Winter 2025 Top 25 Under 25 Flyers: #5-3

We roll on into the top five of the winter edition of our Top 25 Under 25 ranking this year and we have some long-term pieces for the future of the Philadelphia Flyers.

Lodged in this top group are certainly players who could be part of the next great Flyers team. Players that could play crucial roles the next time we feel confident that this team could make a strong run in the playoffs, but right now are busy developing either in the NHL or away from it.

Let\'s check out these top guys.

5: Jett Luchanko, C

Primary Team: Guelph Storm, OHL 2024-25 Stats: 19 G, 48 Pts in 34 GP Rank in Summer 25 Under 25: 7 Age: 18 Acquired: 1st round (13th overall) in 2024 NHL Draft

Jason M (Ranked #3): Unless he demands a trade to the KHL, it would seem that Jett Luchanko will be with the Flyers for far longer than nine games in 2025-26. The center made a strong case in training camp and won over Tortorella. The fact Morgan Frost is gone means that spot is Luchanko’s to lose. He’ll end the year with Guelph unless some other OHL team breaks the bank for Luchanko with a huge package. What is good is that there’s a place here for Luchanko. Hopefully he can dazzle and one-up his 2024 training camp, making the roster on opening night and being another young forward who could be in the running for the Calder next year.

Maddie (Ranked #4) : This was a pick that I admittedly had a bit of pause about in the immediate moment, but after seeing more of Luchanko’s play and a bit of his fit within the Flyers’ system, I’m completely sold. Luchanko is a pretty perfect Flyer, and he’s exactly the type of high-end center that the organization needs. And he’s not too far away from making the jump to the NHL, which is neat! He’s playing great up in Guelph, in a situation where he doesn’t have a ton of support around him, and it’s hard to imagine that he doesn’t make the Flyers for real next season. It remains to be seen how good the rest of that team will be, but Luchanko’s a lot of fun, and it will be exciting to see what he’s able to do at this top level of the game. Sky’s the limit here, truly.

Thomas (Ranked #3): Luchanko has more than deserved this jump from seven to the top 5 in this ranking. While his raw numbers don’t look all that impressive, the context of him being almost a full year younger than some of his draft class and being on a very crap Guelph team should give everyone time to dive deeper into what they think he is. I think he certainly can be a top-six center on a great team. All the tools in the world and the work ethic to take him to the next level. If he is with the Flyers next season, we could certainly see him take an even further leap this time next year.

4. Jamie Drysdale, RD

Primary Team: Philadelphia Flyers, NHL 2024-25 Stats: 2 G, 13 Pts in 47 GP Rank in Summer 25 Under 25: 4 Age: 22 Acquired: Trade with ANA

Jason M (Ranked #5): He hasn’t moved the marker much one way or the other, but Jamie Drysdale has (knock on wood) been healthy for the most part this season. With more good fortune he’ll crack the 70-game barrier, marking the first time since 2021-22 he’s been free of recurring or nagging injuries. Drysdale sometimes looks like he’ll be a keeper with some smart play and being a rover at times. In other cases, like the game against Edmonton, he was far too deliberate with the puck, not making the split-second (and smart) decision to get the puck out of harm’s way. His first full season with Brad Shaw has been okay. And we know a bit more of what’s there to work with.

Maddie (Ranked #5): Drysdale’s been a bit of a weird one to get a handle on, with how dinged up he’s been and how much time he’s spent then working his way back from being dinged up through his early Flyers tenure, but it finally feels like things are starting to trend in the right direction for him. He’s shown some nice flashes of really dynamic play for just about as long as he’s been here, but they’re finally starting to come a bit more frequently. It’s still going to take some more work for him to get back to approaching his ceiling as a player, but it’s been nice to see the track he’s on to doing that.

Thomas (Ranked #7): I’m a little bit lower on Drysdale just because his overall impact is still not there at the NHL level. He is still so young and lost at least a full year of development thanks to the Anaheim Ducks’ inability to nurture any young hockey player, so the tools are still there but he just needs to take his time to reach that ceiling. We have seen glimpses of an all-world offensive defenseman, but I’m not ready to praise him and put him on the same level as some other young blueliners the Flyers have who can play in all situations.

3: Cam York, LD

Primary Team: Philadelphia Flyers, NHL 2024-25 Stats: 4 G, 13 Pts in 45 GP Rank in Summer 25 Under 25: 3 Age: 24 Acquired: 1st round (14th overall) in 2019 NHL Draft

Jason M (Ranked #4): York’s play has been fine most of the year, paired with Travis Sanheim and being a decent #2. Being one of now three RFAs the Flyers have to pay for a while or lock up long-term, York should be signed rather quickly and without breaking much of the bank. His offensive numbers won’t compare to last year but it’s a good sign he’s put in another season being more on the right end of the puck than the wrong end. He’s had spurts where he’s been called out, but generally he’s fine.

Maddie (Ranked #2): I’ve long been a big Cam York fan, and seeing him solidifying a role as a top-pair defenseman at the NHL level has been both personally very validating but also just very cool. And useful for the team as well (which is why I ranked him above Foerster, close as it might have been), as they have someone who can comfortably take these big minutes at 5-on-5 while also having a positive impact in the special teams minutes he’s tossed. He hasn’t been perfect this year, like Jason mentioned, but on the whole he’s continuing to hold up well in this big role he’s been given, and that’s good news – one less box for the organization to worry about ticking through the rebuild.

Thomas (Ranked #2): Yeah, I can’t say anything more than what Maddie just did. To me, York is the quintessential defenseman every single team in the modern era sort of wants. The 24-year-old blueliner has already become a master-of-none type of defenseman where you can’t really poke too many holes in what he brings, but when you try to think of a “Cam York play” you don’t come up with a whole lot. Just one of those guys that will be extremely underappreciated for his entire career because of what he brings throughout every shift.

Talking Points