Flyers defensive prospect Oliver Bonk meets with the media aft er the first day of 2025 Rookie Camp. (Credit: Anthony SanFilippo)
Flyers GM Danny Briere and President Keith Jones stood on the perch overlooking the newly renovated sheet of ice that will serve as the primary rink where their team will practice every day.
New coach Rick Tocchet was on another perch with other members of the coaching staff and front office.
They were looking below as new Phantoms coach John Snowden was running the first practice of the new year.
Rookie camp kicked off for the Flyers on Thursday. 24 prospects and camp invitees were slated to take the ice. Of them, 23 took part. The one that was missing was 2024 first round pick Jett Luchanko.
Many found this concerning. Luchanko also missed development camp back in July and and has been dealing with a groin injury that has taken a bit longer to fully heal.
Although Jett Luchanko is not skating on the first day of rookie camp, he could have skated today, but the Flyers wanted to give him a few extra days to rest his groin so that he could be a full participant once the full camp opens next week.
The Flyers said he could have practiced with the rest of the team on Thursday, but wanted to give him a few extra days off the ice before the full training camp begins next week.
It makes sense as Luchanko is expected to compete for a job on the Flyers roster. He's likely on the outside looking in, which means he will likely have to go back to Guelph of the OHL once camp concludes.
Because Luchanko is still only 19, he's not yet allowed to play in the AHL until his OHL season is over. Even though the NHL and the Players' Association agreed to a new stipulation in the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) that would allow for each team to designate one player who is younger than 20-years-old to be allowed to play in the AHL rather than go back to Canadian Junior hockey, the CHL, the collective league that runs the three primary junior leagues in Canada, has not agreed to this new rule.
It's possible they do by the end of camp, which would give the Flyers the ability to send Luchanko to Lehigh Valley and the Phantoms if he doesn't win a spot on the big club, but Flyers management is operating under the assumption that the new rule won't actually go into effect until next year.
As such, they want to afford Luchanko every opportunity to earn a spot on the team.
It'll be interesting to see where Luchanko is when he does start skating. It's not as if he sat around all summer nursing his injury. He has worked out both on and off the ice, but the question is will he be up to speed?
The Flyers holding him out of Rookie Camp has prevented everyone from getting a sneak peek.
Without Luchanko, there are still some names to watch, but only one who has a good shot of making the NHL roster out of camp - and that's forward Alex Bump. The 2022 5th round pick out of Western Michigan University has grown his game exponentially and he appears poised to be one of the 12 forwards in the Flyers lineup on opening night.
Other names that are intriguing before full camp commences are forwards Denver Barkey, Karsen Dorwart, Nikita Grebenkin, Devin Kaplan and Samu Tuomaala; defensemen Oliver Bonk, Spencer Gill and Hunter McDonald, and goalie Carson Bjarnason.
Jack Nesbitt to Alex Bump to Samu Tuomaala, who finishes with a nice shot. Could be a fun line to watch in rookie games if it sticks. pic.twitter.com/43tMENt2hG
Dorwart and Kaplan each played for the Flyers at the end of the season last spring. Dorwart played in five games and Kaplan played in one. Both are considered depth pieces for the team.
Grebenkin was acquired as part of the Scott Laughton trade with Toronto. He was a no-show at Development Camp but is here now and might have a future as a fourth line pest. He played 11 games for the Phantoms last season after being acquired.
Barkey will make the jump from the OHL to the AHL this year. a third round pick by the Flyers in 2023, he has a leadership quality about him that the organization loves, which was developed while playing in London, Ontario under the guidance of former NHLers Dale and Mark Hunter.
He and Bonk were teammates in London and have been pretty inseparable this summer as they have been training and working out at the Flyers Training Center.
Oliver Bonk snipe pic.twitter.com/1i2C281k5t
Bonk has added 15 pounds of muscle this summer. His secret? Gorging himself.
"Just eat until your sick," Bonk said. "Seriously, you do. You work out and skate, but it's about just downing calories - as many as you can. It's non-stop eating, pretty much."
Oh, to be 20-years-old again....
But if Bonk and Barkey are going to eat hoagies while they are in the Philly area, someone needs to get them to more mom and pop joints for the better options.
"I ate so much Jersey Mike's this summer," Bonk said. "Just their giant subs. I'll eat that, not even for a meal. It'd be between lunch and dinner, I'll have a 2000-calorie sub and then I'll go to dinner."
The Flyers are hoping all those wannabe hoagies are just the fuel he needs to get where he needs to go. What he eats will be irrelevant if it translates to better play on the ice.
"He put in a lot of work in the offseason," Snowden said. "The jump for [defensemen] from junior to pro is the hardest one to make. It's a big jump - the reads, the strength, the skill the speed the gaps - you have to learn when to close plays off, using your stick to disrupt plays, steering plays into different situations.
"With the gains that he's made in the offseason ... I think he's putting himself in a really good spot."
Snowden also mentioned how it's an important camp for Tuomaala, saying it's time for him too show he wants to be in the NHL and not just continuing to settle for the AHL.
"Last year, he didn't get to play toward the end of the season, so I think this is a real big opportunity for him to make a step forward and really sink his teeth into, 'I don't want to be in the American League every day. I've got to make a mark to get to the NHL.' I think he understands that."
