The Flyers are starting to get noticed for the right reasons.
After a stretch of quiet rebuilding seasons, Philadelphia’s young talent base has begun to draw national attention, and the latest nod comes with the Flyers landing fifth in Sonny Sachdeva’s ranking of the NHL’s top 25-and-under cores. That puts them in the top five, not just on the outside looking in.
The group at the center of that recognition is headlined by Trevor Zegras and Jamie Drysdale, the former Anaheim Ducks additions who were recently re-signed, along with draft picks Matvei Michkov, Porter Martone, Tyson Foerster, and Cam York. It’s a collection that has given the Flyers a real foundation, and one that already looks like it’s moving upward.
Sachdeva pointed to Philadelphia’s 2026 postseason as a big reason for the ranking. “Philly might've struck out on snagging [Leo Carlsson], but the Flyers proved during the 2026 post-season that they're already a squad to watch in the East. A second-round shellacking at the hands of the eventual champs dampened things some, but Philadelphia's emotional Round 1 win over the rival Pittsburgh Penguins - the Flyers' first playoff series win in a half-decade - put the rest of the Metro on notice,” Sachdeva said of the Flyers.
The Flyers were ranked ahead of the Chicago Blackhawks, who were listed as an honorable mention despite a young group that includes 2023 No. 1 pick Connor Bedard, Frank Nazar, Bowen Byram, Anton Frondell, and Frank Nazar.
That placement says plenty about how much young talent Philadelphia has assembled in recent years.
Sachdeva’s core list specifically named Zegras, Martone, Michkov, Foerster, Drysdale, and York, but the Flyers have more young pieces in the pipeline who could matter next season, including David Jiricek, 22, Alex Bump, 22, and Denver Barkey, 21.
The forwards are the obvious source of excitement, but York, Jiricek, and especially Drysdale deserve plenty of attention too. Drysdale, 24, posted the best season of his career in 2025-26, matching his career-high with 32 points while taking a noticeable step forward defensively.
If that trend keeps going, the former No. 6 overall pick could grow into a true elite two-way defenseman and one of the league’s top skaters.
Philadelphia still has unfinished business in its rebuild, and the biggest remaining need is a No. 1 center in the mold of Carlsson. Even so, the pieces around that kind of player are already in place.
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