Philadelphia Flyers Top 25 Under 25: Mark Alt drops one spot to No. 14

Mark Alt

Position: Defense

Birthdate: October 18, 1991 (23)

2014-15 Team/League: Lehigh Valley Phantoms, AHL – 2 G, 8 A in 44 GP

Nationality: American (Kansas City, MO)

Size: 6’4″, 201

Contract Status: Signed on entry-level contract through 2016

Ranking in August 2014 25 Under 25: 13

Given the sheer number of defensive prospects in the Flyers‘ system, it’s easy to see how a guy like Mark Alt could get overlooked. Hell, ever since he’s gotten to Philadelphia, it seems like everything that’s been written about him is within the context of other prospects.

But let’s not forget that by and large, he’s a decent enough prospect. Back in August of last year, Charlie made the point that Alt has a decent enough skill set, but doesn’t particularly shine at any one thing. Given the kind of defensemen the Flyers have seen on their roster over the last few years, even a tepid review like that has got to make you just a bit happy.

After his first season with the Phantoms, there were some deserved high hopes for Alt. Unfortunately, it seems that he took a step back this year due to injuries that limited him to 44 games. According to Bill Meltzer, those injuries also kept him from getting in sync.

Despite a dip in production, Alt still was called up to the Flyers, eventually playing a single game. I don’t put too much stock in that though given the timing, the fact that the Flyers weren’t going to make the playoffs, and the current state of their blue line. It’s also not like you can really get an indication of a player’s overall talent from a single game, especially one in which he played for fewer than ten minutes.

Regardless, its an indication that he’s worth giving a call up to, which I guess tells you that the organization is willing to give him a shot if the opportunity arises.

Perhaps the most encouraging thing we learned about Alt this year is that Terry Murray has a lot of nice things to say about him. Though, of course, coaches rarely go out and say not nice things about their players, hearing that Murray thinks Alt is progressing despite injuries is certainly a good thing, and probably all you could hope for.

For my money, Alt seems like a decent enough prospect who will likely fill a 6th/7th defenseman role in the future. It seems like he has enough tools to succeed in a limited role, but he’s going to need to progress quickly given the sheer number of guys the Flyers have to choose from.

How we voted for Mark Alt:

Who we voted for at No. 14: