Mike Witmer

Robert Hagg is just one of the many defensemen who started in the Flyers system as a draft pick that has worked his way to the NHL and the Flyers present. As the team prepares for the 2018-19 season, the Flyers future on the blue line has started to become the present.

With so many talented prospects in the system, the Flyers not only have to focus on adding potential stars from their prospect pool, but depth players who could play important roles on the team. Maksim Sushko could be one of those players.

Jordan Weal remains an interesting possibility for the Flyers third-line center role that keeps being mentioned specifically by GM Ron Hextall, making the case for Weal even stronger as the offseason winds down.

The Flyers already have so many young star prospects coming through their system, a system that is already near the top of the league, with the likes of Morgan Frost and Carter Hart. Isaac Ratcliffe could be another player that can help the Flyers in the future, a depth guy who could potentially be on the Flyers sooner rather than later.

The smart decision in the 2018-19 season is to keep Claude Giroux and Sean Couturier together with Giroux still manning the wing, where he had so much success in the 2017-18 season.

The future of the Flyers is getting closer and there should be some excitement coming into camp. Here are just a few players that may get an extended look in training camp.

Ron Hextall and Flyers scouts have done very well in the past couple years on finding value and good young talent later in the first round. 19th overall pick Jay O’Brien could soon be another example of that.

With Ron Hextall looking to add some veteran help, there are a couple players he can target that can help the Flyers going forward to fill that veteran need.

Last season, with an increased roll in the lineup, Konecny impressed, nearly doubling his point total from his rookie season. While he still made mistakes at times, he improved in his second year with the team, showing he can be a first line winger.

Whether the 2018-19 season involves another playoff run or not, there is a lot to be happy about with the team going forward as expectations increase as the focus shifts to next season.

After the career year Couturier had in 2017-18 season, putting up new career highs in points, solidifying himself as the first-line center, and continuing to be a shutdown force, not to mention being a finalist for the Selke Trophy, could we see the same from him in the 2018-19 season and for the rest of his career?

Philippe Myers and Travis Sanheim have brought their great seasons to the Calder Cup Playoffs. Despite being down two games to the Toronto Marlies in the Eastern Conference Final, their presence has been felt and is showcasing a potential future pairing for the Flyers at the NHL level.

While it is hard to imagine a scenario where the Flyers take no penalties during the series against the Pittsburgh Penguins, their penalty kill is going to have to come through for them.

After Monday’s practice, it looks like Michael Raffl will be back on the fourth line with Matt Read and Jori Lehtera for Tuesday night’s game against the New York Islanders.

For the Flyers, the importance of depth scoring is key for them to get into the playoffs. The team needs to have players like Jordan Weal, Scott Laughton and Matt Read — among others — to step up and help put up points.