The Flyers have trimmed their roster considerably with two preseason games left to go.
With two preseason games left to play, the Philadelphia Flyers have officially reached the halfway point of their 2026 training camp, and after the latest round of roster cuts, we have a pretty good idea of where everyone stands now.
Suffering back-to-back blowout losses to Washington and Boston on Monday and Tuesday, respectively, many of the bubble players did themselves no favors.
Many journeymen have already been shipped off to the AHL Lehigh Valley Phantoms' training camp, and prospects like Ty Murchison and Hunter McDonald simply ran out of runway with the shortened training camp and preseason.
As a result, the Flyers' final roster, at least for opening night, is virtually set, with only the likes of Cole Knuble, Jett Luchanko, Oliver Bonk, David Jiricek, Helge Grans, Carl Grundstrom, Jacob Gaucher, and Nikita Grebenkin fighting for the last few spots.
With the roster now greatly reduced in size, we can take our first guess at some line combinations, too.
Forwards
Porter Martone - Trevor Zegras - Owen Tippett
Denver Barkey OR Alex Bump - Christian Dvorak - Matvei Michkov
Tyson Foerster - Noah Cates - Travis Konecny
Nikita Grebenkin OR Denver Barkey - Sean Couturier - Noel Acciari
Carl Grundstrom - Jett Luchanko - Cole Knuble
Zach Aston-Reese - Jacob Gaucher - Noah Powell
Nolan Foote - Jack Studnicka - Danila Klimovich
Garrett Wilson - Riley Thompson - Devin Kaplan
Rationale
This is more or less what I expect opening night to look like, depending on Denver Barkey (lower-body) and Nikita Grebenkin (upper-body). Carl Grundstrom, with his speed and versatility, is very clearly the 14th forward if the Flyers choose to go 14-7-2 for their roster distribution.
I don't see a fit for Alex Bump in the bottom-six, so it's top-six or bust in my eyes. His shaky camp thus far leaves his grip on a roster spot tenuous at best, though the injury situation currently works in his favor.
Jett Luchanko has had a quietly strong preseason and training camp, and while he will probably never be a high-flying scorer, he has shown capable of supporting more dynamic wingers with his speed and style of play. Mikael Granlund could be an interesting high-end comparison for him. If any of the centers have to miss time, Luchanko will be on the roster.
In the event of injury, expect Cole Knuble to be one of, if not the first man up. The number of wingers the Flyers have makes it a hard cut, but it's to no fault of his own. I've wondered that, if Barkey has to miss time, the Flyers utilize injured reserve to make a roster spot and give Knuble a few games of experience.
Everyone below that fifth line has been mostly unimpressive or shouldn't see an NHL game short of a calamitous rash of injury, though Noah Powell has raised his stock considerably in the last few weeks. If Powell continues to follow this upwards trajectory, he could be an interesting future fourth-liner with a laser of a shot to contribute some offense.
Defense
Travis Sanheim - Rasmus Ristolainen
Cam York - Jamie Drysdale
Nick Seeler - David Jiricek
Simon Benoit - Oliver Bonk
Hunter McDonald - Helge Grans
Ty Murchison - Spencer Gill
Cam Dineen - Andrew Perrott
Rationale
To this point, nobody has stood out enough, good or bad, to win or lose a spot. David Jiricek and Oliver Bonk have both been spotty defensively, but Jiricek has the superior physical tools and talent, and his inability to pass back and forth from the AHL without requiring waivers works in his favor.
Simon Benoit is, for now, the seventh defenseman, though he has not exactly been impressive this preseason at either end of the ice. Hunter McDonald could usurp him by the end of the season, if not earlier, with a strong run of form in the AHL.
Ditto for Ty Murchison, who had a rough turnover in the loss to the Bruins on Tuesday that lead to a goal. For now, the edge goes to McDonald, whose physicality is virtually unmatched, even at the NHL level.
Objectively, Helge Grans is still alive in the fight for a roster spot, though I feel that Spencer Gill has been the strongest performer of all of the bubble defensemen throughout camp.
Losing two years of development to injury has hurt his case, though the 2024 second-round pick has shown capable of holding his own.
In our last depth chart, I mused that the Flyers would have Gill stay the entire season in the AHL to develop, but I no longer think it's outright impossible for him to play an NHL game this season if the circumstances necessitate it.
