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While it’s still early, the Philadelphia Flyers may have found themselves a hidden gem in winger prospect Nikita Grebenkin, who continues to impress in the NHL preseason and training camp.

Grebenkin, 22, has begun to understand his role as a support player and power forward of sorts, and even admitted last week that he “didn’t understand” his coach in the KHL.

“I go here and Coach Tocc [tells] me, ‘It’s your game, tough game, you’re a big guy, hard-working, it’s good for you. You get points and you score here’, Grebenkin had said. “I don’t want to stay long time behind the net, but now I understand. It’s good for me. It’s my game.”

Grebenkin got to the net again against the New York Islanders on Thursday night, screening superstar goalie Ilya Sorokin on Travis Konecny’s second-period one-timer goal to help give the Flyers a 2-1 lead.

And, although the Flyers did ultimately lose by a narrow 4-3 margin, Grebenkin again proved that he can hang with players like Konecny and Sean Couturier and make plays.

“He made that goal, and he’s a sticky guy. He comes up with loose pucks, support. You always need those corner guys that could come up with pucks,” Tocchet said of Grebenkin after the loss. “If we can continue to teach him to play that way, he can be a real force out there.

“I think in the first period, he almost split the D. That’s good stuff. We want that from him, so I hope he continues to do that.”

Flyers Roster Prediction 1.0: Nikita Grebenkin Secures Big Opportunity
Following multiple roster cuts on Tuesday, the Philadelphia Flyers have only a handful of decisions to make before they reach their final roster for the start of the regular season.

Grebenkin finished Thursday’s exhibition game with three shots on goal in a relatively modest 14:07 of ice time, and this was a game where the Flyers had only one power play opportunity.

We’ve seen the blossoming Russian wreak havoc in the crease to create a goal more than once this preseason, and that tool should be equally or more useful with the man advantage as the Flyers’ coaching staff grows more and more comfortable with him.

At this point, we can consider Grebenkin a virtual lock to make the Flyers’ final roster, with a few players still left jostling for a roster spot. Jett Luchanko and Rodrigo Abols, however, have not done enough consistently enough to leave Grebenkin in limbo on this roster.

Also of note: Owen Tippett played alongside Trevor Zegras and Matvei Michkov on Thursday night, and all three forwards stumbled to an unproductive outing that saw them each finish with -2 ratings.

Grebenkin played with those two in the first preseason game of the slate, and it could be a look the Flyers return to if Zegras and Michkov can’t find chemistry with Tippett soon.

The opportunities are there for the taking, and should Grebenkin continue on this upwards trajectory, he could easily be a pleasant surprise for the Flyers in the top-nine forward group.

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  Greg WyshynskiSep 30, 2025, 06:25 AM ET

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  Greg Wyshynski is ESPN’s senior NHL writer.

VOORHEES, NJ — Trevor Zegras owns a large-scale version of his EA Sports “NHL 23” cover, the one where he’s crouched in shorts and an Anaheim Ducks jersey, looking like he’s about to play some street hockey against Team Canada’s Sarah Nurse.

What does Zegras see when he looks at that cover today?

“The same guy.”

Yet many around the NHL have wondered what happened to that version of Trevor Zegras.

The first three seasons of Zegras’ NHL career were brilliant. He tallied 139 points in 180 games with the Ducks. He became the face of a generation of young players who grew up filming themselves attempting trick shots, scoring multiple “Michigan” lacrosse-style goals.

His masterpiece was on Dec. 7, 2021, when Zegras sent a “Michigan” ally-oop pass over the Buffalo Sabres net to teammate Sonny Milano for a goal. High-school and college players started to tag the 20-year-old on social media with their own attempts at “The Zegras.”

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Trevor Zegras breaks down his unbelievable alley-oop assist

Trevor Zegras joins The Point to break down his amazing circus pass to set up Sonny Milano’s goal.

He was one of those players where the question wasn’t if he’d become a star, but how brightly he’d shine. But his last two seasons in Anaheim all but extinguished that star.

They were nightmarish, filled with injuries, criticism of his defensive game, conflicts with Ducks management and statistical decline: His 0.77 points-per-game average over his first three seasons plummeted to 0.53. They were also filled with trade rumors, which Zegras said caused him “awful” mental anxiety, and eventually a trade to the Philadelphia Flyers in June.

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“The guy hasn’t liked his last couple of years. He has his doubters,” Flyers coach Rick Tocchet said. “He’s in-house now. He knows this is his sanctuary.”

The move to Philadelphia offers Zegras the reset he’s needed. A chance to play center after the Ducks forced him to the wing. A chance to vibe with other young stars like Matvei Michkov. A chance to “recapture some of the magic that he had in his first few seasons,” as Flyers GM Daniel Briere put it.

What does Zegras want people saying about him after his first season in Philadelphia?

“I want them to go from saying ‘he’s good at hockey’ to ‘he’s a hockey player,'” Zegras told ESPN last week.

“I think there are a lot of guys that are good at hockey. After the season, I’d rather be known as somebody who is a hockey player.”

WHAT WENT WRONG in Anaheim?

“Seasonal depression. Let’s go with that,” Zegras deadpanned, sitting in the media room at the Flyers training facility. “I need winters. Every day felt the exact same for five years. It was weird. Seasonal depression. It’s a real thing. I swear to God.”

Despite the monotonously gorgeous weather, things weren’t always sunny for Zegras in SoCal.

After leaving Boston University in 2020, Zegras joined a Ducks team coached by Dallas Eakins and managed by Bob Murray, who drafted Zegras ninth overall in 2019. Murray resigned on Nov. 10, 2021 following an investigation into his professional conduct. After Jeff Solomon served as interim general manager, Pat Verbeek was hired from the Red Wings to take over as general manager in Feb. 2022.

Zegras had his two breakout seasons under Eakins: 23 goals and 38 assists in 75 games during 2021-22, when he finished second to Detroit Red Wings defenseman Moritz Seider in the rookie of the year voting; followed by 23 goals and 42 points in 81 games in 2022-23.

The opening act of Trevor Zegras’ NHL career went well, including being a Calder Trophy finalist after his rookie campaign. AP Photo/Ashley Landis

Eakins was fired in April 2023 after four seasons. Verbeek replaced him with Greg Cronin, who arrived from the Colorado Avalanche’s AHL affiliate with a reputation for developing young players. Zegras, a restricted free agent, missed Cronin’s first training camp. He signed a three-year bridge contract with Verbeek that paid him $17.25 million total through 2025-26. After his first practice with the new coach, Zegras was asked what he and Cronin discussed on the ice.

“He was telling me how to play defense,” Zegas quipped, a nod to his reputation as a one-dimensional player.

Cronin gave Zegras some tough love during that 2023-24 season, benching him for his in-game decision-making. Zegras had a sluggish start, with just a goal and an assist in his first 12 games.

“I think when you have a new GM and you’re bring in a new coach, I think they want things done their way. And not to say that I wasn’t OK with doing everything their way, but I think there were things that maybe we didn’t see eye to eye on a ton of the time and maybe they viewed that as a negative thing,” Zegras said.

“The contract stuff played a role, too,” he continued. “That was hard, just from a mental standpoint. That was a year with the new coach and then you kind of come in behind the 8-ball. You get off to a slow start and then that combined with the contract and with the [trade] rumors, it’s just not fun. But I’ve gotta keep playing.”

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Not helping matters: Cronin moved Zegras from center to the wing, making room for other young centers like Leo Carlsson and Mason McTavish.

“And then it’s, ‘You’re moving over here, you’re moving over here, you’re moving over here.’ And you’re like, ‘I’m doing everything you want me to do,'” he said.

It ended up being a dreadful campaign for Zegras health-wise, as a lower-body injury and ankle surgery limited him to just 31 games. But the real nightmare was on the stat sheet: Zegras tallied just 15 points, including six goals, well off his offensive pace of the previous two seasons.

He had another slow start in 2024-25, tallying four points in 17 games. Then, just as his offense started to heat up, Zegras needed surgery in December for a torn meniscus in his right knee. He finished with 32 points in 57 games — an improvement, but still not up to previous standards.

Zegras believes he wasn’t given a proper chance by Cronin and Verbeek to prove his worth as a center. That left him “overthinking things” and feeling unsupported by his team, which impacted his mental health.

“The last thing I was thinking about was actually playing hockey at times. That was hard for me. And then you throw in the injuries and then the rehab and the recovery and then getting back to, I guess, the place that you were before. Little things become big things in your head, and it makes it very hard to play against the best players in the world on a night-to-night basis,” Zegras said.

“It almost felt like you were alone, when they didn’t believe in you.”

There were more lows than highs for Zegras the past two seasons in Anaheim. Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images

Not helping Zegras was the noise surrounding his situation in Anaheim. He became a mainstay on NHL trade boards during his two underwhelming seasons under Cronin.

“It was awful. When it’s never happened to you before, it’s awful. The second year it was easier to deal with, but that first year was tough,” Zegras said. “It was everywhere. It was every day. It was this and that, and this and that, and then it was another little thing that becomes a big thing. You’re not thinking about it, but you’re seeing it everywhere, and it just sucks.”

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Reality stopped the rumors on June 23: Zegras had been traded to the Flyers for Ryan Poehling, a 2025 second-round pick and a 2026 fourth-round pick. Verbeek said Zegras no longer fit within the Ducks’ lineup.

“Ultimately, Trevor has been wanting to play center, and I think that he’ll be given that opportunity in Philadelphia. Trevor to kind of get pushed to the wing, and that probably doesn’t suit his best attributes being able to create from the middle,” Verbeek said. “I want to thank Trevor for this past six seasons and his contributions to our club. Obviously, it was a difficult trade to make from that perspective, but we’re trying to retool the roster in a way [where] all the pieces fit cohesively.”

The Flyers, like other teams, had checked in on Zegras’ availability over the last two seasons. Sometimes the timing wasn’t right for Philadelphia. Most times the Ducks weren’t ready to part with him. Briere believes that Zegras’ production had dipped to a level where he finally became available.

“Top-six talents are very rarely available in the NHL. We felt this was a risk worth taking. It’s not a secret: We’re thin in the middle, and hopefully he can help us out,” Briere said. “We hope he can find that magic again and take it to another level.”

LUKAS DOSTAL HAS SEEN that magic firsthand.

When he wasn’t starting, the Ducks goalie would be the guy between the pipes on breakaway drills. He recalls Zegras pulling out his video-game moves during their friendly competitions.

“I didn’t like them Sometimes he did his YouTube tricks and I told him, ‘Man, just be serious about it. Come on!'” he recalled, with a laugh.

Dostal believes Zegras has been misunderstood, especially when it comes to criticism of his defensive game.

“A lot of people maybe didn’t see it, but he really understood how to play two-way hockey. He was really working hard on it in the last year,” Dostal said. “He probably didn’t put up as many points as he wanted, but his more responsible way of hockey got much better. I love him as a guy. I hope he’s going to do well in Philadelphia.”

Although he didn’t always appreciate Zegras’ trickery in shootout drills, former teammate Lukas Dostal wishes him well in Philly. Mike Stobe/NHLI via Getty Images

Brady Tkachuk trained with Zegras in Connecticut during the offseason. He also hopes a fresh start in Philadelphia will help him find his form again.

“It’s going to be great for him, especially under [Tocchet]. I know they have a great culture there and I think he’s just going to do a good job of fitting in there,” Tkachuk told ESPN recently. “I’ve always thought playing against Philly that they play super hard, but they have a lot of great players with skill and kind of play that hard way as well. So I think that is going to be the best thing for him. So I’m excited to see how the change affects him. I bet that’s it’s going to be for the good.”

Tocchet is in his first season as Flyers head coach after three seasons with the Vancouver Canucks. He played 11 seasons in Philadelphia, forging a reputation as a rugged, no-nonsense winger. Many know him simply as “Tock.” Hence, he was amused when Zegras gave him a different nickname as Flyers camp started: “Taco.”

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“Yeah, that’s what he’s calling me,” Tocchet said. “He smiles. His personality is great for a room.”

Where did “Taco” come from? Zegras said it was inspired by his friends and fellow NHLers Jack, Quinn and Luke Hughes.

“I’m good buddies with the Hughes [brothers] and they always ask me how ‘Taco’ is,” he said.

Zegras spent time with the Hughes brothers during the summer, including on the golf course, where Zegras proudly states he’s the best golfer of the four NHL players. He offered the following scouting report on the Hughes’ approach to golf:

“I like Jack’s game because he is the quickest, fastest golfer player I have ever seen in my entire life. He will have a full conversation with you while he’s putting the tee in the ground, and then he’ll swing quick and then finish his conversation. Whereas Quinn is the exact opposite. He’ll take 10 practice swings and then hit one.”

Zegras said he’s happy to be in the same division with Jack and Luke Hughes, because it means he’s no longer in the same division as their brother.

“I never want to play Quinn ever again. He’s the best hockey player of all-time,” he said.

Zegras is now in the same division as Devils center Jack Hughes, a friend off the ice. Tori Graessle/NHLI via Getty Images

The Flyers aren’t looking for Zegras to be an all-timer. They’d settle for having that creative spark from his early years, combined with a solid two-way game that makes him an answer at center.

“There are certain parts of his game that he knows that he has to clean up. He’s willing to learn,” Tocchet said. “He’s coachable. He’s been in the office watching video. He’s on the ice listening to the other coaches. He’s a great kid.”

Briere sees Zegras as a player who can grow with the young talents on the Flyers, who are seeking to return to the playoffs for the first time since 2020.

“He’ll be a motivated player. If you look at his age, he can grow with many of the young players we have here,” he said. “We believe in him and believe he can recapture some of the magic that he had in his first few seasons.”

When Zegras hears Briere talk about “recapturing the magic,” it only means one thing to him. It’s the same thing that 20-year-old on the video game cover represented.

“Have fun. Just. Have. Fun. And I’m having a great freaking time. It’s awesome. Matvei’s fun to play with. The guys in the room are awesome. Getting to the rink early, just hanging out with everybody’s been a blast,” Zegras said.

“Not that I didn’t have a blast in Anaheim. It’s just different. It’s way different. Everything’s new again. Everything is fresh.”

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For the second time in preseason action, the Flyers went to a shootout.

And for the second time, they won it.

The Flyers picked up a 3-2 victory Monday night over the Bruins at TD Garden in Boston.

Bobby Brink was the lone scorer in the skills competition. Dan Vladar denied all three of the Bruins’ attempts.

The shootout wasn’t nearly as long as the Flyers’ first one, which was eight days ago and went 11 rounds against the Islanders. Rick Tocchet’s club finished with a 3-2 victory in that one, as well.

On Monday night, Noah Cates broke a scoreless tie with a goal in the second period. After Boston responded a little over three minutes later, Rodrigo Abols struck with 24 seconds left in the middle stanza.

The Bruins tied things up again with 8:39 minutes left in the third period to force overtime.

The Flyers didn’t dress four of their top five scorers from last season and four of their top defensemen.

Tocchet’s club improved to 2-3-0 in the preseason with two games to go.

• Not sure how you can keep Abols off the Flyers’ season-opening roster.

He’s the team’s only skater to have played in all five preseason games so far. And he has more than answered the challenge.

His goal was his second of the preseason and third point. It came on a beautiful shot.

Tocchet and the Flyers have liked Abols’ positional versatility. The 29-year-old can play center or winger and he moves very well for a 6-foot-4 guy.

If merit matters in camp, Abols has earned a spot. He can help the Flyers in their bottom six right now.

• Tyson Foerster made his preseason debut after recovering from offseason surgery to address an infection in the area of his elbow.

“I think he worked extremely hard on his rehab, give him a lot of credit,” Tocchet said Monday morning. “Doesn’t surprise me, he’s a character kid.”

The 23-year-old winger picked up an assist on Cates’ goal and played just under 21 minutes. It would be surprising if the line of Foerster, Cates and Brink isn’t together on opening night.

Noah Cates scored the first goal of the game for the Flyers in the second period against the Bruins.

• Vladar has been a real positive through his four periods of preseason action.

The free-agent addition played the full game Monday night and converted 13 saves on 15 shots. He has stopped 21 of 24 shots in exhibition play.

The 6-foot-5 netminder has the ability to make an athletic save and has done a nice job tracking pucks through traffic.

So far, so good from Vladar.

• The Flyers’ entire defensive group Monday night featured players on the bubble.

Adam Ginning didn’t hurt his push for a job by recording four blocked shots and a plus-1 mark in 22:58 minutes. His size and defensive-minded game could be welcomed by the Flyers with Rasmus Ristolainen out to start the season.

It’s possible Egor Zamula didn’t help himself. On Boston’s game-tying 1-1 goal, it looked like Zamula was unable to pick up the stick of Sean Kuraly, who tipped one home in front.

During another part of the second period, Zamula was a bit too methodical in the slot of the Flyers’ defensive zone. As he tried to clear the puck, he was stripped and it led to a scoring chance.

• Helge Grans was placed on waivers Monday, according to PuckPedia.com. If the 23-year-old defenseman clears, he’s expected to report to AHL affiliate Lehigh Valley.

• The Flyers have a couple of days before they’re back into preseason action Thursday when they host the Islanders (7 p.m. ET/NBCSP).

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In what is shaping up to be a race to the bottom in the battle for a roster spot on defense, injured Philadelphia Flyers prospect Oliver Bonk is, unfortunately, missing out on a big opportunity.

Players like Helge Grans and Noah Juulsen, two favorites for a roster spot due to their right-handedness, have largely flattered to deceive or played poorly outright in training camp and the preseason thus far.

Egor Zamula appears to have plateaued, and Emil Andrae has only appeared in one preseason game to this point; he’ll play against Boston on Monday night.

An underwhelming roster battle has left the Flyers in a precarious position with only a few preseason games left on the schedule, and you have to wonder what a healthy Bonk could have done for himself going against this group.

Bonk, 20, was deemed day-to-day by the Flyers with an upper-body injury on Thursday, along with forwards Lane Pederson and Karsen Dorwart, and has technically been day-to-day since the Flyers’ first announcement on Sept. 18.

Flyers Roster Battles Leaving Much to Be Desired Early in NHL Preseason
Through three NHL preseason games, several Philadelphia Flyers roster battles look far from being decided any time soon.

The 2023 first-round pick was meant to play in the rookie series games against the New York Rangers, too, only to be held out of those before training camp started.

Considering Bonk was also left off the ice during development camp in July to recover from a long season, he’s quietly missed a decent amount of on-ice development with NHL coaches and NHL-caliber players this year.

The timing of it all has been awful, frankly, as Rasmus Ristolainen is expected to miss time well into the start of the season (potentially as late as November as of now)

Given that Ristolainen will inevitably return at some point, this would have been an easy opportunity to see Bonk play a month or so’s worth of NHL games and how he holds up doing so.

The same premise applied to Grans, in a way, where the 23-year-old is no longer waivers-exempt. If the Flyers want to get a real good look at Grans, there was no better time to do so than while Ristolainen can’t play.

By all accounts, it would seem that Bonk is destined to start his 2025-26 campaign – his first as a professional player – in the AHL with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.

Most likely, he would’ve spent most of the season there anyway, but you can’t help but feel a healthy Bonk makes this Flyers team out of training camp to glean some valuable experience while Ristolainen is on the shelf.

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Through three NHL preseason games, several Philadelphia Flyers roster battles look far from being decided any time soon.

In losses to the Montreal Canadiens and Washington Capitals, the Flyers very much looked like an uninspired team out of gas and out of ideas. Not unusual, given the nature of training camp, but concerning.

The best the Flyers have looked through three preseason games was, incidentally, in their first game against the New York Islanders, when Nikita Grebenkin, Trevor Zegras, and Matvei Michkov stole the show in a 3-2 shootout win.

A glass-half-full way of looking at things is that the Flyers also look like a team undoing three years of John Tortorella, clearly still learning Rick Tocchet’s new systems.

For many young players, including Michkov, Tortorella’s systems were all they ever had and are having to learn a new set of NHL systems all over again. Rome wasn’t built in a day.

But, overall, you’d like to see a group of young guys rise to the occasion and steal a roster spot when they see an opportunity. That hasn’t happened yet.

Flyers Stock Up, Stock Down Heading into Training Camp Week 2
Heading into the second week of Philadelphia Flyers training camp, a number of key players have boosted their stocks and chances of making the NHL roster. Others? Not so much.

Winger Alex Bump, for example, was one player I praised after the loss to the Canadiens. He started the game (strangely) paired with Nick Deslauriers and Jett Luchanko, and eventually started making plays after moving up to the top line with Sean Couturier and Bobby Brink.

So far, Bump’s game has been just that: flashes at times, but nothing sustained yet. For a solid 6-foot, 200-pound guy, he gets knocked over quite a bit, too.

If I had to call it today, Nikita Grebenkin makes the NHL roster with ease, if for no reason other than his ability to (apparently) play with different types of players in addition to his size and aggression.

The other forward spot is up for grabs.

It’s between Bump, Jett Luchanko, Rodrigo Abols, and maybe Denver Barkey, but the edge has to go to Abols at this time. The experienced Latvian can play center and wing and has put in some good shifts in the preseason.

If Bump makes the roster and Deslauriers is the only extra forward, the Flyers would be without a reserve forward who can play the middle, and that’s something they need to consider when constructing the roster.

On defense, Emil Andrae looked good in the first game against the Islanders and hasn’t played since.

Noah Juulsen has been making it a point to play with physicality, but he got lucky with the Kashawn Aitcheson hit in the first game and was penalized for a very similar hit against Ilya Protas on Thursday.

Flyers Make 10 More Roster Cuts, Including A Surprise
The Philadelphia Flyers have announced 10 further cuts to their training camp roster ahead of Thursday night’s preseason game against the Washington Capitals, but some names were more surprising than others.

Helge Grans has been just okay so far and was bad against the Capitals on Thursday, but as Tocchet remarked after the game, everyone was bad and probably tired, too. That led to the Flyers having the day off on Friday.

Tocchet prefers to have a lefty and righty on each defense pairing, but right now, the only two horses making serious claims for a roster spot are Andrae and Gilbert. I see a world where both make it and Egor Zamula is the odd man out and subsequently cut.

For all his size and physical tools, Zamula is still a very slow skater and plays slow, and it’s hard to predict what Tocchet’s patience level will be for that compared to the other options in the cupboard.

Fortunately, the Flyers have four more preseason games, including Saturday’s preseason home opener against Boston, before they open their regular season on the road against the back-to-back Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers, who are now without captain Sasha Barkov, on Oct. 9.

There’s plenty of time for the youngsters (and some vets) to turn the page on a slow start to the preseason, but, so far, impressive moments have been far and few between.

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The Philadelphia Flyers never quite looked ready to play against the Montreal Canadiens in Tuesday night’s preseason game, and the 4-2 final score reflected that. However, the performance wasn’t all bad.

The Canadiens jumped out to an early 2-0 lead on goals from Cole Caufield and Florian Xhekaj, and Xhekaj’s goal was one goalie Sam Ersson will want back for sure.

The Canadiens prospect found an open zone with Nick Deslauriers and Ethan Samson pursuing Tyler Thorpe in the corner, received the puck, and fired a weak shot through Ersson’s glove side.

Prior to that, Caufield converted on a partial 3-on-2 where defensemen Helge Grans and Nick Seeler were the only two players back. Captain Sean Couturier fumbled the puck under pressure on the wall in the offensive zone, allowing Nick Suzuki to break free in the neutral zone.

Seeler was too passive in his defense on the play, as Suzuki gained the Flyers’ offensive zone with his only two pass options still outside the blueline. Grans covered Lane Hutson in the middle and possibly expected winger support on the weak side, but Caufield was all alone to get his one-timer off 53 seconds into the game for a 1-0 lead.

Overall, I liked Grans’s game after this play, but I’ll need to see more from him to say with conviction that he deserves an NHL roster spot. Fortunately, there is still a lot of preseason left to play.

Flyers vs. Canadiens: 3 Hopefuls Will Make Their Case for an NHL Roster Spot
The Philadelphia Flyers will face the Montreal Canadiens for their second preseason game of 2025 with an entirely different roster, with the exception of two players.

As for other roster hopefuls, Dennis Gilbert surprisingly looked effective next to Travis Sanheim on the Flyers’ top defense pairing. The 28-year-old journeyman helped get the Flyers on the board midway through the second period, springing Anthony Richard for a breakaway with a long-range breakout pass and getting Philadelphia within a goal at 2-1.

Aleksei Kolosov took over for Sam Ersson after one period, contrary to what Rick Tocchet said at morning skate earlier in the day, and made 12 saves on 13 shots (.923).

The one goal he did allow was the straw that ultimately broke the camel’s back; Nick Suzuki’s second-period goal stood as the game-winner.

Defensively, the Flyers were again a mess on this play.

Hunter McDonald didn’t play Suzuki with enough urgency after Slafkovsky set up shop, and Oscar Eklind and Ethan Samson actually deflected Suzuki’s shot over Kolosov’s shoulder, with the Belarusian clearly expecting a low shot.

Owen Tippett mercifully delivered the Flyers a power play goal on the evening to make it 3-2, but the power play overall looked poor.

Winger Alex Bump hardly had a kick up until the third period, but finished the night as the Flyers’ most dangerous offensive player.

Bump started on a line with Deslauriers and Jett Luchanko, but eventually swapped places with Richard and joined up with Couturier and Bobby Brink.

That line was too sloppy and ineffective for a preseason game, but once Bump came aboard, things started clicking more.

The 21-year-old probably should have scored on a breakaway opportunity, too, but after deking Kaapo Kahkonen out of his skates, the finishing touch just went off the side of the net. You can guarantee Bump won’t mess up that finish again.

Flyers Stock Up, Stock Down Heading into Training Camp Week 2
Heading into the second week of Philadelphia Flyers training camp, a number of key players have boosted their stocks and chances of making the NHL roster. Others? Not so much.

For me, Bump and Luchanko should be put in more opportunistic positions by head coach Rick Tocchet in the next exhibition game they feature in.

It’s nothing against Deslauriers, but he was drafted as a defenseman and is a career fighter. He’s just not capable of playing a game that suits Bump and Luchanko, and especially not at his age. It wasn’t fair to him or the two youngsters.

At the same time, it’s only preseason and there’s no need to overreact. I just believe that the youngsters should be simulating real game settings as often as possible, but wasting two periods with that combination in a building like the Bell Centre after arriving in Montreal hours earlier isn’t going to work.

Overall, it’s hard to say any players played poorly, because most of the team did, and it’s relative, especially given the circumstances.

Alex Bump was certainly the most impressive and flashy, closely followed by Sanheim, Gilbert, and Kolosov.

Nobody else did much of anything, so we’ll need to see more preseason action before considering jumping to any conclusions.

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Heading into the second week of Philadelphia Flyers training camp, a number of key players have boosted their stocks and chances of making the NHL roster. Others? Not so much.

Predictably, newer players like Nikita Grebenkin, Trevor Zegras, and Matvei Michkov have been all the rage in training camp, and they’ve earned the hype.

Michkov looks every bit the dangerous, chippy playmaker he was last season, while the other two figure to give him a better supporting cast than he had last year.

The trio combined to form a line in the first preseason game against the New York Islanders, and while they did not produce a goal or an assist, their chemistry grew as the game went on, and each player made some pretty special plays throughout.

Stock Up: Trevor Zegras and Nikita Grebenkin

I wrote about this after the game as well, but I am fully convinced that Trevor Zegras is an NHL center. It’s only preseason, but his details looked to be fully there against the Islanders on Sunday night.

Flyers Training Camp: Potential Defensive Changes Could Be for the Best
If the first few days of training camp are anything to go by, the Philadelphia Flyers could have a new-look defense under first-year head coach Rick Tocchet.

He, Michkov, and Grebenkin weren’t exactly making magic happen out there, but they were surprisingly menacing in puck possession.

I was particularly impressed by Zegras’s willingness to get in on the forecheck, chip and chase, come low to support in his own zone, and insert himself right into the middle of puck battles along the walls.

The same is true for Grebenkin, who has proven to be a surprisingly effective zone entry player using his legs, too.

Grebenkin, for me, has enough soft skills, size, and snarl to play up and down the lineup, which is going to work in his favor come October.

He’ll get a long look as training camp progresses further, but I’d be stunned if he winds up missing out on this Flyers roster.

Stock Down: Noah Juulsen

In training camp so far, defenseman Noah Juulsen has very much looked like a guy who is coming off a season-ending hernia.

That’s not necessarily his fault as he shakes off rust, but the poor skating has stood out so far. Juulsen did help his cause by laying a crushing hit on Islanders youngster Kashawn Aitcheson in the first preseason game, but that was about all he did on the night.

The rugged right-shot defenseman didn’t pick up a point in 35 games with the Vancouver Canucks last year, and was basically never an NHLer before playing for Rick Tocchet there; 89 of his 157 career games have come in the last two seasons, and he’s now 28 years old.

Flyers Training Camp: Healthy Jett Luchanko Focused on the Present
With an uncertain future ahead, top Philadelphia Flyers prospect Jett Luchanko is keeping everything in perspective in front of him during training camp.

I think Juulsen will be a valuable veteran presence to have, especially as someone who knows Tocchet’s systems, but I have a hard time believing he’ll beat out players like Emil Andrae and Helge Grans.

The Flyers have too much competition at this position with options with far greater upside looking for opportunities, and Juulsen has so far been more negative than a neutral or positive impact.

Stock Up: Aleksei Kolosov

The last year and a half has seen nearly everyone throw in the towel on Aleksei Kolosov, but the Flyers brought him back and effectively made him the No. 3 goalie after the Ivan Fedotov trade.

Fighting for an NHL future, Kolosov delivered an inspired performance against the Islanders on Sunday night, making a number of spectacular saves that really showed off his trademark athleticism.

A final statline of 15 saves on 17 shots (.882) isn’t the greatest ever, but Kolosov was let down by his teammates on the two goals he did concede. I felt this was often the case last season, but Kolosov had his share of bloopers that contributed to the overwhelmingly negative sentiment around the Flyers’ goaltending, too.

I suspect Kolosov will see plenty of action in the preseason and in the AHL this year, but if he wants to turn the page on the last year, he’s off to a good start.

It’ll be interesting to see if the Belarusian can really develop and put himself back in the picture for the Flyers, who also have Carson Bjarnason and Egor Zavragin in the mix long-term.

Stock Down: Devin Kaplan and Samu Tuomaala

Neither Devin Kaplan nor Samu Tuomaala stood out against the Islanders the way I hoped they would.

Kaplan, who made his NHL debut for the Flyers in Game 82 against Buffalo last season, finished the game with no points, no penalties, and no shots on goal in 11:13.

The lines were out of whack due to the Lane Pederson injury, but Kaplan was kind of just there in that game and didn’t do much of anything, which is a shame.

I really liked Kaplan’s game during rookie camp, but the drawback for him right now seems to be consistency. Sometimes he pulls some crazy stickhandles and creative passes out of nowhere, and other times he can’t get on the puck.

Tuomaala, too, didn’t find a way to make much of an impact against the Islanders, and he might need a strong preseason more than anyone not named Adam Ginning.

The Finn did at least record a shot on goal and was chosen to shoot in the shootout, though his attempt against old Lehigh Valley Phantoms teammate Parker Gahagen was unsuccessful.

These two players should get plenty of run in the preseason as we move along, but the uneventful start to proceedings won’t help them in their quest to make the Flyers’ NHL roster this fall.

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ELMONT, NY — New York Islanders defense prospect and Long Island native Marshall Warren was excited pregame to skate in his first-ever preseason game after not getting the chance last training camp.

Long Island Native, Islanders Fan Marshall Warren About To Live Out A Dream
EAST MEADOW, NY — Long Island native Marshall Warren is about to live out a dream when the New York Islanders host the Philadelphia Flyers for their first preseason game.

However, even with all the excitement, the Laurel Hollow native couldn’t have expected what would happen in front of his parents, his sister, friends, and family on Sunday night.

After laying a big hit in his own zone in the second period, Warren jumped up on the rush with forward Mathew Barzal, creating a 2-on-1 chance.  From the high slot, Barzal sent a cross-seam pass to Warren, who caught the puck in the left circle before roofing the rubber for the 2-1 go-ahead tally:

“Yeah, it was cool,” Warren told The Hockey News. “I would have loved to get the win, but…it didn’t really feel that surreal, honestly. It felt like a normal day, like playing hockey. But, yeah, it’s cool.”

Warren is always cool, calm, and collected in interviews. But we can tell you that he was grinning ear to ear while chatting with us.

When asked if that goal sequence defined him as a player: “I’m a two-way defenseman, so it’s good to show I can make hits and also make plays. So that’s the biggest thing, just going forward, just being able to showcase the abilities I have. So yeah, I think it was a good game, but obviously we didn’t win.”

In the 11-round 3-2 shootout exhibition loss to the Philadelphia Flyers, Warren recorded one assist, two shots, and three hits in 16:45 minutes of action, skating alongside Cole McWard.

“I was happy for him. I mean, he had a really good camp last year, and I thought he had a great game today,” head coach Patrick Roy said. “I mean, he scored that second goal for us and jumps in the rush. And I was very impressed with him. I thought he had a really good game.”

As mentioned, Warren did not get into a preseason game last year. He was brought to Philadelphia, took warmups, but did not get into the game. He had to earn it.

In his first full season in Bridgeport — he did suffer an injury — Warren recorded 17 points (four goals, 13 assists) in 53 games.

His growth from last season to this season, when it comes to his decision-making, is what stood out to Roy and what ultimately gave him a preseason opportunity this time around.

“I feel like he’s free out there in a way that he’s not afraid,” Roy said. “Last year, there was maybe a bit of hesitation in jumping in on the rush, which is normal. You’re a young guy, but I felt like today, the goal that he scored, it’s an example. He was not afraid. He just said, “Well, I’m going there, and I want to create that 2-on-1 on with Barzy.’

“What I love is the check he made in that first period. That was a great hit. I liked the way that he defended, the way that he moves the puck. I could see, in general, how good he feels out there and how confident he is. And I think the year in the AHL last year was really good for him.”

Warren won’t be making the Islanders out of training camp. But, he does have a tremendous opportunity to be a leader down in Bridgeport, play big minutes and hey, you never know.

Look at Isaiah George last season, who, due to injury got a chance at the NHL level, a chance that lasted 33 games. While the call-up was more out of necessity due to injury as George had only played in four total professoinal hockey games, his play in preseason last year is what gave the Islanders confidence that he could be an option.

Hopefully, Warren continues to do the same as training camp and preseason action continue.

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Sep 21, 2025, 12:28 PM ET

PHILADELPHIA — Bernie Parent, the Hall of Famer considered one of the great goalies of all time who anchored the net for the Flyers’ only two Stanley Cup championships during their Broad Street Bullies heyday, has died. He was 80.

The Flyers made the announcement Sunday but provided no immediate details. Parent died overnight in his sleep, said Joe Watson, a star defenseman on the Flyers’ Stanley Cup teams.

Watson said by phone that he saw Parent and other former Flyers players at a function on Friday night in Delaware.

“Bernie was in such pain, he could hardly walk,” Watson said, citing Parent’s bad back. “We had a great time, but I felt bad because he was in such terrible pain. To see this happen, it’s very sad.”

Bernie Parent had 271 wins — 231 of them with the Flyers — over a 13-year Hall of Fame career. Bruce Bennett Studios/Getty Images

Parent’s steel-eyed stare through his old-school hockey mask landed him on the cover of Time magazine in 1975 when the Flyers reigned as one of the marquee teams in sports. He won Stanley Cup, Conn Smythe and Vezina trophies in back-to-back seasons when the Flyers won the title in 1974 and 1975, the first NHL expansion team to win the championship.

“The legend of Bernie Parent reached far beyond the ice and his accolades,” the Flyers said in a statement. “Bernie had a deep love for Philadelphia and fans of the Flyers. He was passionate about his role as an ambassador for Ed Snider Youth Hockey & Education and inspired an entire generation of hockey fans. He dedicated his time, energy and enthusiasm to not only grow the game, but also to spread joy to anyone he encountered.”

After he made his NHL debut with Boston in 1965, Parent was left unprotected by the Bruins in the 1967 expansion draft and was selected by the Flyers. After 3½ seasons, he was traded to Toronto but ended up back in Philadelphia ahead of the 1973-74 season. He won a league-high 47 games that season and led the NHL in wins again the next season with 44.

He retired with the Flyers in 1979 after 271 wins — 231 of them with the Flyers — over a 13-year career. Parent was accidentally struck in the right eye with a stick in 1979 and was temporarily blinded. He never played again.

The Flyers beat the Bruins in six games to win the Stanley Cup in 1974 and beat the Buffalo Sabres in 1975.

On the flight home from Buffalo, the Flyers plopped the Stanley Cup in the middle of the aisle. For close to 90 minutes, the Flyers couldn’t take their eyes off the ultimate prize.

“We were able to just sit back, look at the Stanley Cup and just savor it,” Parent said in 2010. “It was just a special time.”

With Parent the unstoppable force in net, “Only the Lord saves more than Bernie Parent” became a popular slogan in Philadelphia that stuck with him through the decades.

“We used to joke about it in the dressing room. We’d say, ‘Bernie, how many goals do you need?’ He’d say, ‘One, two, that’s it, and we’ll win the game,'” said Gary Dornhoefer, a winger on the two Cup teams.

Parent, team captain Bobby Clarke and Dave “The Hammer” Schultz all became stars for the Flyers under owner Ed Snider in an era when the team was known for its rugged style of play that earned it the Bullies nickname. They embraced their moniker as the most despised team in the NHL and pounded their way into the hearts of Flyers fans. More than 2 million fans packed city streets for each of their championship parades.

“We always felt comfortable with Bernie in the net,” said former Flyers winger and enforcer Bob Kelly. “He would challenge the guys in practice. He’d stop the puck and throw it back at you and say, ‘go ahead, try and catch this one.’ He was the first guy to jump in line to help another teammate if they needed it. He was a real testament to what a team player is all about.”

Parent’s No. 1 was retired by the Flyers and still hangs in the rafters of their arena. In 1984, he became the first Flyers player inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. Parent is still the Flyers’ career leader in shutouts with 50.

Parent was one of the more beloved Flyers and remained connected with the team over the years as an ambassador.

“He was so good with people,” said Watson, who first met Parent in 1963. “A lot of athletes don’t get it or don’t give fans the time of day. Bernie gave everyone the time of day. He’d always have his rings on. He’d show them to the people and people loved to see them. This past Friday in Delaware, people were coming up, they wanted to see the rings. People were so excited to see him. He had a great sense of humor. Bernie was a funny guy.”

Flyers coach Rick Tocchet, who played 11 seasons over two stints with the team, choked back tears at the New Jersey practice rink as he described Parent’s influence.

“As a young kid, you’re stressed trying to make the team. When he would come in, he’d just break the room up. He really helped me out when it came to that,” Tocchet said. “It seemed like every day was a great day to him. I don’t know if he ever had a bad day. But that (Stanley Cup) group was very close, and Bernie was kind of the glue. Bob Clarke obviously unreal, and Billy Barber and all those guys, they came around a lot. Bernie was one of those guys, he would just, we’d lose three in a row, somehow he’d come in there and loosen us up the Bernie way.”

The final career highlight came in 2011 when Parent was in the net for an alumni game outdoors at Citizens Bank Park ahead of the NHL Classic. “Bernie! Bernie! Bernie!” echoed throughout the park for the affable goalie, who played 5 minutes, 32 seconds and stopped all six shots. Each save made the “Bernie!” chants return.

Parent was the third Hall of Fame goaltender to die this month. Ken Dryden, who helped the Montreal Canadiens win six Stanley Cup titles in the 1970s, died at 78 after a fight with cancer. Ed Giacomin, one of the faces of the New York Rangers’ franchise in the 1960s and ’70s, died at 86 of natural causes.

“They’re big losses,” Kelly said. “They were just prime, super goaltenders.”

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On Sunday night, the New York Islanders battle the Philadelphia Flyers to kick off their preseason slate. Puck drop is scheduled…