Flyers Top 25 Under 25 - Summer 2018 Edition

Before I jump in to my current ranking, here is how I ranked the boys last Winter:

1. Ivan Provorov
2. Shayne Gostisbehere
3. Nolan Patrick
4. Travis Konecny
5. Scott Laughton
6. Oskar Lindblom
7. Morgan Frost
8. Wade Allison
9. Carter Hart
10. Travis Sanheim
11. Phil Myers
12. Robert Hagg
13. Sam Morin
14. Danick Martel
15. Mike Vecchione
16. Taylor Leier
17. Mikhail Vorobyev
18. German Rubtsov
19. Nicolas Aube-Kubel
20. Tanner Laczynski
21. Anthony Stolarz
22. Felix Sandstrom
23. Mark Friedman
24. Maksim Sushko
25. Isaac Ratcliffe
Honorable Mention (in order from 26-33)
Tyrell Goulbourne
Radel Fazleev
Connor Bunnaman
Matt Strome
David Kase
Pascal Laberge
Cooper Marody
Kirill Ustimenko

And an honorable mention that I feel is notable:

• Ollie Lycksell - Good try BSH, that's a fake name.

Turns out Ollie Lycksell actually spells his first name 'Olle' AND he's invited to Sweden's World Juniors camp, so maybe he was a bit of a miss for me. Beyond him, there are some exciting new additions to the group (the only real subtractions being Gostisbehere and Vecchione) and some players that have made significant strides forward in the past six months. 

That's going to be a challenge - there are 25 spots for 34 prospects plus a draft haul that included two first round picks. Here's how I'm ranking the lads.

1. Ivan Provorov
2. Nolan Patrick
3. Travis Konecny

My top four has not changed, but Gostisbehere graduated. Shutdown defenseman, then second-line center, then top-six winger. We know they're all going to be in the organization for a decade, and at this point I think the only question we have about potential is with Patrick. But it's a good question, as in 'how high can his ceiling go?'

4. Scott Laughton

5. Travis Sanheim
6. Oskar Lindblom

7. Robert Hagg

These guys should all be NHL regulars this year. I think Laughton's work on the penalty kill is going to be underratedly important to the team's success this year, and I think Lindblom might even be joining him in that department. Robert Hagg is a fine player, but the upside of Sanheim (if he can hit that upside, with Hagg or MacDonald or Gudas or whomever) means he could potentially take the leap to the group above this one. 

8. Carter Hart

I'm penciling him in here between the sure-thing NHLers and the could-be NHLers even though he's probably not an NHLer this year. Simply put, the pressure of being the Flyers' future franchise goalie is second only to being the goalie for Team Canada. Hart's .930 save percentage in last year's World Juniors (they won gold) tells you all you need to know about his mental makeup. 

9. Morgan Frost

10. Philippe Myers

11. Sam Morin

God I hope these three make the big club this year. Myers probably has the best shot out of camp (since Morin is injured and Frost is still just a boy), but I rank Frost slightly ahead of him because third center (especially one of the playmaking variety instead of the checking variety) is more important than fourth or fifth defenseman. As for Sammy, I love him and I hope he jumps into the lineup after he rehabs. He's exactly what you want on your third pair for a playoff run. 

12. Felix Sandstrom

Perhaps I'm putting too much stock in this year's development camp, but all the reports that I saw showed Sandstrom as Hart's peer. They have decidedly different styles - Hart's the calming presence who specializes in positioning, Sandstrom the freak athlete-slash-contortionist - but they will eventually be a fearsome tandem. 

13. Wade Allison

14. Isaac Ratcliffe

15. Joel Farabee

None of them will sniff the NHL this year. Ratcliffe is probably the only one who will even see any AHL time. But these three represent the potential 'goal-scoring wingers' of the future. We have James van Riemsdyk and Konecny (and I guess Claude Giroux?) for now, but the thought one one day adding these three to the top nine is making my mouth water. 

16. Mikhail Vorobyev

17. Nicolas Aube-Kubel

18. Danick Martel

19. Taylor Leier

I think two of these four are going to make the Flyers out of camp. They're the NHL-AHL 'tweeners' who could probably swim if we threw them into the deep end. But that's not how Ron Hextall operates, so we'll settle with the nugget that Danick Martel led the Flyers in Shot Attempts Per Sixty Minutes last season. 

20. Maksim Sushko
21. Tanner Laczynski

22. Jay O'Brien
23. Connor Bunnaman

24. Jack St. Ivany
25. Adam Ginning

This is my ranking, so I rounded out my top 25 with the players who I'm probably higher on than most. Whether it's stories I've read or things I've seen in whatever camp or tournament I might have watched, I hope this last group all finds success on their path to the orange and black. 

Now, I'll attempt to defend the guys I left out:

• German Rubtsov - Yes, he was a first round pick. But how long can he underachieve before we start to remove him from our plans? This year should be big for him, as Eliteprospects shows him making the jump to play for the Phantoms. Maybe the burden of having to try to score 100 points will allow him to simplify his game and focus on being a sound 200-foot player. 
• Anthony Stolarz - It's kind of like the Rubtsov situation, though to be fair to Stolarz injuries have played a role. I think he absolutely has the chops to be an NHL goalie, but he's been in the Flyers' system for like a decade and nothing has really come of it. The battle between him and Alex Lyon (who is 25 and therefore ineligible for this list) should be a doozy this season. 
• Mark Friedman - He's a dog, and he absolutely could have snuck into that last group of four because he plays with so much heart all the time. I guess an AHL career with the potential for an NHL call-up isn't a bad way to go. 
• Tyrell Goulbourne - We're probably done with him on the big club. 
• Radel Fazleev - I used to think of him and Vorobyev as a pair, but last year Vorobyev seemed to take a huge step forward while Fazleev stayed pretty steady. 
• Matt Strome - Oh man, just wait til he learns how to skate. Then you're all in trouble!
• David Kase - He was a victim of the depth of this prospect pool. He's a solid player but nobody really seems to be all that high on him. 
• Pascal Laberge - God I hope he has a bounceback year with the Phantoms this year. Poor guy's brain is heartbreakingly fucked up from that cheap shot in the World Juniors a few years ago. 
• Kirill Ustimenko - The Rinaldo pick is actually maybe a pretty good goalie?
• Reece Wilcox - I know he re-signed with the Phantoms, but I think that's probably the end of the road for him. I don't see a way for him to leapfrog the big names ahead of him. 
• Olle Lycksell - Like I said above, he's hopefully going to be playing in the World Juniors this year, which would be a great way for him to build some hype. 
• Cole Bardreau - Do you think they'll give him a Dale Weise contract when Dale Weise's contract expires?
• Wyatte Wylie - I'll quote a Flyers scout: "there's nothing really flashy but he's a pretty effective guy"- he also has a fucking sweet name.