Winners and Losers from 2024 Rookie Camp

After a productive 2024 rookie camp, the Philadelphia Flyers rookies move on to test their mettle against more senior competition at Flyers training camp.

Some prospects rose to the occasion while others did not, and a few managed to put themselves back on the radar as legitimate hopefuls. In the absence of NCAA and European prospects, though, it’s hard to get a full evaluation of where the young Flyers stand relative to each other.

So, instead of ranking them, we’ll discuss who won and lost with the opportunities they had this past week.

Winner: C Jett Luchanko

From the winners category, 2024 first-round pick Jett Luchanko was the easiest choice.

Having only recently turned 18, Luchanko was equal parts tenacious and skilled making his Flyers rookie camp debut, and generally looked the part serving as the No. 1 center and assisting in each of the two Rookie Series games against the New York Rangers.

The London, Ont., native looked more comfortable offensively when playing alongside Matvei Michkov and less so when AHLer Matt Miller replaced Michkov in Game 2. For a player whose weaknesses or question marks were almost all on the offensive side of things, the Flyers were asking Luchanko to make wine out of water playing with Miller and Elliot Desnoyers.

Luchanko made quick work out of John Tortorella’s vaunted rope skate test on Thursday during the first on-ice day of training camp, and his skill and work ethic has been so overpowering that the Flyers wouldn’t rule out a nine-game NHL tryout at the start of the season.

It’s still highly unlikely, but the Guelph Storm ace is making his mark on the organization early.

Loser: D Ethan Samson

Right-shot defenseman Ethan Samson was a name Flyers general manager Danny Briere was hoping to see continue to develop and eventually push for a spot at his exit interview in April, but the 2021 sixth-round pick still has a long way to go before he makes that a reality.

Samson’s gap control and play on the puck were spotty in the Rookie Series games against New York and, as a player who scored 12 points in 63 AHL games with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms last season, Samson will need to find other ways to make an impression.

At 6-foot-1, 180 pounds, Samson is behind Helge Grans, Hunter McDonald, Spencer Gill, and Oliver Bonk at this stage in the game. With Ronnie Attard and Adam Ginning also knocking on the proverbial NHL door, it’s hard to imagine a future with the Flyers for Samson right now barring a really strong second season in the pros.

That said, the Flyers like Samson, and he will always have a chance as long as he continues to work for it and earn it on the ice.

Winner: G Sam Hillebrandt

It would be hard to ask for more out of an amateur tryout invitee than what the Flyers got from 19-year-old Sam Hillebrandt, who will continue to accompany the team for training camp, as well.

In his only Rookie Series appearance, relieving top goalie prospect Carson Bjarnason after one period, Hillebrandt stopped 22 of 24 shots sent his way by the Rangers. That’s good for a .917 save percentage, and even in the practices, the Barrie Colts netminder looked like he belonged with his Flyers peers.

We’ll see where training camp takes him; Hillebrandt was put on training camp Team 1 alongside Sam Ersson, Rasmus Ristolainen, Travis Konecny, Tyson Foerster, Travis Konecny, and Egor Zamula, among others.

At the end of the day, I wouldn’t be surprised if Hillebrandt earns himself a contract with the Flyers at some point. Once Cal Petersen’s contract expires, the organization will be hard-pressed for goalie depth, though it’s possible PTO signee Eetu Makiniemi earns a deal, too.

Winner: F Sawyer Boulton

He’s certainly not his dad, but Sawyer Boulton bears many resemblances in his game.

Sawyer’s father, Eric Boulton, is a 15-year NHL veteran who made his living punching people’s faces in and averaging less than 10 minutes of ice time in every season of his career in the big leagues.

Sawyer Boulton brings some of the same snarl his old man, who’s now a pro scout for the New York Islanders, brought on the ice. The Flyers have since signed Boulton to an AHL contract with the Phantoms, and he earned it.

Boulton spent the 2023-24 season in the OHL playing with Bonk and Denver Barkey on the London Knights, scoring three goals, two assists, and five points in 40 games. The 20-year-old grinder did score against the Rangers in the Rookie Series, and he has some speed as well.

Boulton is a fun player to watch and has some Garnet Hathaway to his game. I’ll be interested to see what the young Boulton can do in the Always Hungry League this season.

Loser and Winner: F Josh Zakreski

Honestly, Josh Zakreski wasn’t bad in rookie camp. It’s just that he wasn’t particularly good, in my opinion, either. Zakreski was mostly just a guy who was there.

Part of the tough evaluation was that Zakreski was cast in a top-six role alongside Massimo Rizzo and Samu Tuomaala that didn’t suit the best parts of his game. The 18-year-old also received some power play time in the Rookie Series and threaded the needle to set up Matteo Mann for a power play goal.

So, I declare Zakreski a loser and a winner because the skillset is there, and he’s a versatile winger, but I’m not ready to say he’s the second coming of Michael Bunting yet, either. Ian Laperriere and the rest of the Flyers’ coaching staff clearly liked him in this role ahead of Alexis Gendron, who was a third-line winger, and there must be a reason for that.

Zakreski may earn himself a contract in due time, but he’s mostly a name to file away in the backs of your minds for now.