Flyers come in at No. 8 in Scott Wheeler's NHL prospect pool rankings
The addition of power forward Porter Martone helped the Flyers jump 10 spots compared to last year on The Athletic prospect analyst's list.
For all the talk of what the Flyers don’t have, namely a No. 1 center, it is easy to forget what the team does have coming down the pike.
Thursday provided a good reminder, as the Flyers came in at No. 8 in Scott Wheeler’s NHL prospect pool rankings. Wheeler, The Athletic’s prospect analyst, moved the Flyers up 10 places from his 2025 version, citing the team’s depth on the wing and plethora of middle-six centers as pipeline strengths. Wheeler’s colleague, Corey Pronman, ranked the Flyers No. 7 in August.
The biggest change from last year was the addition of winger Porter Martone, who, to no one’s surprise, is ranked as the Flyers’ No. 1 prospect on Wheeler’s list. Martone, the No. 6 overall pick in last June’s draft, made his NHL debut on Tuesday after racking up 25 goals and 50 points in 35 games as a freshman at Michigan State. In July, Wheeler ranked Martone as the No. 9 prospect in all of hockey.
» READ MORE: Resetting the Flyers’ future: Which prospects beyond Porter Martone and draft picks are on the way?
“He has a lot of attributes: size, strength, power, shot, playmaking, puck skill. And he’s going to score goals, make plays, and potentially impose himself in the NHL when he really comes into his own,” Wheeler wrote of Martone. “He’s a stud and has the talent to become a high-end point-producing winger. The skill and hockey sense are real, and the consistency of his effort level and toughness have developed over time, too. He’s one of the top forward prospects in the game.”
Russian goaltender Egor Zavragin came in at No. 2 on Wheeler’s list, followed by defenseman Oliver Bonk and centers Jack Nesbitt and Jett Luchanko. The 20-year-old Zavragin, who has a .918 save percentage in 55 career Kontinental Hockey League games, has one year remaining on his contract with SKA St. Petersburg.
Bonk, who is playing with Lehigh Valley, and Luchanko (Brantford, Ontario Hockey League) are expected to contend for NHL jobs next season, while Nesbitt, 19, likely will play another year of juniors or go the college route, like Martone did. The 6-foot-4, 186-pound Nebsitt has been red-hot for Windsor of the OHL, with eight goals and seven assists over his last 10 games, including playoffs.
Meanwhile, Luchanko’s draft+2 season has been a bit underwhelming, with many fans worried about the former No. 13 overall pick’s ultimate ceiling. You can count Wheeler among that group.
“He has a chance to be a reliable, fast, intelligent all-situations third-line center, but I don’t see a ton of offense in his game in terms of the top-of-the-lineup NHL outlook you’d hope for out of his draft slot,” Wheeler wrote. “He has quieter tools and habits that should help him (the routes, pressure points, penalty killing upside, strength, skating, good poise on the puck, and vision), but he doesn’t have loud elements that suggest an NHL skill player, and his game has some definite limitations offensively.”
At No. 6 on Wheeler’s list is newly acquired defenseman David Jiříček, who signed a two-year extension on Wednesday. He’s followed by forwards Denver Barkey, Alex Bump, Jack Berglund, and Heikki Ruohonen. Spencer Gill, Carson Bjarnason, Jack Murtagh, Cole Knuble, and Aleksei Kolosov round out Wheeler’s top 15, while Christian Kyrou, Shane Vansaghi, Matthew Gard, and Max Westergård received honorable mention.
Berglund, 19, has played well for Färjestad BK in the Swedish Hockey League playoffs and was name-checked by Flyers general manager Danny Brière last month as the Flyers prospect who has improved the most this season. Wheeler doesn’t seem to be quite as high on the big center, but does maintain that he has transferable NHL traits if his skating holds up.
“Berglund can make some plays in the offensive zone and off the cycle, hold onto and protect pucks well, and is generally impactful along the wall, Wheeler wrote. ”He has size (6-4, over 200 pounds), can play the middle or the wing, controls pucks off his hips quite well, and has shown some offensive-zone instincts over the last three years. He’s a good PKer, makes effort plays, and will push through the middle to involve himself in the areas coaches look for their players to be involved in.”
While the Flyers came in at No. 8 in the rankings, the seven teams above them are the Seattle Kraken, San Jose Sharks, Chicago Blackhawks, Utah Mammoth, Nashville Predators, Calgary Flames, and Detroit Red Wings. The order of those teams will be revealed over the next week.