The first round of training camp cuts have taken place for the Philadelphia Flyers. A total of 14 players have been sent to their respective junior teams or down to AHL Lehigh Valley’s own training camp that starts later this week.
A total of five players have been sent back to junior hockey.
Starting with the least interesting — goaltender Sam Hillebrandt has been released from his amateur try-out and is back with the OHL’s Barrie Colts. The Flyers’ 2023 second-round pick, goaltender Carson Bjarnason, is back with the WHL’s Brandon Wheat Kings after appearing briefly in some preseason action and looking half decent.
For the junior skaters, 2024 second-round pick defenseman Spencer Gill is going up north to the QMJHL’s Rimouski Oceanic and is already slated to be one of the league’s top blueliners this upcoming season. Simply, it’s a massive post-draft season for the 18-year-old. Fellow defenseman Carter Sotheran is also back with the WHL’s Portland Winterhawks and is going to be playing his final year of junior hockey on a weakened Winterhawks team that has lost a whole lot of talent this offseason to professional hockey.
Sotheran will be joined by Josh Zakreski on the flight back to Portland, as the 18-year-old forward was on an amateur try-out with the Flyers after not being taken in the 2024 NHL Draft. He might be a player to keep an eye on for a 2025 late-round selection for the Flyers, after they got more familiar with his game.
For the older players who are no longer at Flyers training camp, there is a (if we can do elementary-level math correctly) total of nine players that have been sent down to Phantoms camp.
Defensemen Matteo Mann will be getting his first prolonged taste of professional hockey after graduating from juniors and is now down with the Phantoms. Other defensemen Emile Chouinard, Ethan Samson, and Sam Sedley have also been sent down and should be battling for spots on the blue line for the Phantoms, with Samson having the clear advantage in that group.
Forwards Sawyer Boulton, Nick Capone, Matthew Miller, and Zayde Wisdom have been also sent down and should be looking for depth Phantoms roles. When it comes to more interesting players, Alexis Gendron, the Flyers’ 2022 seventh-round pick, managed to score five goals and seven points in 17 games with the Phantoms last year and is now looking to have a very strong full AHL season
And that’s it. No Jett Luchanko or Oliver Bonk heading back to the OHL quite yet. The Flyers’ training camp roster now sits at 44 players.
Next up, the Flyers have their first preseason game at the Wells Fargo Center on Thursday, as they host the New York Islanders.
