The Philadelphia Flyers are hosting their annual development camp this week. It’ll be the first instance where we get to see the newly drafted players on the ice wearing orange and black, seeing who pops and who could be more of a long-term project. We’ll also see some more established prospects like Porter Martone, Denver Barkey, and Alex Bump get to give some of their sage wisdom to the younger (albeit not by that much) players.
But, what might be the third or fourth most fun thing at development camps around the NHL are the camp invitees. These are undrafted players who are either young enough to re-enter next year’s Draft, or have aged out of eligibility and are now trying to show off for an AHL or ECHL contract.
This year, the Flyers have invited 11 total players (seven forward, three defensemen, and two goalies) to development camp. Let’s get to know them.
Sawyer Dingman, LW
Dingman is one of the more interesting players on this list. The 6-foot-4, 225-pound winger from the WHL’s Swift Current Broncos just went through his first year of draft eligibility and was one of the youngest players in the entire class, as he doesn’t turn 18 years old until September 11. Dingman plays a mean, physical game (obviously, considering his size) and managed to increase his goal total from three in his WHL rookie season last year, to 13 this past season, and his point total from just eight to 27 in 63 games.
He’s not some super-skilled player, but maybe someone that will go through another year of junior, put develop further and maybe score around a point per game to get consideration as a late-round selection next year. It could be with the Flyers, it could be with some other team; but the Flyers are getting a closer look.
Jack Kernan, C
Jack Kernan is a 21-year-old center who went through two years of development with the USHL’s Des Moines Buccaneers after graduating high school, and in his freshman year at North Dakota this past season, scored at a solid clip with 11 goals and 21 points in 36 games.
That team was loaded with NHL prospects like Cole Reschny, Will Zellers, Ben Strinden, and Dylan James up top, so it’s uncertain how much actual opportunity Kernan got to put up those numbers, but it’s solid production no matter what. He is 6-foot-2 so size is not an issue, but without actually watching tape of him — since even Elite Prospects doesn’t have any scouting reports on the player — we don’t actually know what his attributes are. We will see! He might not feel like leaving college so early, but maybe when he does, the Flyers will be the frontrunners to sign him as a college free agent for some farm depth.
Grady Deering, C
Grady Deering is another college center who also just finished his freshman year after playing two seasons in the USHL. Only difference between Deering and Kernan is that the former went through the very established Chicago Mission minor system, as he played his U16 and U18 seasons there before joining the USHL’s Waterloo Black Hawks.
In his past season with the University of Wisconsin, the 21-year-old, 6-foot-2 center scored seven goals and 15 points in 39 games. He was another depth center on a team full of NHL prospects who might deserve a little extra hard look into turning pro in a season or two.
Christopher Duclair, C/LW
Christopher Duclair is the brother of NHL winger Anthony Duclair, and has obviously taken a longer development path. The 23-year-old forward didn’t go through the QMJHL but instead traveled to the NAHL with the Odessa Jackalopes, the BCHL with the West Kelowna Warriors, before ending up playing Division III hockey with Hobart College for the past three seasons.
He’s put up 0.82 points per game with Hobart, so he certainly is skilled but at 5-foot-8, the pro game might be a step away from him. But with some NHL genes in him, why not see if he can spark and if he has interest in going to Reading or something to earn an actual paycheck playing hockey next season, it could be a fun story.
Samuel Beauchemin, LW
Samuel Beauchemin is a 6-foot winger who is freshly out of draft-eligibility seasons and can now go ahead and sign with any pro team he wants to. He has spent the last three full seasons playing for the QMJHL’s Rouyn-Noranda Huskies and most recently, managed to score 15 goals and 66 points in 64 games, finishing second on that team in scoring.
At most, he seems like he can be extended an invitation to Lehigh Valley Phantoms training camp as another invite and see how he compares to some other young guys battling for spots. Could very well be an ECHLer, or he goes to college somewhere.
Oh, and he is long-time NHL defenseman Francois Beauchemin’s kid.
Matthew Desiderio, LD
Now moving on to the defensemen! Matthew Desiderio is a 20-year-old, 6-foot-3, left-handed defenseman from North Caldwell, NJ, so while he’s not technically local, he’s kind of close by. A little bit. He spent two seasons with the USHL’s Dubuque Fighting Saints and was actually a teammate of Flyers prospect Heikki Ruohonen there.
And like Ruohonen, he then went to an Ivy League school, committing to Brown University for his 2025-26 season. He scored four goals and 12 points in 31 games there but has since moved on and transferred to Dartmouth for next season. Flyers might as well get a look on someone they might see something in later on as a farmhand.
Riley Steen, LD
Riley Steen falls into the same trend as Sawyer Dingman. He was a 2026 draft-eligible player but he’s also one of the youngest players in the class, with a September 7 birthday. The 17-year-old Victoria, BC native just played in his first full season in the WHL and was simply a depth defenseman for the powerhouse Medicine Hat Tigers.
Steen scored two goals and 11 points in 57 games, but we could see that production really increase next season. With defensemen Jonas Woo and Bryce Pickford leaving the team, there is a big opportunity here for Steen to take a larger role and still play on a very good team and actually contribute to it.
This is maybe the most obvious “Flyers keeping tabs on a player to maybe draft them next year” we have this year at development camp.
Alonso Gosselin, LD
Gosselin is a 6-foot-1, 192-pound blueliner out of the QMJHL who has laced up for the Chicoutimi Saugeneens for the last two full seasons and most recently scored 28 points in 64 games for a team that eventually went to the Memorial Cup.
Oh, and he is good enough to warrant a little write-up in the Elite Prospects 2025 NHL Draft Guide.
“Gosselin is a pure rush defender who effortlessly erases puck carriers. His stick and body layering off the rush remains one of his most attractive elements. He leads with his stick, forces carriers wide and then erases them with a combination of legwork to close the gap, a stick sweep to create the loose puck, and a shoulder check to prevent a chip and chase,” it read.
So, that’s cool. Might as well see!
Mathis Langevin, G
Now, some goalies! Mathis Langevin has a real weird profile. He hasn’t been able to stick on his team, playing just 20 games last season in the QMJHL split between the Acadie-Bathurst Titan and Rimouski Oceanic, and just this past season he played just 10 games for the Oceanic before committing to Miami University of Ohio midseason, where he played just one single game in February.
He attended the Colorado Avalanche’s development camp last year, so some NHL teams are at least intrigued by the 6-foot-4 20-year-old Quebecois netminder. It will be interesting to see if he can put in a good season next year and maybe get some more attention.
Shane Soderwall, G
Shane Soderwall is the elder statesman of the group but has really battled from the depths of hockey. He was not on anyone’s radar during his draft-eligible years, as the now 23-year-old goalie was playing for the NA3HL’s Rochester Grizzlies, and then for the NAHL’s Anchorage Wolverines for the next two seasons.
Soderwall then committed to Division III Curry College and had a crazy .947 save percentage and 1.52 goals against average during those two seasons. This past year, he took the step up to Division I and backstopped Clarkson University with a .905 save percentage.
He could very well be these late-blooming goalies that just take a while to get their game underway. Connor Hellebuyck was drafted out of the NAHL, Logan Thompson went undrafted out of the WHL and actually played in USports up in Canada for Brock University before turning pro and actually moving to the Vegas Golden Knights system.
Weirder things have happened, so maybe after another year at Clarkson, Soderwall can turn pro as an undrafted college free agent next year, or the year after.
