Approximately one month ago, the Philadelphia Flyers began their 2024-2025 season with plenty of optimism, as they nearly made the playoffs the season prior. However, the Flyers have done little thus far to inspire hope that they will be playing meaningful games at the end of the year. Through 16 games, the Flyers hold a 6-8-2 record which puts them tied for sixth in the division. Here are some key takeaways from the first fifth of the season:
Michkov Mania Worth the Hype
It’s no secret that Matvei Michkov, the team’s seventh overall draft pick from 2023, was one of the most highly anticipated prospects in team history despite being on contract to play in the KHL through 2026. So when Michkov was able to get out of his contract early and sign his entry-level deal with the Flyers this summer, everyone wanted to see for themselves if he lived up to the hype in the toughest league in the world. So far, the hype around Michkov is not only well deserved, but better than expected. He is currently tied for 2nd in rookie scoring (12points) and 1st in rookie goals (5). He was also named the NHL’s Rookie of the Month for October. Fans were ecstatic at the possibility of having a game-changing talent in Orange and Black when Michkov was drafted, but it looks like those dreams have finally become reality.
Goaltending Woes
Philadelphia’s goaltending was always the wildcard this season, considering it is largely what torpedoed them last year. Starting goaltender Sam Ersson has performed about as expected, with a 2.70 GAA and an average .902 SV% in 11 games. However, the backup goaltending has been a big point of failure so far. Ivan Fedotov struggled mightily in limited action at the end of last year and the hopes for him were that after a whole summer working with the goaltending coaches in Philadelphia, he would be better. We have not yet seen the fruits of this labor as he currently holds a 4.05 GAA and abysmal .851 SV% through 4 appearances thus far. This doesn’t even account for the presence of Aleksei Kolosov, who has gotten some looks due to Fedotov’s performance and had the option of returning to the KHL at some point. He has unfortunately not fared much better than Fedotov, as he currently holds a 3.92 GAA and .863 SV% in 3 games. The Flyers cannot afford to burn out Ersson like they did last year, so one or both of Fedotov and Kolosov need to find a way to adjust to playing in the NHL – and fast.
Special Teams Are Actually Special
Speaking of Michkov, it’s almost as having elite scoring talent on the power play improves its performance! After years of having an abysmal powerplay, the Flyers have finally had a breakthrough on the man advantage so far. They are currently converting at a 19.2% clip, good for 13th in the league – a far cry from the dead last ranking they have found themselves in each of the last 2 seasons. The penalty kill, which was a major strength of the team last year, has performed even better to start this year; they are currently the second-best PK in the league, only behind Nashville.
Who’s Hot, Who’s Not
A big focus of this season was seeing if the young players that the Flyers hope to be part of their core moving forward could build on the strides most of them made last season. Owen Tippett has, with 9 points; so has Farabee, with 7 points. Bobby Brink is also on pace to outperform last year. Some of the youngsters, however, appear to have regressed. Tyson Foerster has 3 points. Morgan Frost somehow has 6 points but only 1 goal (and even that was a lucky break). Noah Cates only has 1 point. To add salt to the wound, prized defenseman Cam York has been out for most of this time with an injury, and Jamie Drysdale just joined him on IR. There’s a lot of time left to improve, but especially for longer tenured players such as Frost and Cates, repeated slow starts like these have to be putting them on thinner ice with the coaching staff and front office.
Up next, the Flyers face their old friend Claude Giroux and the Senators in Ottawa on Thursday, before returning home for a 5 game homestand against the Buffalo Sabres, Colorado Avalanche, Carolina Hurricanes, Chicago Blackhawks, and the Vegas Golden Knights.
By: Katie Bogan (@cl4udegiroux)
photo credit: Getty Images
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