Philadelphia Flyers 2024 Top 25 Under 25, No. 18: Devin Kaplan

No. 18: Devin Kaplan

In our next installment of our Top 25 Under 25 ranking, we return to the NCAA to check in with Devin Kaplan, a third-round draft pick from 2022 who, in his first two seasons at Boston University, has proved to be effective, though in a bit of a sneaky way. He’s a bit of a work in progress, but he’s no doubt an interesting case, and remains on an intriguing upward trajectory.

2023-24 Primary League/Team: Boston U. (NCAA) 2023-24 Statistics: 5 G, 18 A in 37 GP Age as of 9/15/2024: 20 (1/10/2004) Acquired Via: 2022 NHL Draft - Round 3, Pick 69

How did Kaplan\'s 2023-24 season go? Is his stock trending up or down from where it was entering the year?

It wasn’t a hugely flashy season for Kaplan, but it was one which was successful in a number of ways — on the team level, his Boston University Terriers made it back to the Frozen Four, and Kaplan himself took a reasonable step forward in his own game. Though he came away with 23 points again this season, the same as last season, he did it in three fewer games, so that’s a small step forward in terms of his points getting pace (we did also see his playmaking game clicking more for him, but it seems to have come at the expense of the goal scoring).

But even more interesting than how things materialized on the score sheet for him is concentrated he’s been in his efforts to sort of change and focus the model of his game. Kaplan has been working hard towards refining his game in the mold of a power forward, and using some of the best tools at his disposal (that is, working with Flyers advisor and famed power forward John LeClair), it’s all been coming along nicely for him. Kaplan’s game has gotten a little more physical, a little more net focused, and while the results haven\'t completely clicked for him just yet, just watching him, it feels like it’s only a matter of time before they do. Kaplan’s working towards making a real identity for himself and his game, and it’s already seemed to turn the heads of members of the front office, if that’s any indication of a job well done so far. He still remains a bit under the radar as a prospect, but he’s proved to be effective at the NCAA level, and he just keeps seeming to get better and better.

What are we expecting from Kaplan this season? What should we be looking for from him?

The hope is to see him take another step forward still, this season. He\'s already trending in the right direction, and pairing that with the fact that, as a veteran player on that BU team, he should be getting a greater role to work with (to accompany the A he\'s been given as he\'s been named a part of the team\'s leadership group), the door seems wide open for him to do it. And this should be a big year for him -- it\'s not clear yet whether he aims to sign after this season or if the organization would rather he spend all four years developing in college, but whenever that time is approaching, the mark that the Flyers will be looking for him to hit will be to start dominating at the NCAA level. Often, the point-per-game mark gets thrown around as a more precise shorthand for that, but doesn\'t have to be the end all, be all -- dominance will look different depending on the context of the player\'s role and playing style.

In any event, it feels like there\'s still more production and more maturity in Kaplan\'s game that\'s still untapped, and the hope is to see more of that coming out this season, before he potentially graduates to the next level.

How does Kaplan fit in the Flyers’ rebuild? Is it likely he’s going to be a part of the next good Flyers team?

Kaplan is a ways away from competing for an NHL job – he\'ll be sticking around in college for at least one more season, and we figure he\'ll need to spend some time in the AHL to further develop as well, this isn\'t a development that we foresee being rushed – and that\'s probably a good thing, as there isn\'t a clear and open path to a full time role with the team. Between the number of players in the system who look like they have the potential to slot in in a similar place in the lineup, and the number of players that the Flyers already have signed beyond this season at the NHL level, it\'s going to be a little while before things start to open up, so Kaplan doesn\'t need to rush or be rushed to get ready for an NHL role.

That said, there\'s a lot to like about how his game is coming together and the type of player he\'s working to develop into, and he seems to have impressed the management group already as well. It\'s not a given that he\'s going to be on the roster when the team takes the next real step forward – no one is a lock, of course – but he\'s going to have a really good chance to take a run at it.

What do we think Kaplan\'s ultimate NHL upside is, and how likely is it that he gets to something approaching that?

Kaplan was clear at this year\'s Development Camp that he\'s been putting a particular focus of late on refining his power forward game, and this seems like something that will serve him well. He\'s working on his offensive game and puck skills along with this, and that\'s a positive, but he also pointed to putting in work to make his game more physical, more direct, and a little more mean, and this will all help him as he develops toward an NHL role. That is, we don\'t expect Kaplan to be a player who scores heaps of points in the NHL, that\'s not his game, even with bigger minutes, and he never really projected to suddenly play this game in more limited NHL minutes. But what he\'s doing now, molding his game into a checking, direct (as opposed to finesse) one, rather than trying to lean on his offensive game and clean up on points as much as possible, will help make his graduation to the professional level a little more seamless, as he won’t have to do quite as much stylistic fine tuning to adjust to playing in more of a depth role at the next level. He has the potential to be a really effective middle-to-bottom six power forward — one who checks well and mixes it up in from of the net which still providing some offense — and while he’s still far from a finished product, he’s making positive strides to get there.

Previously in Philadelphia Flyers Summer 2024 Top 25 Under 25:

Intro / Honorable Mentions

No. T-24: Spencer Gill

No. T-24: Jack Berglund

No. 23: Elliot Desnoyers

No. 22: Carson Bjarnason

No. T-20: Alex Bump

No. T-20: Alex Ciernik

No. 19: Adam Ginning

Talking Points