Five Flyers prospects to watch this week at rookie camp

While it might not feel like it, given the sweltering recent weather, the Flyers open the 2023-24 regular season in one month against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

For the majority of the team, the preseason activities begin next week with training camp, which starts on Sept. 21. But for some of the Flyers’ prospects, including a few NHL roster hopefuls, summer break officially ended Wednesday with the commencement of a six-day rookie camp. The action gets underway Thursday morning at the Flyers Training Center in Voorhees.

» READ MORE: Ranking the Flyers’ top 5 prospects after the 2023 NHL draft

The Flyers have called in 25 players, including six of their 2023 draft picks, for the camp, which includes four practice sessions and games against New York Rangers prospects on Sept. 15 and 16 at the PPL Center in Allentown.

Given that the Flyers are in the early stages of a rebuild, this week’s rookie camp is of some importance, as both the Flyers’ brass and the team’s fans will get an up-close look at several key pieces of the organization’s future. Here are five prospects worth watching this week:

Foerster, 21, is by far the biggest name on this roster and after Matvei Michkov and Cutter Gauthier is widely considered the organization’s No. 3 prospect. He also appears to be NHL-ready and should compete for a job with the Flyers out of camp after a strong bounce-back season from a 2021 shoulder injury.

Last season, he scored 20 goals for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms en route to being named an AHL All-Star, and also caught John Tortorella’s eye during an impressive eight-game stint with the Flyers in which he scored three goals and tallied seven points. He is known first and foremost for his lethal shot, but Foerster’s skating looks to have improved and he played a well-rounded game and did not look overmatched one bit during his NHL cameo.

After Foerster dominated at development camp in July, the Flyers are clearly taking a long look at him as he pushes to crack the big club’s roster for opening night. The Flyers do have a logjam on the right side, but don’t be surprised if they move someone to their off-wing to make room for the exciting Foerster.

After moving on from Ivan Provorov and Tony DeAngelo, the Flyers’ blue line will have a much different look. While the Flyers also retained fellow youngsters Ronnie Attard and Egor Zamula, Andrae is the wild card of the group and might have the highest upside.

One of the biggest standouts from development camp, Andrae seems hell-bent on giving Tortorella a roster headache next month. The Swede is small in stature at 5-foot-9 and 194 pounds, but plays much bigger, showcasing a real competitiveness and snarl to his game. Andrae, 21, is supremely confident with the puck on his stick, where he is capable of making line-splitting breakout passes or looking for his own shot. A good lateral skater, Andrae always has his head up looking to buy time and make plays in the offensive zone.

While he is a bit of long shot to make the team out of camp considering some of the more experienced options, don’t be surprised to see Andrae in the NHL this season.

While Foerster and Andrae are closing in on the NHL, Bonk is still early in the development process and will be returning to junior hockey with the London Knights.

The No. 22 overall pick in June’s draft, Bonk projects as a steady, two-way defenseman. He had a strong first development camp for a player of his age (18) and this week will provide another look at the young blueliner before he returns to the OHL. While not a flashy or offensively inclined defenseman, Bonk plays good shutdown defense and is tidy when it comes to his puck retrieval and passing.

With no Michkov in attendance, all eyes will be on Bonk when it comes to the 2023 draft class.

» READ MORE: Flyers prospect rankings: Defenseman Emil Andrae headlines Nos. 6-10

If there is a forgotten man to the Flyers puzzle it is Brink, who missed much of last season after undergoing offseason hip surgery. A gifted offensive player, particularly when it comes to puckhandling and passing vision, Brink led the NCAA in scoring in 2021-22 while at the University of Denver.

Sure, there are size questions with the diminutive winger (5-8, 165 pounds), but to this point, Brink has made up for them at other levels with his skill level and anticipation. This season will be a big one for the 22-year-old, as after a mostly lost 2022-23, he will be looking to hit the ground running under Tortorella. The question is: Can his high-end skill pop at the NHL level or will his size be his undoing?

Brink likely will start the season with the Phantoms, but the 2019 second-rounder should see NHL action this season.

While defensemen Adam Ginning and Helge Grans are also intriguing, I’m more interested to see Tuomaala now that he has made the full-time move to North America.

A former second-round pick with tantalizing speed and a wicked shot, Tuomaala has not advanced as the Flyers would have hoped since he was drafted in 2021. Tuomaala, 20, has bounced around from team to team and division to division in his native Finland during that time, and has even dropped out of the national team picture altogether.

On a positive note, the winger found some success and consistency last season in the Finnish second division, scoring 26 goals in 29 games on loan at Ketterä. At development camp, he also showed he is no longer a one-trick pony, using his speed on the forecheck and looking more engaged physically.

Tuomaala’s stock may be down at the moment, but he possesses some exciting tools and it will be interesting to watch him as he acclimates to life with the Phantoms.

In his first game since being loaned from SKA St. Petersburg to HC Sochi, Flyers prospect Matvei Michov played a regular shift and registered two assists in Sochi’s 5-4 win over Severstal. It was an encouraging debut for Michkov, who was a healthy scratch for three of parent club SKA St. Petersburg’s first four KHL games.