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Flyers sign prospect Cole Knuble, the son of former NHLer Mike, to entry-level contract

The 21-year-old just wrapped up his junior season at Notre Dame and will report to Lehigh Valley. His father, Mike, scored 118 goals in five seasons for the Orange and Black.

Cole Knuble, who just signed with the Flyers, has made significant strides with his skating over the past few seasons.
Cole Knuble, who just signed with the Flyers, has made significant strides with his skating over the past few seasons.Read moreElizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer

Like father, like son.

The Flyers kept it in the family on Tuesday, signing center Cole Knuble, the son of former Flyer Mike Knuble, to a two-year entry-level contract.

Fan favorite Mike Knuble played five seasons for the Flyers across two spells (2005-09, 2013), and scored 118 goals in Orange and Black.

The younger Knuble, 21, is turning pro after wrapping up his junior season at Notre Dame last Wednesday. A fourth-round pick in 2023, he had nine goals and 31 points in 36 games this season and compiled 30 goals and 90 points in 106 career games for the Fighting Irish.

Knuble will begin his pro career with Lehigh Valley of the American Hockey League.

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Passed over in his initial draft year, Knuble played himself into a fourth-round pick the following year with a 30-goal season for the Fargo Force of the United States Hockey League. A responsible, 200-foot center, Knuble is known for his passing ability and competitiveness. At 5-foot-10 and 190 pounds, he is not as big as his father (6-3, 225), but like his father, he has a penchant for getting to the front of the net.

The Flyers are high on Knuble, who notably flashed much-improved skating at last year’s development camp. He particularly stood out in game settings like the three-on-three scrimmage because of his vision and willingness to battle.

In a recent interview with The Inquirer, general manager Danny Brière, a teammate of Mike Knuble with the Flyers, identified the younger Knuble as the team’s biggest under-the-radar prospect to watch. Assistant GM Brent Flahr expressed a similar sentiment in December.

“The guy we drafted, who is one of my favorites … is Cole Knuble,“ Flahr said. ”Just a good hockey player. So competitive, great motor, smart, plays every position. I don’t know where it’s going to get to, but he’s worked really hard on his skating, and it’s become good. It’ll be interesting to see when he turns pro. Guys like [Denver] Barkey and him are the guys you cheer for."

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If Knuble makes it to the NHL and plays for the Flyers, he would become the first son of a Flyer to play for the team.

Knuble becomes the second player from the college ranks to turn pro with the Flyers this year, following 2024 fifth-rounder Noah Powell, who signed with the team last Wednesday out of Arizona State.

The Flyers are also expected to sign top prospect Porter Martone, the No. 6 overall pick in last year’s draft, and potentially his Michigan State teammate Shane Vansaghi, once the Spartans’ season ends. The NCAA Tournament of 16 teams begins next week.

The team will also need to make a decision on Boston University senior Owen McLaughlin, who hails from Spring City, Chester County.