The Philadelphia Flyers had a number of young defense prospects pushing for an NHL roster spot out of training camp.
By the end of final roster cuts, which came on Friday, none of them were left standing.
For a rebuilding team that is returning the exact same defense core from the 2023-24 season, that is cause for some concern, even with the numbers game playing a large part in the final outcome.
And, in fairness, that also says a lot about 2024 first-round pick Jett Luchanko, who made the Flyers outright just six weeks after turning 18 years old. But it would have been just as simple to send Luchanko back to the OHL to develop with the Guelph Storm for another year.
Ultimately, the lack of progression at the other end of the ice made the decision a little bit easier.
Swedish defenseman Emil Andrae was probably the closest in terms of making the NHL roster this season, but the seven defensemen ahead of him and a lack of North American experience factored against him.
Essentially, after just one full season in the AHL with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, the Flyers would prefer Andrae to play regular minutes for another season, rather than play 13 or 14 minutes a night every once in a while.
The same is true of physical specimen Hunter McDonald, who dominated his opponents along the walls but frequently struggled with his defensive assignments and passing.
Another physical defenseman, Adam Ginning, will turn 25 in the middle of the season. He, too, struggled immensely when asked to move the puck, and heading into his third season, with over 100 AHL games under his belt, the clock is ticking.
Perhaps most notably, 2023 first-round pick Oliver Bonk did not play his best hockey in this past training camp and preseason, and though the Flyers are hoping that Jamie Drysdale is good enough to make him a second-pairing player, there are no guarantees in the NHL.
In short, the Flyers do not have many defense prospects who project well at the NHL level going forward, let alone being part of a Stanley Cup-caliber group that the front office aspires to build.
If the 2024 training camp and preseason have taught us anything, it’s that the Flyers must continue to draft defensemen with a more translatable suite of tools for the pro game.
