It all begins for the Philadelphia Flyers on Friday night. The 2024-25 regular season is upon us.
It’s an interesting season for the Flyers. It will be their third under head coach John Tortorella. This will be the follow-up to a surprising season that nearly resulted in an unexpected playoff appearance. Most of the roster is returning, with two notable exceptions.
As the new season begins, it’s time to look at five storylines for the 2024-25 Flyers season.
Matvei Michkov
It should be no surprise that this is at the top of the list. The biggest news of the Flyers offseason was the arrival of 2023 first-round pick Matvei Michkov, two seasons ahead of expectation.
Michkov has come as advertised so far. He scored in his lone rookie game appearance. In the preseason, he scored three goals and seven points in four games, including an overtime game-winner. So, yeah, he’s ready to join the NHL fold for sure.
While there will certainly be tempered expectations for Michkov, the potential is what shines here. He thinks the game at a ridiculous pace, always seeming to be one step ahead of the opposition. His creativity is off the charts. And his preseason wasn’t just about goals, assists, and making plays. He showed an ability to protect the puck, win battles, go to the dirty areas, and even some defensive awareness.
It doesn’t have to amount to more wins in the immediate, but Michkov’s presence should at least help others around him showcase some better numbers. Maybe that just happens to produce more wins too.
The Other Rookie: Jett Luchanko
Once Michkov was here, there was no doubt he would be in the NHL from day one. For 2024 first-round pick Jett Luchanko, that was an afterthought. It seemed certain that Luchanko would be back in juniors this season.
That can still be the case, if the Flyers decide before Luchanko’s 10th game that he should finish out the season with Guelph in the OHL. But for now, he’s a Flyer.
He turned heads in camp with his mature approach and attention to detail, and backed it up with strong skating. The points may not have been there in camp, but Luchanko earned his chance nevertheless in the eyes of Danny Briere and company.
The first storyline around Luchanko is how long he will last in the NHL this season. Should he make it past the nine-game mark and be on the roster for the full season, then the storyline becomes more about Luchanko’s performance in his rookie season.
With all eyes already on 19-year-old Matvei Michkov, adding in 18-year-old Jett Luchanko provides another piece of youth for fans to learn more about along the way.
Jamie Drysdale’s Health
He’s not a rookie, but he almost feels like one. Jamie Drysdale was acquired on Jan. 8 in a trade with Anaheim for Cutter Gauthier, and debuted with the Flyers two nights later on Jan. 10, the exact halfway point of the 2023-24 season.
Drysdale missed time for a variety of reasons for the rest of the season, first with illness, then after injuring his shoulder on Feb. 25 against Pittsburgh. All the while, he was still dealing with the effects of an injury suffered much earlier, before the trade ever happened. As a result, Drysdale played in just 24 games with the Flyers, scoring two goals and five points.
He had an offseason surgery, came into camp looking healthy, added weight, and could be poised for a breakout season. The 22-year-old defenseman, a former sixth overall pick in 2020, is one of the most important figures within the Flyers rebuild at the moment.
Health will be most critical factor, though, in Drysdale making the desired impact. In four NHL seasons, Drysdale has played just 147 games, including just 42 games in the last two seasons. Staying on the ice is the starting point, and if he can add the dynamic skating and potential playmaking ability that can define his game, it could certainly change the outlook of the Flyers season and future.
The Goalies
The goaltending position is a fascinating one for the Flyers. They have five in the system, including prospects Carson Bjarnason and Yegor Zavragin, that could have their future set up well.
In the present, there are three goalies that provide the storylines for the 2024-25 Flyers.
The 2024-25 season will be Sam Ersson’s first as the assumed starter. It was a role he was vaulted into after Carter Hart’s leave of absence in late January, and while Ersson handled it well, he faded down the stretch due to the heavy workload.
Ivan Fedotov was a surprise addition to the Flyers in late March. After a two-year saga of trying to get Fedotov from Russia to the NHL, the 6’ 7” netminder joined the team and made three appearances, including one start in crunch time of the regular season. Fedotov returns in the backup role and will get more of a sample size to show if he belongs.
Finally, there is Alexei Kolosov, another netminder that created quite the saga this offseason. Kolosov reported to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms late last season, but held out of the Flyers development camp and rookie camp. He finally joined training camp on Sept. 27, and will start with the Phantoms this season.
From there, though, it’s anyone’s guess what happens with the goaltending. Ersson could continue to show he has the chops for a No. 1 starter spot. Fedotov could emerge as more than just a backup. Injuries could strike and put Kolosov into action. It remains possible that Kolosov also goes back to the KHL on loan.
Watching the goaltending situation unfold and seeing how they all perform will certainly be worth watching this season.
The Power Play
Goaltending was one of the reasons the Flyers failed to lock down the playoff spot they held for most of the 2023-24 season. The lack of a reliable backup to provide a break for Ersson may have cost the team a few additional points in the standings.
Another primary cause was on special teams. While the penalty kill shined, the power play was once again anemic, finishing in last place in conversion rate for the third straight season at a mere 12.2 percent, nearly three percent behind the next lowest team in the league.
There will be some immediate life and freshness injected into the power play with Michkov’s presence. There is a chance Luchanko sees some time there right away too.
Including both of the team’s teenage rookies on special teams in that capacity will need to do more than just produce for themselves. It needs to unlock more offense for the rest of the team. Players like Travis Konecny, Owen Tippett, Tyson Foerster, Joel Farabee, and Morgan Frost could see an uptick in points if the power play is able to finish this season. And there really is nowhere else to go but up.
