Jett Luchanko, Rodrigo Ābols make final case for a Flyers roster that looks set after preseason finale

Heading into the grand finale of the preseason, the Flyers appeared to be weighing their options with 24 players still in training camp.

Although the 23-man roster does not need to be finalized until 5 p.m. on Monday, it appears the odd man out is now known. At 2 p.m. on Saturday, in the midst of their final preseason game, a 4-3 shootout win against the New Jersey Devils, Puckpedia revealed that the Flyers placed Dennis Gilbert on waivers.

Once the 28-year-old journeyman defenseman clears, he will, more than likely, be optioned to Lehigh Valley of the American Hockey League. Gilbert, who signed a one-year deal on July 1, did not play in either of the two final games at Xfinity Mobile Arena.

With the move, and despite coach Rick Tocchet previously saying that he likes to carry two extra defenseman, it looks like the Flyers have opted to keep forwards Jett Luchanko and Rodrigo Ābols, the latter of which forced their hand with an impressive camp, and defenseman Noah Juulsen, a known commodity for Tocchet.

Luchanko, Ābols, and Juulsen all played on Saturday, along with forward Nikita Grebenkin and defenseman Adam Ginning, who already appeared to lock up their spots.

Here are a few news and notes from the Flyers’ final preseason game:

Tocchet changed up the forward lines, reunifying Matvei Michkov and Sean Couturier, with Christian Dvorak rounding out the trio, and moving Trevor Zegras between Travis Konecny and Owen Tippett. Tyson Foerster was out of the lineup — it was decided two weeks ago, per Tocchet — which allowed for the shakeup, including Nikita Grebenkin moving to the wing alongside Noah Cates and Bobby Brink.

» READ MORE: Jett Luchanko has a shot to stick with the Flyers, but the franchise is still laser-focused on his future

Defensively, the pairings are pretty much set. Travis Sanheim, Cam York, Nick Seeler, and Jamie Drysdale continue their partnerships. Ginning looks to be the fifth defenseman and, after having Egor Zamula on his right on Thursday against the New York Islanders, was paired with Juulsen on Saturday.

“He’s got some experience too, but he’s great,” Juulsen said about Ginning. “He talks on the ice, he’s loud, and I think him and I have played quite well together the two games we’ve had here. So we’re just going to keep going.”

Juulsen, who had been off the ice and rehabbing for eight months due to hernia surgery in February, is a known commodity to Tocchet, his coach in Vancouver. On Saturday, he played just under 13 minutes, had three shot attempts, including one on goal, one hit, two giveaways, blocked a pair of shots, and had an even plus-minus. Across four preseason games, he had four shots on goal and was minus-1.

Entering Saturday, only two Flyers left in camp had a positive plus-minus.

“I thought he was half-decent tonight, and I thought the game before, he was better,” Tocchet said of Juulsen. “The first couple of games, not so much; He knows that, and I’ve seen him play some good games. ... But he knows, to be in a top-six role, he’s got to perform.”

Another guy that Tocchet wants to see more from is Luchanko, who he felt had a good game on Monday against the Boston Bruins. “We’re looking for the same kind of game,” Tocchet said. “Use his speed, start to shoot the puck more, good decisions with the puck offensively, I think that’s his next level.”

Luchanko centered the fourth line, skating with Ābols and Hathaway. Known for his high hockey IQ and high-grade passing skills, Luchanko did what he did best in setting up the Flyers’ first goal. He protected the puck along the boards, looked up, and showed patience before feeding a cutting Sanheim.

» READ MORE: Will big defenseman Adam Ginning make the Flyers out of training camp? This could be the year.

“Early on, I thought he was a little bit nervous — he hadn’t played in four or five days — and then I thought his game started to come," Tocchet said.

The coach added that he thought his game had improved since the start of training camp and stressed patience; however, the Flyers have consistently mentioned they want him to shoot more. He only put one shot on goal, which was in the first period, giving him a total of three in five preseason games. As an NHL scout noted, the 19-year-old, listed at 6-foot, 190 pounds, doesn’t look NHL strong yet and needs to be playing a harder, more confident game.

Luchanko, who missed development camp and rookie camp with a groin injury said, “I think [I’m] easing my way into it a little bit. [I] didn’t skate and work out as much as I would have liked to in the summer. So yeah, definitely [felt] a lot better as camp went on.”

Probably the best story of the preseason is Ābols. The 29-year-old Latvian — who has already been named to the Olympic team — came back to North America last season after a few solid seasons in Sweden, played in 22 games for the Flyers, including his NHL debut, and is now set to make the roster. Tocchet likes the versatility he brings as a big body who can play center and wing.

Ābols said the message from Tocchet for moving forward was that he wanted to feel comfortable putting him out, that there won’t be any high-danger chances against. On Saturday, he skated for 9 minutes, 50 seconds, had one shot on goal, and an even plus-minus. The forward played in six of the Flyers’ seven preseason games, collecting two goals, three points, and a plus-minus of plus-1.

“I think pretty solid couple of games,” Ābols said. “Maybe not as good as I want to, but I think after the last practice, when I didn’t play, at the morning skate there, I talked to [assistant coach Jaroslav ”Yogi” Svejkovský] and he showed me some clips that I need to work on, and what, in their eyes, is consistency.

“And I feel like that’s the kind of things I focused on today, kind of showing that I understand what they want for me and understand what the things that I got to work on.”

Konecny’s game looks to be in midseason form. He scored a pair of goals on Saturday, including one on the man advantage. That goal came after Drysdale’s shot went wide, and Michkov tried to jam it home at the post before taking around the net and feeding his alternate captain for the slam dunk. His second goal came with under 2 minutes left to tie the game during six-on-five action. After good work around the perimeter, Konecny got the puck, walked down toward the middle, and fired the shot from the edge of the left faceoff circle for his third and final goal of the preseason.

The Devils’ roster was filled with prospects and minor leaguers. Goalie Jake Allen was solid in net for New Jersey, saving 29 of 32 in regulation before blanking the Flyers on all four Grade-A shots in overtime. ... Flyers goalie Dan Vladař stopped 22 of 25 shots, including one of two in the second period when a wide-open Lenni Hameenaho slammed home a power-play goal at the far post. In his final tune-up, the Czech netminder said he would like to have back the minor snafu behind the net that led to the third Devils goal, noted that “thankfully, this was still the preseason.”

The Flyers’ next game is the lid-lifter on the 2025-26 season. They’ll open the regular season at the two-time defending champion Florida Panthers on Thursday (7 p.m., NBCSP, 97.5-FM The Fanatic).

» READ MORE: Q&A: GM Danny Brière preaches patience but says Flyers ‘have to be better’ this time around