Flyers Farm Report: 3 Stars of the Week

While the NHL regular season schedule has gone on hiatus for the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament (February 12 to 20, 2025), Flyers prospects around the hockey world are nearing crunch time in their respective leagues. Here are three Flyers prospects who stood out over the past week.

1. Jett Luchanko (C, Guelph Storm)

The Flyers' 2024 first-round pick played an outstanding offensive game on Saturday despite a wild 10-7 loss by Luchanko's Guelph Storm club to the Saginaw Spirit. Guelph trailed 5-0 and were outshot 20-6 through the first period before the teams traded off six goals in the second period (four for Guelph) and six more (three per team) in the third period.

Over the game's final 40 minutes, Storm narrowed gaps to 5-3 and 7-6. Amid the multiple comeback bids by Guelph, 18-year-old team captain Luchanko scored his 15th and 16th goals of the season while setting up taillies by Ryan McGuire and Charlie Paquette. An empty netter for Saginaw sealed the final margin of victory for the Spirit.

In the same game, Luchanko also won 15 of 22 faceoffs and managed to finish on the positive side of the plus/minus ledger despite the deluge of goals from the opposing club.

In 27 games played this season for Guelph -- lessened by his early-season NHL stint with the Flyers and time with Team Canada at the World Junior Championship -- Luchanko has averaged 1.33 points per game (15 goals, 21 assists, 36 points).

Keep in mind that the Storm (15-27-7) are a rebuilding team at the bottom of the Western Conference. Goals are often hard to come by for the club. Despite missing 22 of Guelph's 49 games played to date, Luchanko is second on the team in points and by far the team's points-per-game leader.

2. Devin Kaplan (RW, Boston University)

An alternate captain for the Boston University Terriers, Flyers 2022 third-round pick Devin Kaplan played a key role in BU capturing the championship in the 2025 edition of the famed Beanpot tournament. Boston University (ranked 9th nationally) routed Harvard in the semifinal game, 7-1, and then went on to defeat top-ranked Boston College, 4-1 in the title game.

In the game against Harvard, the Bridgewater, NJ, native erased a first period deficit. At 15:47, Kaplan finished off a give-and-go with senior Jack Hughes (2022 second-round LA Kings draftee) to knot the score at 1-1.

The Terriers took over the game in the second period, erupting for four unanswered goals including Kaplan's second score of the game at 18:37. It was the second two-goal game of Kaplan's collegiate career.

In the title game against the BC Eagles, the Terriers were outplayed heavily in the first period but limited the damage to a one-goal deficit. In the second period, BU struck for two goals spaced 70 second apart to turn a 1-0 deficit into a 2-1 lead.

At 13:52 of the third period, highly touted freshman Cole Eiserman provided an insurance goal for BU before an empty netter later sealed the three-goal victory. Freshman goaltender Mikhail Yegorov (Devils 2024 second-round pick) stopped 43 of 44 shots to nail down the 32nd Beanpot tournament victory in Boston University history.

Kaplan's primary responsibilities for BU are to use his size effectively in the trenches, and to play a physical brand of north-south hockey. He did not record a port in the title game. However, the 21-year-old recorded a pair of shots on goal and stepped in to win a faceoff after Hughes was tossed from the circle.

3. Cole Knuble (C, Notre Dame)

This past weekend was a tough one for the Fighting Irish, as Notre Dame (9-18-1) dropped back-to-back 5-1 decisions to the Ohio State Buckeyes (18-8-2) on home ice in South Bend.

Notre Dame's struggles this season, however, do not take away from what has been an excellent sophomore campaign for Flyers 2023 fourth-round draftee Cole Knuble. Recently, the son of two-stint Flyers alumni winger Mike Knuble earned a nomination for the Hobey Baker Award (NCAA player of the year).

In 24 games played to date, the 20-year-old Knuble has proven himself to be an effective all-situations player. Most notably, he leads the Fighting Irish with 28 points (9g, 19a). He is also a team-best +9 on a squad with no other players who are more than +2 (and a half dozen players who are -9 or double-digit mins rated in on-ice goal differentials).

Knuble has worked very hard over the last two years to improve his skating and to continue to add strength to his frame. He has also shown promise in evolving into the type of player who can play up or down in a lineup and find ways to contribute productive shifts.

An example: In Saturday's game against Ohio State,Knuble's work ethic and tenacity created a power play opportunity while the game was scoreless. He kept his feet moving to draw a hooking penalty on OSU's Jake Rossi. Notre Dame peppered the net with six shots on goal during the ensuing power play but they were unable to solve goalie Logan Terness.