With the countdown to the season opener less than six weeks away, and training camp less than a month from starting, it’s a good time to see what might be in the cards for each Flyer on the roster for the 2026-27 season. But let’s push the envelop a bit, and set the bar a little higher than usual. Here then is one bold prediction for each Flyers player regarding the upcoming 84-game season. Some might be a bit lofty. Of course, if every one of these predictions became reality, the Flyers would probably have 450 goals for the season and be in the area of a .939 points percentage. Please don’t bet your house or life savings on any of these suggestions. You’ve been warned.
Goalies
Dan Vladar
With 29 regular season wins, and four more in the playoffs, Flyers goalie Dan Vladar had a terrific season. So what might be in store for 2026-27? Well, with a full season in Philadelphia under his belt, and knowing the ins and outs of the defensive structure in front of him, Vladar might see him exceeding his career highs from last year. We don’t expect him to play the same amount of contests, particularly with the acquisition of Joseph Woll. But he’ll see his goals-against average go from last year’s 2.42 down to 2.25, while seeing his save percentage jump up to the .910 to .915 range. He’ll also be a nominee for next year’s Vezina Trophy.
Joseph Woll
A new city, a new team, and a new role might be a bit much for former Toronto netminder Joseph Woll to get used to immediately. However, he should acclimatize himself to the blueprint Rick Tocchet implemented quite well. He knows heading into the season (and barring a season-altering injury to Vladar) that he’s the backup. Despite that knowledge, Woll will put together a string of winning streaks that’ll ease the burden on Vladar somewhat. Nobody’s thinking he’ll be undefeated all year. Don’t be surprised by a seven-game or eight-game run stretched out over a good four-week or five-week run.
Defense
Simon Benoit
With just over 350 games in the National Hockey League, Simon Benoit has six goals. He’s only had 36 points over that time. No, he won’t hit 30 points this season. What he will do is score four goals this season. We’re not sure if they’ll be empty-netters, if they’ll be bizarre deflections off the glass, or just great slappers that captivate everyone watching. He’ll somehow get four tallies this season while replacing a horrid -22 on the plus/minus scale he had with the Leafs last year by keeping himself even or marginally on the plus side in 2026-27.
Nick Seeler
The definition of a shot-blocker is Nick Seeler. He throws his body, equipment and anything else possible in front of the puck to prevent it from getting to Vladar. It’s second nature to him. One wouldn’t be surprised if he has road rash from playing ball hockey this summer. However, the defender might see a decline in terms of blocking those shots this season. He had 205 in 2023-24, 200 in 2024-25, and just 149 in 2025-26. Expect that stat to decline again, possibly under 100 blocked shots for the season. It’s not that he’s not willing to do it, but given his age, and that his hard-nosed play might be better suited to other areas of his game, it might be time for Seeler to be a bit more selective when it comes to diving in front of howitzers. After all, the previous season had Seeler realizing the goalie behind him could stop the puck far more often than not.
Rasmus Ristolainen
We’re not sure where, and we’re not sure what will be coming in return, but defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen will be traded before American Thanksgiving. The idea of having a sitting duck in Ristolainen — in the final year of his deal, and with no thought of extending him — playing out the string when he could be shipped off for something, is too risky. An injury to the defenseman (and he’s had his share of them) could be a disaster. Better to get him out and move on. And the sooner the better.
David Jiricek
David Jiricek probably has as much pressure for him to succeed as the organization does in wanting him to. Waivers is not an option, unless Philadelphia is willing to lose him for nothing. Somebody would be bound to risk next to nothing for a former sixth-overall pick from the 2022 NHL draft. Jiricek is looking to establish himself as a capable, quality defender after stints in Minnesota and Columbus were disappointing. The Flyers hope Jiricek can aid the power play. And he will. Jiricek is going to have a breakout season of sorts. Look for him to end up with 30 points this season, and over half of those coming with the man advantage as Philadelphia’s anemic power play begins showing signs of life.
Cam York
York will not throw any sticks over the glass this season. That’s not the bold prediction. York had his best season in 2023-24, hitting double digits for goals, and ended the year with 30 points. With Jamie Drysdale possibly his season-long pairing partner in 2026-27, York isn’t going to dazzle much offensively. He will end up with just over 30 assists, setting a career high in a season where he won’t record a goal.
Jamie Drysdale
Two seasons ago, the goal for Jamie Drysdale was to remain healthy. If he was standing upright at year’s end, that was a huge confidence boost for everyone. Last season, Drysdale took a big step forward in his game, moving from a third pairing guy with limited minutes to a solid middle-pairing defender who knew exactly when to pinch and not to pinch. Offensive rushes by the opposition were killed by Drysdale routinely. This season, Drysdale will take another huge step forward, and possibly put himself in the conversation for becoming a top pairing defender alongside Travis Sanheim when 2027-28 rolls around. Look for the minutes he munches to be increased this year, particularly if any other in the top four go down with any type of long-term injury.
Travis Sanheim
He’s not named Vladar. Or Zegras. But you’d be hard pressed to name another Flyer whose role is more important than Sanheim’s. The durable defenseman looks like the Energizer bunny at times, looking no worse for wear despite being on the ice for over half of 60 minutes. Yet, is that the way to go moving forward? To use the stallion repeatedly during the season when you need that extra gear or stamina down the stretch? This season Sanheim will still play his role on the top pair, but expect the coaching staff to shave a minute or two off the workload he’s had the last two seasons. He’s played a lot of hockey in that time, with the Olympics and the 4 Nations Face-Off also on his list. Sanheim might not like it, but if the end result is a fresher Sanheim down the stretch, that’s not a bad thing.
Forwards
Nikita Grebenkin
Nikita Grebenkin turns 24 next year. That’s still relatively young for an NHL player. On the other hand, he’s not going to have too many more cracks to try to establish himself as a bonafide bottom-six or middle-six winger. He’s coming off an injury, so there’s still the unknown once training camp starts. Grebenkin is going to have a rebound season this year. He’ll be relegated to the fourth line, but should find himself gaining some experience and chemistry with Sean Couturier and Noel Acciari most of the year. His first goal of the season will take some time, but it’ll be sweet: a game-winner against the host Toronto Maple Leafs on Nov. 30. It’ll also mark the first game-winner of his NHL career.
Noel Acciari
He’s coming in as one of the new guys. He has a ton of experience. And he has some playoff experience also. With that said, Noel Acciari is going to take his fair share of faceoffs. He’s also going to win a lot of those one-on-one battles on the dots. Acciari won’t take the brunt of them considering there are other centers in the lineup like Christian Dvorak, Sean Couturier, and Noah Cates (as well as Trevor Zegras). He is going to lead the Flyers in faceoff winning percentage at season’s end. And it will surpass his career high of 55.4 per cent which he had in his stint with the Leafs in 2022-23. Acciari isn’t Leo Carlsson. He’s a nifty little piece of the puzzle.
Sean Couturier
Early in the 2024-25 season, center Sean Couturier had a five-point game against the visiting Wild. It was a great game in an otherwise trying season. Last year, he had a four-point game in the third game of the year against the then defending Cup champs in Florida. This season will be no different. Couturier is going to have another five-point game, only this time it will be on opening night against the rival Penguins. He won’t be playing middle-six or top-six minutes, yet he, Acciari, and Grebenkin will somehow look like the second coming of the ’80s Oilers with some razzle dazzle and a few fortunate bounces. It won’t be repeated the rest of the season, but might be a great way for Couturier to feel good about himself the same way he played the last two months of the season in his limited but still important role.
Denver Barkey
Avoiding near death at the hands of Kirill Marchenko with a punishing hit last year, Denver Barkey had his teammates rightfully defend the young forward by taking Marchenko to task for the hit. Barkey wouldn’t be foolish enough to drop the gloves against Marchenko this season, but look for the forward to drop the gloves at some point during the season, whether it’s against someone roughly his own size or a player that nobody expects him to battle with. He’s not a heavyweight by any stretch, but Barkey is the type of guy who isn’t going to back down from anyone, whether he is giving up a few inches and a few pounds.
Alex Bump
We’d like every one of these players to have happy successful seasons with Philadelphia. However, there has to be a fly in the ointment every so often. In the case of forward Alex Bump, that just might be how things turn out. Bump might start off well, but it’s more than likely that Bump is going to hit more hurdles this season than he did in parts of last year after being called up. If he’s looking a bit lost on the ice for extended stretches of time, it might be an idea to simply send him back down to Lehigh Valley to get his confidence back and his head on straight. Don’t be surprised if Bump is spending half of his season in Philadelphia and the other half with the Phantoms.
Christian Dvorak
Following a career high in production with 51 points, Christian Dvorak is going to fall back into the 30-point center he’s been most of his career. While he’s hit the 18-goal total before, he never came close to 33 assists like he did last year. It might be that Dvorak’s role is diminished not by his own play but by some youngsters blooming into something special during 2026-27. The decrease in points will automatically have some regretting the day Danny Briere extended that contract to him, but Dvorak probably isn’t going to near the 40-point mark this year, let alone 50 points.
Noah Cates
Noah Cates was a good teammate and linemate with Matvei Michkov even though the numbers for Michkov weren’t great by most people’s barometer. However, this season will see him with different wingers. And he will be better down the middle than he’s ever been. Cates was nearing 50 points last year and was an impressive +26 on the season. Those numbers will increase to put him in the conversation for a Selke Trophy. He won’t win it. He will end up much higher than eleventh in voting which is where he found himself in 2025-26. Part of that improvement will come from being over the 50 per cent mark regarding faceoff efficiency despite being just 43.2 per cent on his career.
Owen Tippett
With the glut of wingers in the offing, and the speculation that his cap hit and talent could reap some fine rewards, Owen Tippett is probably nearly as high on the trading block as Ristolainen. He’ll score 35 goals this year. He’ll end up with 65 points. The biggest question might be how many of them are scored as a Flyer. And how many could be scored elsewhere.
Travis Konecny
The top banana in terms of points last year, Travis Konecny is the type of player Philadelphia is hoping to get another few 70-point seasons out of. However, those points might still come, just not in the extra session. Konecny has no game-winning goals in overtime last year. Or the year before that. If you look at the stats it’s been ages. And despite all the time and minutes he’s seen in that extra five-minute, three-on-three session, he’s not connected.
So, while not a complete changing of the guard, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Konency’s time in the extra session given to the likes of Matvei Michkov, Trevor Zegras, Denver Barkey, and Porter Martone a bit more this year than last. The same idea could also apply to the shootout.
Trevor Zegras
“Ziggy” had 23 points on the power play last season, or roughly two-thirds of all goals were scored or created by Zegras with the man advantage. Zegras is going to improve on that number. If he doubled it to 46 points, the Flyers are laughing all the way to the bank with a top three seeding in the Metropolitan Division sewn up by mid-March. But 35 to 40 points on the power play shouldn’t be a huge stretch for the center/forward. He’ll also make some strong strides as a center. He won’t be mistaken for Patrice Bergeron though on the dot. At least not for a few seasons.
Tyson Foerster
So far Foerster has 100 regular season points in his career. Of that total, 61 are goals, the other 39 assists. In 2026-27, Foerster is going to his the century mark, scoring 39 times this season in what might be one of the widest Cy Young-ish (goal/assist disparity) in recent memory. Foerster isn’t going to struggle, not with a summer of conditioning and work behind him following the trying 2025-26 with the injury, surgery, and recovery. The new contract extension he signed this summer pre-Carlsson offer sheet might look like a wise investment 12 months from now.
Matvei Michkov
A 51-point second-year output shouldn’t be cause for alarm or concern. But tell that to everyone who had pitchforks out for Matvei Michkov. And those on the other side of things calling for Tocchet’s dismissal. Michkov is going to rebound in a huge way. A way few could’ve even anticipated after his impressive rookie season. He’ll start the year off on fire, and probably isn’t going to cool off much over 84 games. That production will result in more minutes, and moving up the depth chart to the top six. Michkov has a lot riding on this season both in the short-term and long-term. A big payday awaits him with a great year. A so-so or arduous campaign could see Briere giving up a bridge contract which nobody would’ve suspected when he arrived.
Either way, Michkov is going to shut a lot of people up this year. And going to love everyone minute of it.
Porter Martone
Porter Martone came, he played, and he conquered the hearts of the Flyers faithful in under two months. The game-winner against Boston, the seeing-eye wrister against the Penguins, and the general moxie and swagger he brought to the club was memorable. It’s a sign of things to come. Porter Martone will be praised from start to finish this season. He will be one of Philadelphia’s top three point-getters this year. And he will not just be one of the nominees for the Calder Trophy at year’s end, he will win it. Sure, Toronto will report on every single thing Gavin McKenna does this season, but Martone is ready to take on any and all. Considering just how well he delivered the goods at the most critical juncture of the season, why is there any doubt that won’t do the same thing again? Book it.
