After last night’s preseason shootout victory over the Boston Bruins, the Philadelphia Flyers have reduced their training camp roster by 11 players, leaving 29 players with 2 preseason contests remaining before the start of the 2025-26 season.
General manager Daniel Brière confirmed that forwards Denver Barkey, Alex Bump, Alexis Gendron, and Devin Kaplan, defenseman Emil Andrae, Helge Grans, Hunter McDonald, and Ty Murchison, and goaltenders Carson Bjarnason and Aleksei Kolosov were assigned to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.
Additionally, forward Anthony Richard was placed on waivers for the purpose of loaning to the Phantoms, should he clear on the 1st of October.
It’s a pretty noteworthy roster move considering many had hoped that both Bump and Andrae could find their way onto the NHL roster for the start of the regular season.
At the very least, they both got meaningful reps in during training camp practice sessions and pre-season contests, and should be considered as favourites for early season call-ups if and when the Flyers need them.
For players like Barkey and Bjarnason, it was always expected they would start the season with the Phantoms, however it’s a good sign that they lasted this long during training camp as they gear towards their debut season in the professional ranks.
For players like Kolosov, this move was also planned with Samuel Ersson and Daniel Vladař on the NHL roster. The Belarusian netminder was somewhat problematic for the Flyers all of last year from reportedly not wanting to report to training camp, to not wanting to play in the AHL, to practicing in Minsk.
Nevertheless, this move should treat him well as he can further develop his game as the clear cut number one goaltender in the minors. Injuries are a part of the game and should the Flyers need assistance in between the pipes, Kolosov will return to the NHL at some point.
However, until then, hopefully he can regain some of his KHL-form that had the Philly faithful excited about his progression to North America.
Of the 29 players remaining on the NHL roster, some notables to keep an eye out for who will be vying for a roster spot on opening night include forwards Rodrigo Ābols, Nikita Grebenkin, and Jett Luchanko as well as defensemen Noah Juulsen, Adam Ginning, and Egor Zamula.
Ābols seems to have an inside track on a roster spot after a fantastic training camp. He has played in 5 games thus far and has produced admirably, including another goal last night against Boston. As for Luchanko, Rick Tocchet has said he would like to see him be a bit more aggressive, so perhaps he’ll have another game or two to prove his readiness.
On the backend, Zamula has been a consistent mainstay on the NHL roster over the last couple of years but has delivered a so-so performance in training camp thus far with Juulsen and Ginning really standing out in contrast.
The former was signed as a free agent this summer for depth purposes with some ties to Tocchet in Vancouver, whereas the latter has been a steady defensive defenseman over the years for the Phantoms, looking for his opportunity to claim an NHL spot.
The 23-man roster will be unveiled after the preseason comes to a close with the Flyers opening the season on the 9th of October in Florida to face off against the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions.
