As the 2024-25 hockey season starts to wind down, things are heating up for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, who have clinched a playoff spot for the third consecutive season. But that’s not the only reason to get excited about the Phantoms, the 2025-26 season is shaping up to be an intriguing transition year for the team.
The biggest reason why it’s amazing that head coach Ian Laperriere was able to drag them to the postseason this year is because the roster is a bit… lacking. Olle Lycksell was their top forward and Emil Andrae was their top defenseman, plus Cal Petersen started a majority of their games for the last two seasons. The fact they’re hanging around the middle of the pack and not bottom feeding is actually kinda incredible.
They’ve gotten the most of the ragtag group of journeymen vets and some washed up prospects, but that is about to change.
Between Cutter Gauthier leaving, Matvei Michkov bypassing the minor leagues, Aleksei Kolosov doing whatever it is Aleksei Kolosov has been doing the last two years and guys like Devin Kaplan, Cole Knuble, Ty Murchison and Alex Bump taking the collegiate route, it has left the Phantoms’ roster stuck between generations a bit.
Guys like Zayde Wisdom and Elliot Desnoyers are still hanging around, and some of the more recent draft classes have been under represented.
They haven’t had any top draft picks playing for them lately, the most recent example was a 20-game stint from Cam York back in 2022-23. And only five of the Flyers’ 12 picks between 2021 and 2022 have played in the AHL, being Samu Tuomaala, Hunter McDonald, Alexis Gendron, Aleksei Kolosov and Ethan Samson.
It was only recently that Alex Ciernak signed an ATO for the remainder of this season and the Flyers somehow found a loophole to bring in 2024 first rounder Jett Luchanko for the 2025 playoffs, the only two players from either 2023 or 2024 to make it to the AHL so far.
But finally, reinforcements are on their way. Oliver Bonk, Denver Barkey, Carson Bjarnasson (the Flyers’ picks in the first three rounds of 2023) are slated to make the professional jump next season, while Ty Murchison (2021) has signed for 2025-26, Alex Ciernak (2023) has signed an ATO to close out this season, which could result in a full contract next season, along with rumors of collegiate forward Alex Bump (2022) imminent signing plus recently signed undrafted college standout Karsen Dorwart more than likely ending up in the AHL as well.
Partner the youth injection with a lot of vets on expiring deals, things could get very interesting very quickly in Lehigh Valley.
The front office has been way too hands off when it comes to the Phantoms’ product for a long time. Particularly when you factor in the “rebuilding” stance the organization occasionally recognizes, they haven’t done that great of a job of building the Phantoms into a real contender in the AHL, but rather any success they have is in spite of their weaknesses.
The AHL club doesn’t really have their own front office, but rather are an extension of the NHL club’s personnel. Alyn McCauley, who is an assistant GM with the Flyers, is serving as the Hockey Ops guy for the Phantoms (as well as overseeing the Flyers pro scouting department and player personnel) which is a change that only occurred in 2023 when Danny Briere shuffled the player development roles. Before that, Chuck Fletcher and Ron Hextall were just de facto GMs.
All this to say, that hopefully the 2025-26 season can be highlighted by the new rookies on the scene, but that the organization takes the opportunity to give the Phantoms a much needed facelift overall through smart veteran signings and building a perennial winner. Not just a team that can clinch the playoffs, but a team that can threaten the dominant Hershey Bears.
In a way it feels like we’re at the dawn of a new era for the Phantoms. And the Flyers will get to watch their “rebuild” unfold in real time as the seeds they planted years ago are finally starting to blossom on the big stage. There are reasons to get excited about the Phantoms, and if the front office does their due diligence with outside additions, they could very well be the new beast in the Atlantic Division in 2025-26.
By: Dan Esche (@DanTheFlyeraFan)
photo credit: Getty Images
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