Flyers Farm Report: 3 Stars of the Week

With the 2024-25 World Junior Championships in the rearview mirror and the calendar moving into late January, Flyers prospects across the hockey world are gradually getting to the nitty gritty of their respective seasons. Here are three Philly draftees who have stood out over the past week.

1st Star: Denver Barkey (LW, London Knights, OHL)

In some respects, the season to date has been a frustrating one for the Flyers' 2023 third-round pick (95th overall). A summertime bout with mono kept Barkey from participating in training camp with the Flyers and contributed to a bit of a slow start after his breakout 102-point season for London last year. More recently, for the second straight year, Barkey was a late cut from Team Canada's WJC squad in selection camp.

Since that time, however, the Knights' captain has surged in his all-around play. Barkey has built an active seven-game point streak (eight goals, 13 assists, 21 points). He has scored at least one goal in each of his last six games.

Last Friday, in a 6-0 win over Jett Luchanko's Guelph Storm, Barkey finally nabbed his first shorthanded tally of the season. Barkey pounced on the puck high in the defensive zone, sped off on a breakaway and beat Storm goalie Colin Ellsworth to the glove side. Last season, Barkey notched seven shorthanded tallies in the regular season for the eventual OHL champions.

Overall this season, Barkey has appeared in 34 games to date. His binge of goals and assists since New Year's has brought his point total up to 55 points (15 goals, 40 assists, traditional +32).

2nd Star: Alex Bump (LW, Western Michigan, NCAA)

This past weekend (Jan. 17-18), the Western Michigan Broncos swept a pair of road games against NCHC rival North Dakota in Grand Forks, 3-2 in overtime and 5-1.

In Friday's game, Bump tallied a pair of goals including the winning goal in overtime. On the sudden death goal, Joona Vaisanen set up Bump, who scored through a screen to end the game. His earlier goal, notched in the third period was scored on a one-timer early in the third period.

On Saturday, Bump tallied two more goals and an assist while racking up eight shots on goal. His line buzzed throughout the match as it established a strong forecheck from the outset. For the season, Bump is up to nine goals and 20 points in 20 games played. He's racked up 112 shots on goal.

3rd Star: Heikki Ruohonen (C/W, Dubuque Fighting Saints, USHL)

After turning in a generally solid performance for Team Finland at the World Junior Championship, Ruohonen has returned to Dubuque for the remainder of the 2024-25 season. The 18-year-old forward has shown promising all-around progression in his game since appearing at the Flyers' Development Camp in Voorhees last summer.

This past weekend (January 17-18), Dubuque played back-to-back road games against the Youngstown Phantoms. Youngstown prevailed on Friday via shootout, 5-4 (2-1), but Dubuque answered with a 4-0 shutout in the rematch. Ruohonen racked up four points over the two games (1g, 3a) and is currently holding a four-game point streak (2g, 4a). Over his last six games, Ruohonen has three goals and seven points. Ruohonen's streak has brought his season stats up to 17 points (7g, 10a) in 22 games played.