Flyers Extra: Riley Armstrong on Jett Luchanko, David Jiříček, and the prospect he compares a little to Travis Sanheim

The Flyers have quickly replenished their prospect pool over the past few seasons, stockpiling draft picks and making 32 selections, including 15 in the first two rounds, over the past four years.

The proof was on display over the past week in Allentown and Voorhees, as many of the Flyers’ top prospects gathered for rookie camp and two exhibition games against the New York Rangers. With rookie camp in the rearview, we caught up with Flyers director of player development Riley Armstrong to get his takeaways from the Rookie Series and his thoughts on some of the big names in the team’s pipeline. Here are some of the highlights from that interview on the latest episode of Flyers Extra at Gameday Central.

*Note: This episode focused primarily on the team’s prospects who are not yet in the NHL

» READ MORE: Flyers top 20 prospect rankings: Porter Martone is No. 1, but where do Jett Luchanko and Maksim Sokolovskii land?

After prefacing that top prospects Porter Martone, Denver Barkey, Alex Bump, and Oliver Bonk impressed as expected, Armstrong identified center Cole Knuble, 22, as the player who stood out most at rookie camp.

“I thought he really stepped in and showed Knubes is here and he’s coming to make the Flyers, and I really think he definitely put an impact ... on the game that he played in,” Armstrong said.

“Over the course of the weekend ... we [as a staff] kept going back and [saying] ‘Wow, Knubes was good. He was so good.’ We kept talking about him.”

Maybe the most maligned prospect in the system and heavily scrutinized draft pick of the Danny Brière regime, Jett Luchanko has underwhelmed since being selected No. 13 overall in 2024.

But could better health and less moving around this season bring a much-needed bounceback for the speedy centerman?

» READ MORE: A healthy Jett Luchanko is hoping to use rookie camp as a springboard ahead of a pivotal season for his Flyers future

“I think from Jett’s side [that potential] has always been there. I do think over the past couple of years that little nagging injury he’s had has finally cleared up, and I think that was a weight off his shoulders,” Armstrong said. “From my view watching him this weekend, he was more engaged or willing to run into battles and skate through checks than I have seen him in the past few years. ... I felt these two games he was really attacking the play.

“You see the assist to Alex Bump on his goal in the first game, how he went through the middle of the rink. Those are things we were waiting for him to do in Brantford and Guelph last year, and I definitely think with his speed, his vision, his playmaking, I really do think he’s going to definitely pop this season.”

Armstrong also reiterated that the next step for Luchanko, who is still only 20, is continuing to become more of a dual threat offensively.

“We’ve been preaching to him, and he’s always a pass-first kind of guy, so to see him start to build that confidence and get that mindset that, ‘Hey, I’m going to be a shooter, too’ is definitely a step in the right direction,” he said.

The Flyers’ latest reclamation project is 2022 top-10 pick David Jiříček, who was acquired at last year’s trade deadline for Bobby Brink.

“His offensive instincts are high level. That’s a guy who can shoot the puck from the blueline,” Armstrong said. “He changed the Phantoms’ power play when he came in ... he started putting the puck in the net, and [once] guys started to try and block his shot, he started sliding it backdoor to a guy for a tap-in. I think those things are natural to him.”

While Jiříček’s calling card is his offense, Armstrong believes improving his game on the other side of the puck will be key to reigniting his career in Philly.

“The other side of it is defending and his lateral movements, and things like that,” Armstrong said. “But I know he spent a lot of time this summer working on his footwork, understanding how to close quicker and trust his skating more to defend. And really, once he understands that and really believes in himself after he gets more reps in camp and into the season, I hope he starts to flourish.”

Armstrong added that he thinks making Jiříček “more comfortable” and less “scattered” after a couple years of him moving around a lot could do wonders for the 22-year-old mentally.

Defenseman Oliver Bonk, 21, has not been shy about his goal to make the Flyers’ opening night roster, and Armstrong isn’t counting him out.

“I think the one thing that stood out to me in the game he played in was just how confident he is with the puck,” Armstrong said. “He’s the same age as all these guys, and he’s doing things out there that a seasoned NHL player is doing with the puck, carrying the puck, having all that confidence and poise. ... I do think he’s going to come in and push for a spot.”

» READ MORE: liver Bonk’s goal is to make the Flyers’ opening roster. The defenseman is off to a good start.

One area Armstrong thinks Bonk still can improve in is his shot both from the point and when he’s deployed in the “Bumper Bonk” spot on the power play.

After a mostly lost season working his way back from injury, 2025 second-rounder Carter Amico reintroduced himself to Flyers fans with a strong development camp this summer.

But just how good can the 6-foot-5, 220-pound defenseman be?

“After everybody got to see a healthy Amico at development camp, everybody was like, ‘Holy, how good is he going to be.’ ... I think for him the ceiling, I’m projecting [but] he could be a No. 1 or [No.] 2 defenseman at the NHL level. With his size, his skating, and how he goes up and down the rink, you see the guys who can play those roles. You look at [Travis] Sanheim, and it took Sanheim a couple of years to really develop that motor that he has, but he’s up in the rush, and then he’s back closing plays, and I really think that’s what put Sanheim on the map for Team Canada and all that type of stuff — just his ability to skate. And I definitely think Carter has that.”

Pretty high praise for the 19-year-old.

Outside of Luchanko, the Flyers’ two biggest, no pun intended, hopes down the middle lie in towering centers Jack Berglund and Jack Nesbitt.

Why did Berglund, whom Armstrong believes can have a Tomas Holmström-type impact in front of the net on the power play, and the Flyers believe it was best for him to play in Sweden this year?

“[Färjestad BK’s new coach] put him in a great spot [late last season], Cam Abbott, and it was like first-line center, first-line power play, and all of a sudden Bergy just started to take off,” Armstrong said. ”We kind of wanted him to continue that, and I think they do a lot of great things in Sweden with their young guys, as they train more, and they don’t play as many games as we do in the American League. So that ability for him to be in the gym more and also be at home for another year ... and he’s going to play big minutes."

Armstrong added that Berglund’s chances to become a top-six center hinge on his skating, which he acknowledged has improved. He also praised the 20-year-old centerman for his innate ability to keep opponents on his back and protect the puck.

» READ MORE: While the dreaded ‘rope test’ is now banned, being in shape for NHL training camp is more important than ever

Regarding Nesbitt’s decision to go to college, Armstrong cautioned that he doesn’t expect Nesbitt, 19, to be able to “stack on” muscle as quickly as Martone, but that “being in the gym for as long as they can at Michigan is huge.”

“I’m not expecting him to go in there and just light it up. I have a slower-moving path for [Nesbitt] than what Porter did.”

Armstrong called 2024 sixth-rounder Ilya Pautov “awesome,” and said he loves that despite his smaller stature, he’s tenacious, strong, and poised with the puck. ... Goaltender Martin Psohlavec, the Flyers’ 2026 second-round pick out of Czechia, will be billeting with Armstrong’s parents in Saskatoon while he plays with the Blades. ... In addition to Knuble, Armstrong name-checked defenseman Spencer Gill, who is turning pro with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, as a prospect who could pop at camp.