Opening night for the Philadelphia Flyers is inching closer and closer. We are now just a week away until the Flyers host the archrival Pittsburgh Penguins for Game 1 of their 2026-27 season — and we have what could be a season-opening lineup.
At Flyers training camp on Wednesday morning, the team really solidified who was making the final roster (or is still in the race) and who is certainly not. For the past week, the groups were mainly a mix of prospects, young AHLers, veterans, farmhands, and stars. Intermingling to give each player a fighting chance to get noticed. Now, the groups have been changed and there is a clear line that has been drawn.
The likes of Zach Aston-Reese, Jack Studnicka, Matthew Gard, Jacob Gaucher, Nolan Foote, Noah Powell, and so on; have been separated from the main group. With just two final preseason games on the calendar and them both being at home, the Flyers are starting to put something real together. Cuts should be coming soon and this group should be shortly sent down to Phantoms camp (or back to the WHL for Gard), but at the time of writing nothing has been made official.
That leaves us with Rick Tocchet and the rest of the coaching staff to create a lineup with the likely NHL roster all together for the first time since camp opened last Thursday. And it certainly looks like a lineup.
First look at a semi-complete Flyers lineup
According to our buddy and pal and PHLY’s Charlie O’Connor, this is what the lineup looked like at Flyers practice Wednesday:
Owen Tippett — Trevor Zegras — Porter Martone
Alex Bump — Christian Dvorak — Matvei Michkov
Tyson Foerster — Noah Cates — Travis Konecny
Carl Grundstrom — Sean Couturier — Noel Acciari
Travis Sanheim — Rasmus Ristolainen
Cam York — Jamie Drysdale
Nick Seeler — Simon Benoit
Oliver Bonk — David Jiricek
Notably, Jett Luchanko and Cole Knuble are still with the main group but had Wednesday off after playing in back-to-back preseason games Monday and Tuesday. Nikita Grebenkin was still there but is nursing an injury, and Denver Barkey was also seen skating in recovery from his recent lower-body injury. Those are the players who are still involved and haven’t been given up on.
But to the actual lineup — it sort of makes sense. The top line is the prime offensive weapons and Tocchet is giving Porter Martone the biggest chance to make a difference on this team and plant his flag in the top six, and never leave. Owen Tippett going to the left side when he played his best hockey on the right is an interesting call, but it could open him up for more shooting opportunities with a playmaker like Trevor Zegras.
Matvei Michkov’s center to start the season could very well be Christian Dvorak and Alex Bump is a real interesting option to put on the other flank. The two wingers potentially setting each other up for scoring opportunities as Dvorak rams himself in front of the net or just tries to create space for the two youngsters — it could work, if we’re being optimistic.
The third (or second, since these aren’t actually labeled) line seems like the most annoying thing to play against. Foerster and Cates will be reunited to really control a vast amount of possession and work extra hard along the boards, and then Konecny joins them as someone who can fit right in. The trio of Foerster, Cates, and Bobby Brink worked exceptionally well in the past, so adding in a much more talented winger who plays much more aggressively and is just so much better than the current Minnesota Wild player, seems like a true recipe for success. They can do some damage.
The fourth line is where it gets interesting for the time being.
Couturier and Acciari are locked into their spots, but it’s the one final spot on that other flank that feels up for grabs. Grundstrom is certainly a placeholder during this current practice and he should be seen as the least likely player to get a full-time role out of this camp. If Nikita Grebenkin is healthy, he’s in competition for it. Once Denver Barkey comes back, he feels like the odds-on favorite to get it and maybe even force Tocchet’s hand to play him higher in the lineup. But if Barkey isn’t ready, then is someone like Cole Knuble a true option, considering he has impressed so much?
The blue line is fairly stable with the top four remaining exactly the same from last season, but like the forward group, it’s the depth that has the juicy stuff.
Nick Seeler is obviously going to hold his spot as the No. 5 defenseman on this team, but it is certainly notable to see Simon Benoit up there beside him. It was expected that he would instantly be one of the extras and not someone in the running to get a full-time, opening-night spot. But it is most likely just to directly compare Oliver Bonk and David Jiricek next to one another.
But considering the power-play units that the Flyers were running, Jiricek’s spot on the team feels fairly secure.
Flyers unveil their high-octane power-play units
The Flyers continued to give us a look into their new-look power play. They touched on it earlier in the week, but now we’re getting more of the full picture.
According to NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Jordan Hall, this is what the man advantage could look like to start the season:
First unit: Jamie Drysdale, Matvei Michkov, Trevor Zegras, Tyson Foerster, and Porter Martone
Second unit: David Jiricek, Travis Konecny, Owen Tippett, Noah Cates, Alex Bump
That’s a pretty stark difference compared to what the Flyers were working with 12 months ago. All 10 of those players are capable of pulling off some skilled plays and performing a certain role.
Obviously, the think that makes us lean a little bit closer to our screens in excitement is seeing Zegras and Michkov on the same unit. They have been adamant in making it work despite them both wanting to play similar roles on the right side of the ice as a distributor. But, they have been working on it being a much more fluid setup.
It is something that the Flyers clearly have to improve on and putting all of their best offensive weapons in the top unit and then making the strategy work around the talent, is something that they clearly want to do. Sometimes, it’s the player not the plan.
The Flyers continue their preseason Thursday night against the Boston Bruins at home, and then also host the Washington Capitals on Saturday night for the finale before they officially open the season next Wednesday.
