from the Ivan Provorov three-team swap.

Third round: one

Fourth round: none

The Flyers sent their fourth-round pick to the Toronto Maple Leafs as part of the Laughton trade.

Fifth round: two

The Flyers have their own and Carolina’s pick from the August 2023 trade that also landed them Rizzo.

Sixth round: one

Seventh round: none

The Flyers sent this pick to the Los Angeles Kings as part of the Kuzmenko deal.

The Flyers have one pick in every round except the fifth round, where they do not have a pick. It was part of the Walker trade to Colorado.

» READ MORE: Here’s what the Flyers can look to accomplish as they play out the string

The Flyers have one pick in every round except the first, third, and sixth rounds.

First round: two

Philly has its own pick and Toronto’s pick as part of the Laughton trade.

Third round: two

The Flyers have their own and a pick from Los Angeles as part of the Kuzmenko deal.

Sixth round: none

The Flyers traded this pick as part of the Laughton trade.