Deep into the dog days of the hockey-less summer, where the only major sports to take the center stage are baseball, tennis, and the upstart WNBA. With development camps over and the draft creeping further into the rear-view with every passing day, there’s no doubt that even some general managers will be throwing their phones on Do Not Disturb until at least the middle of August. The only thing to do is project, to look forward with the somewhat limited information that we currently possess, and try and figure out if the Flyers are actually going to take a step forward, or not.
But it’s better if they do, and everyone should think that their team is on the cusp of success, even if it’s fleeting. Let’s get into some offseason optimism.
Alex Bump will contribute at the NHL level
An injury to Tyson Foerster has potentially opened up a spot on the left wing heading into training camp, and thrown some doubt into the mix surrounding a top-9 that seemed pretty locked up otherwise. The Western Michigan product has put himself in pole position to take over any vacancies after his standout NCAA season was enhanced by a development camp where he looked flat-out better than everyone else. Bump has shown a willingness to carry the puck to the center of the ice in the offensive zone with little fear throughout his college career, and when that attribute is combined with his naturally opportunistic playstyle, there is a chance he can find early success as a 21-year old rookie with a bit more of a man’s frame at 6-foot, 194 pounds. He showed some promise late in the season during his AHL cup of coffee with the Phantoms after his college season ended, despite a predictable lull occurring when he quickly found himself thrust into a postseason series against the powerhouse Hershey Bears, a perennial contender chocked full of AHL veterans.
But the experience was crucial, and showed that Bump may have a scoring touch that can extend to the pro level, and at least the mental acuity to play alongside some really skilled players. The Flyers have, for quite a while, lacked a deep pool of players with goalscoring potential. There was a stretch in the mid-2010’s where the Flyers seemingly always had a steady stream of players who at least had the ability to score 15-20 goals. For example, the 2013 team, who was not actually that great and lost in the first round, still had seven (!) players score 20 goals or more. That team’s strength was their scoring depth, something that this future Flyers roster could emulate if some of their younger assets start to bare fruit and become scoring threats.
Bump could be the first in a new wave of prospects that start to round out that depth in the middle-six, as well as provide the Flyers with even more trade chips to play with down the line if some of them don’t work out.
The Flyers won’t use eight goalies
Rehashing the Flyers goaltending woes, at this point, almost seems passe. It’s been a topic of conversation for the greater part of the last 20 years, and heading into 2025-26, there is still apprehension surrounding the tandem that looks set to start the season. Sam Ersson returns as the 1A, after a 2024-25 season where he ranked dead last in goals saved above expected with a whopping -19.9, and had a goals against average over three. He is joined by Dan Vladar, who, by all accounts, is probably an NHL goalie. Vladar posted modest numbers over most of his career in Calgary, before finally being truly supplanted by the upstart rookie in Dustin Wolf last year.
While he did put up some pretty stellar numbers at the World Championships with Czechia, Vladar is not someone who you would project to take on the lion’s share of games, at least not on a team attempting to win. He was brought in to provide a true 1B-type netminder to play foil to Ersson, and maybe even take over if the latter doesn’t turn things in a better direction next season. In truth, this arrangement is probably mutually beneficial for goaltenders, as Ersson finally gets a semi-dependable running mate behind him, at least for the time being, and Vladar gets to join a team where he really doesn’t have to worry about any pressure behind him, as the Ivan Fedotov’s and Aleksei Kolosov’s of the world will have to build themselves back up in order to prove they deserve another NHL shot.
Therefore it should (tentatively) be a year where the Flyers should at least avoid another nightmare goaltending carousel. Barring any serious injuries, a boring year between the pipes where most, if not all of the games are split between just two goalies would be a welcome reprieve from the last few years of turbulence. There will come a day where prospect netminders like Carson Bjarnasson or Yegor Zavragin will start to get real NHL shots, but until then, having a stable situation in net would help make that process a smoother transition, at the very least.
Tyson Foerster’s injury won’t impact his season
Tyson Foerster has emerged as one of the more versatile forwards on the Flyers roster since his debut in 2023, but an elbow infection which arose as the result of a minor injury that occurred while he was with Canada at the World Championships has derailed his preparation for the season ahead, at least for the time being.
After a 25 goal breakout last year, Foerster was looked at as a potential top line piece for the upcoming season, with his unique blend of defensive workrate and offensive production being a perfect compliment to someone like Matvei Michkov, especially with the Flyers current lack of a number one center.
While his status for the start of the season is up in the air, it doesn’t seem as if the issue is anything structural, rather just a game of wait-and-see centered around the infection’s healing process. His stature around the league has continued to grow, and heading into this year he seemed primed to take a leap forward. This doesn’t seem like something that will alter that, though. Despite some people making a really big deal of news that came out at a pretty quiet time in the calendar, we just don’t know the severity nor the recovery time of the exact injury Foerster is suffering from, and there’s just as good of a chance he’s ready to go from game one, even if he does ultimately miss a slice of training camp.
Foerster will have ample time to rehab back to full health, and at this juncture, I just don’t think it’s worth worrying about. Maybe it will end up as a worst-case scenario, I wouldn’t blame you if your mind automatically jumped to that conclusion, the franchise has had issues like this before where things have snowballed out of control, seemingly out of nowhere. But as hard as it is, those past feelings cannot be held against a new regime, with a new player, who has an injury shrouded in mystery.
For what it’s worth, “TyFo” seems to be fired up for another season of Flyers hockey regardless:
