The Philadelphia Flyers are beginning to turn the corner in their rebuild. They\u2019re done being sellers at the deadline, instead extending guys like Christian Dvorak, who they might have traded in years past. Danny Briere and Keith Jones have done a great job of trimming down the fat and filling the prospect cupboards in recent years.<\/p>\n
Matvei Michkov is already here. Denver Barkey hasn\u2019t looked out of place in the NHL during his first professional season. Jett Luchanko made the roster out of training camp the last two seasons. And, of course, Porter Martone is dominating during his freshman year at Michigan State and had a great showing at the World Junior Championship.<\/p>\n
Those are just the headliners, though. Alex Bump could be one of the next guys called up. Jack Berglund captained Team Sweden to gold at the World Juniors, and there\u2019s another Michigan State forward who could be turning pro sooner than we think.<\/p>\n
When talking with Jason Myrtetus on Friday\u2019s episode of Flyers Daily<\/a> about the team\u2019s winger depth, Briere casually threw Shane Vansaghi\u2019s name into the mix in the same breath as Martone.<\/p>\n Shane Vansaghi is \u201ca few months away\u201d from NHL<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s no doubt that, collectively, both wingers, right and left, are very strong, and it\u2019s looking even stronger, too,\u201d Briere said. \u201cDenver Barkey just started playing; he doesn\u2019t look out of place. You have Bump, that\u2019s not too far away. You know, Martone and Vansaghi are a few months away as well. So it\u2019s really exciting.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s no surprise that Briere would mention Barkey, Bump, and last year\u2019s sixth overall pick, but the Vansaghi mention is definitely interesting.<\/p>\n Vansaghi was ranked as highly as 27th in last year\u2019s NHL Draft rankings, and many experts expected him to go early in the second round. However, despite the Flyers having a few picks early in that second round, they waited until the 48th overall pick to grab the big winger.<\/p>\n The 19-year-old forward stands at 6\u20192\u2033 and 216 pounds. He had 16 points (6 goals, 10 assists) in 37 games during his freshman year at Michigan State, and has seen that scoring take a hit with just 6 points (1 goal, 5 assists) through 16 games.<\/p>\n Vansaghi also represented Team USA at the World Juniors, recording no points with a plus-minus of minus-four in the tournament.<\/p>\n A quick glance at the numbers might not lead you to believe that Vansaghi is ready for the professional game, especially the NHL, but the Flyers\u2019 scouts and Briere apparently think highly of him.<\/p>\n The forward has had a few impressive games at Michigan State this season, though. He scored his lone goal and set up a few other chances<\/a> in a win over the Boston University Terriers back on October 18:<\/p>\n \u201cVansaghi was one of the standouts in this contest, second to maybe only his linemate Cayden Lindstrom, with a game-high 10 shot attempts (six on goal, tied for game-high) and his first tally of the season. His line with Lindstrom and Gavin O\u2019Connell was the most dangerous line for either team in this one, creating plenty of chances and cashing in twice.\u201d<\/p>\n