It is going to be a very important training camp for the Philadelphia Flyers and while the majority of the roster is locked in, there are some flexible spots. So, who are some players who could surprise and make the team out of camp? And who are some players who can fall out of favor and find themselves on the outside looking in when the season starts?

The Flyers will be making announcements in the next week or so regarding the roster and invitees for their Rookie Camp and Training Camps. On Sept. 17 last season they released the Training Camp info, with everyone eager to finally see what Matvei Michkov could do playing against NHL (or quasi NHL) competition. Fans also saw Jett Luchanko play himself into the conversation, with former head coach John Tortorella singing his praises nearly every chance he got. As we know, the four-game stint to start the season resulted in Luchanko being sent back to the Ontario Hockey League. But he made it interesting.

So with the 2025-26 training camp around the corner, there’s a chance for some young players to dazzle and surprise new head coach Rick Tocchet and his assistants. A strong camp could see them eluding the first few cuts, making their case down to the wire. Meanwhile, a horrid or even average training camp could see a few on the fringe, finding themselves on the outside looking in when it comes to the opening night roster against Florida.

Here then, in no particular order, are three Flyers prospects who could end up making a case to end up on the Flyers roster. For lack of a better phase, we’ll call this trio the “happy campers.” And, on the flip side, we’ll look at three Flyers who could find themselves caught up in the numbers game and end up riding the buses in the AHL for at least a little while. We’ll call this trio the “sad campers.”

The Happy Campers

1) Jett Luchanko

If you thought Luchanko couldn’t make a very logical argument that he belongs with the Flyers when October rolls around you’d be sadly mistaken. Yes, the additions of Trevor Zegras (and Christian Dvorak) means that the center position has been beefed up slightly for the coming year. But should Luchanko, who looked confident and had speed to burn last year, come in and simply shine from start to finish, it would be hard to send him down. Of course, the changes to the Collective Bargaining Agreement could see Luchanko playing with Lehigh Valley this coming season if the Flyers decide to send the 19-year-old to the American Hockey League. But it looks for now as if that won’t happen. And a drastic injury to one of the four foreseeable centers would make that case for Luchanko far greater.

One thing we’ve seen with Danny Briere is that the cap hit a player has doesn’t really determine whether he’s going to play or not. If that was the case, Ivan Fedotov (as the highest paid goaltender last season not named Cal Petersen), would’ve seen 50 games last year. So Luchanko will be given a shot like any other member of the camp. And his talent, speed, maturity (despite turning 19 a few weeks ago), and hockey IQ are assets the Flyers still desperately need in order to turn the corner a bit quicker. It’s not a guarantee or certainty Luchanko is making the club. But given how well he delivered in camp last season, and with another year under his belt, it’s possible he leaves Briere and Tocchet with a very difficult decision. That would be a good thing!

2) Oliver Bonk

As it stands now, a look at the Flyers website technically sees Bonk on the Flyers roster. But the 20-year-old is still looking to play his first regular season NHL game for Philadelphia. A quick look at the Flyers blueline looks like a bit of a log jam, especially considering Dennis Gilbert and Noah Juulsen were signed in the summer. Bonk could end up getting a good long look at training camp to see if he can handle bigger, faster players. Nothing will be handed to him, he’ll have to earn it.

Bonk had a decent final season with the London Knights and a good playoff run in 2024-25. He also looks like he beefed up a little bit since being drafted, which is another plus for him. Compared to Luchanko, Bonk’s chances are probably much slimmer. He’ll probably need some time in the AHL in order to develop his game for the bigs. However, a very strong camp could see him lasting a bit longer, especially considering he survived the first few cuts last training camp in Philadelphia. And, as is the case with any roster, a few injuries in training camp could certainly shift things a bit towards Bonk making the Flyers. He’ll need to hit the ground running if he’s going to make the case to stick around.

3) Hunter McDonald

Possibly the longest shot of the three mentioned, Hunter McDonald continues to knock opponents on their backside while playing a simple, stay-at-home game. With the Flyers seemingly already having such a guy in Nick Seeler, it’s doubtful McDonald could usurp Seeler or any one of what should be four defensemen who should be locks to make the club (Travis Sanheim, Cam York, Jamie Drysdale, and Seeler). Given how much Briere and Keith Jones love him, and can’t say enough good things about the youngster, it’s apparent he’ll be given every opportunity to show his strengths.

McDonald played 71 games last year in Lehigh Valley, scoring sporadically (four goals) and not adding much offensively (18 points). Expect him to make a case for staying with the Flyers for a while during training camp, and possibly see a few more games than he did during the 2024-25 exhibition season. It’s not impossible, but McDonald wearing a Flyers jersey for opening night could be the surprise of the early 2025-26 season.

The Sad Campers

1) Egor Zamula

People may scoff at the notion Egor Zamula might be on the outside looking in when the season begins. Yet he’s got some competition to deal with. With the likes of the aforementioned (Bonk and McDonald), Zamula finds himself on some shaky ground. Possibly his only saving grace for now is the injury to Rasmus Ristolainen. A healthy Ristolainen would probably have put Zamula’s chances at less than 50/50, especially considering the additions of Juulsen and Gilbert to beef up the third pairing.

For most of last season Zamula had the advantage of knowing he was ahead of Erik Johnson in the pecking order. Now he has a glut of defensemen to deal with: Juulsen, Gilbert, a possible Ristolainen return, possibly Bonk and McDonald. All for seemingly the sixth spot! Zamula didn’t exactly look good in certain parts of the schedule. With the amount of players on the backend at camp, and particularly those who look to remain with the club, Zamula definitely has his work cut out for him if he wants to continue being a member of the Flyers.

As well, with a new head coach, Zamula might get lost in the shuffle somewhat. Tocchet wants to get a good look at not just the guys he knows will be here for the season, but also some of the prospects. And the two UFAs he is familiar with. In short, I wouldn’t be purchasing a Zamula jersey for this coming year. He’ll have little to no room for error. And the whole Michkov translator situation is no longer any kind of excuse.

2) Emil Andrae

Andrae played just over half a season with the Flyers (42 games) but didn’t move the needle much when he played. He scored once. Added six assists. The 22-year-old had some games where he looked ready to take the next step. Yet he didn’t seem to grab that opportunity when it came to him. Another knock against him is his size. He’s far from big, and many Flyers fans can still recall him getting supremely clobbered by Columbus forward/enforcer Mathieu Olivier last December, knocking him out of the lineup for some time. Since then he’s managed to make the quick, high-percentage play to ensure the puck gets out and he doesn’t end up on a stretcher.

Andrae is entering this camp with a lot more blueliners in the mix, and most of them far, far bigger in size and physicality than Andrae offers. He’ll have to have a tremendous training camp to make a dent in the lineup. Otherwise it might be another year in the AHL for the defender. It’s difficult to see where he might be able to fit in, but he’ll have to fight for pretty much everything this coming season, particularly regarding playing time with the Flyers.

3) Ivan Fedotov

This might not come as a huge shock given that Dan Vladar and Sam Ersson look to be the 2025-26 tandem. What might be more logical is that Fedotov is in a no-win situation, particularly given his age and the fact he’s on an expiring contract. Fedotov could play amazing in training camp, stop Michkov, Zegras and Konecny on 100 consecutive three-man breakaways and score a hat trick against Washington, Montreal or whoever he may see playing time against in the exhibition season. It wouldn’t be enough to keep him in the National Hockey League. If this is a numbers game, it looks like both he and Aleksei Kolosov will not be seeing much playing time with the Flyers. Barring injuries of course.

Demoting Fedotov to the AHL would probably save the Flyers a little bit of cap space (he’s making $75,000 less than Vladar’s $3.35 million AAV). In short, they’ve essentially replaced Cal Petersen with Fedotov this coming season. In terms of the bigger picture, this should be Fedotov’s last season with Philadelphia/Lehigh Valley, so it’s probably a given the team isn’t going to bend over backwards to placate him, certainly not to the lengths they did with Aleksei Kolosov last season.

It was a warm, fuzzy start to Fedotov’s career given the hurdles he had to overcome in getting to Philadelphia almost a decade after being drafted. However, to think he’ll be anything but primarily an AHL goalie this coming season is a bit foolish. That’s not to say he won’t play a game this season in the NHL. But if he’s starting a lot of games this year then the 2025-26 season becomes the Gavin McKenna tanking sweepstakes. That or inexplicably he’s become the next Connor Hellebuyck (regular season edition).