Hello everyone. My name is Joe De
Marini. I'm joined today by prospect
expert Mattie Campbell and producer
Kyle. Welcome to Broad Street Hockey. Uh
today we're going to talk about the
start of Broadstreet Hockeyy's 25
under25 ranking. But before we get into
all that, smash that subscribe button,
give us a like, ring that notification
bell, and as always, head over to
broadstreet hockey.com for more in-depth
coverage, opinions, and all things
flyers. Maddie, thank you for being here
today. Are you ready to talk some
prospects? I always so excited to be
here.
Amazing.
Amazing. Uh can you give us a bit of a
rundown what the 25 under 25 is just for
anyone who's new to uh our website?
Yeah, so this is our annual um lengthier
summer series that we do. Um we have
every sort of flyers property under the
age of 25 as of September 15th is our
cuto off. Um, we will toss it to a
handful of our contributors over at
Broad Street Hockey. This year we had 10
of them which is very exciting. Um, we
all compile our own individual top 25
player rankings and then that gets
consolidated into the master ranking
which is uh what we'll begin breaking
down next week. We're going to start
with 25 on Monday over on breastfe.com.
But in the meantime, we're here to talk
some honorable mentions because you
simply can't get enough.
Yeah. I mean, the Flyers had such a big
draft this year, um, that there are so
many 25 under 25 players on the Flyers,
uh, in the Flyers organization right
now.
So, uh, of course, some of our favorites
had to
had to miss the list. Um, and we'll get
to one of yours later. But, uh, before
we get into the prospects, Maddie, how
do you how do you approach your
individual rankings? Is it is it upside,
projectability, their current
performance, like what leads they're
playing in? Like what's what's your
thought process?
Um, it's it is somewhat vibes-based. Um,
I wish I had something really official
like a point system or something, but I
don't. Um, I will say like if you've
played meaningful NHL games, I'm making
the meaningful distinction because
that's going to be important in a little
bit. Um,
sure.
Yeah, you get a bump in my ranking if
you've done that. Um, but beyond that,
it's somewhat sort of where they stand
currently. Some of it's upside based.
My process is like I know my ranking
when I see it. I don't know. What about
you? I there is some vibes element to it
and one of the honorable mentions is a
guy I've got the good vibes for. Um but
like you if there's like NHL or
professional success I do give that some
more weight over juniors. Um, and in the
top 10, like I'm just looking at upside,
but after the top 10, I think about
projectable roles. Like if you're not
going to be a top top the lineup, top
four, top six player, where do you fit
on this team? And do you have a clear
path to getting there? So someone like
Shane Vanagi, maybe he isn't anything
more than a bottom sixer, but dang if he
wouldn't be one of the best bottom
sixers on the team. Um, and then one
category that I introduced last year is
the they better be right category. So, a
player like Jet Luchenko or Jack Nesbbit
who maybe were a bit of a reach to the
fandom, that's fine, but you you better
be right about it because those are some
top picks that you uh you need to you
need to nail.
Yeah, that's pretty major as well. Mhm.
All right. Shall we move into our uh
first prospect? Our first honorable
mention.
Let's do it.
All right. Our first prospect is Carson
Dorwart, the unsigned free agent that
the Flyers were able to uh sign late
last season uh once he finished his
career in the NCAA.
Um, the highest ranking was from uh
Jason Pollinsky, JPO over at Broad
Street Hockey, he ranked him 22, but you
and I both did not rank him.
Yeah. Um, for me it's like the sort of
if I had continued my ranking down to
like 30, like 30 to 20 or so is just so
much mushy middle. So, um, it was a
little tough leaving him off because he
has played some NHL games, but that's
like the meaningful distinction. Like,
you know, if it's end of season kind of
garbage time, you don't necessarily get
the same bump for me. Um, I'm intrigued
by him, I would say. But, um, just like
I haven't seen enough of him at this
point to like feel really good about
getting him on the ranking ahead of some
guys who I've seen a lot of.
I I'm the same way. He's also a little
bit older than some of the other
prospects, so is maybe closer to being
he is what he is rather than um having a
developmental runway. And that's part of
the reason that I left him off is, you
know, maybe he is going to just be a
really good firstline AHL guy, fourth
line center, but you can never have
enough center depth. Um, but Jpo, his
reasoning behind ranking Dorart is that
he just kind of threw it a dart board
after 10, which respect. I mean, who
among us, right? Who among us? And, uh,
with Dorart, he favored an NCAA guy who
put up points. So, I can respect that
approach.
Absolutely. I mean, he did have a very
successful college career, so can't hate
on that.
Oh, what school did he go to again?
Michigan State.
Michigan. Yeah. Cool. Love it.
So, yeah. So, he over overlapped with
Van Aagi in his first year.
Nice. And Porter Martone is going to be
there this season, right?
Yep.
Yeah. Yeah. Awesome.
It's an exciting time to be a Michigan
State fan, I think. I know. We love
Michigan in this at this blog, don't we?
Um, cool. Um, moving on from doors, we
have one of the Flyers new prospects,
their last second round pick of the 2025
draft, Matthew Guard, who they
technically traded up to get in a way,
right? They traded back to with the
Seattle Kraken and then swapped their
third rounder up into the second round.
So, um, yeah, Matthew Guard, a center,
uh, his highest ranking was 21 from Ryan
Gilbert, my co-host over on the Cross
Street Hockey podcast. But Maddie,
again, you and I did not rank him. Are
we just in sync here? I guess
I guess so. Um, I don't know about you,
but the thing for me is like
I think we're going to talk a lot about
the sort of shiny new toy syndrome as we
work through this ranking. Um, and I
think Guard has a little bit of that
going for him. But between
I thought he just had a like a pretty
good development camp. He wasn't quite
as noticeable for me um as some of the
the other shiny new toys. Um, and then
he wasn't at the the summer showcase.
So, like he's kind of faded into the
background a little bit. So, um, when
there are just so many guys in the mix
for spots on the top 25, like somebody's
going to fall off. And I think he's got
a lot of potential to move up as we go
on here. But like, yeah, the new guys
are are tough for me.
Yeah, it's like like we said, the Flyers
have such an influx of young players
that, you know, some guys are just going
to have to
they're going to fall off the list for
some people. They're going to have to
work their way back on it.
Uh good problem to have honestly for the
Flyers and Rebels.
Absolutely.
Yeah. This is about as good a situation
as you can ask for. Um but Ryan Gilbert,
his uh his reasoning was that he wanted
to use the back end of the ballot for
the more recent draft picks. Um and he
said he simply ranked the second round
picks in the order that the Flyers
drafted him. So Guard was the last of
the second round picks. So that's how he
ended up at 21, which would mean that
Vansagi uh Amo and um uh my guy Jack
Merag are probably a little higher for
Gilberts. Um but according to
Yeah, I I'm a I'm a bit of a Jack Merag
guy, but uh he's a that's a spoiler for
next week, which for all our listeners
out there, we will be doing these videos
each week to recap the uh 25 under 25.
But uh for elite prospects, Gilbert
quoted, "Uh, there are no sure things in
scouting, but Matthew Guard is about as
close as one gets outside the upper
echelon of the draft class with
defensive impact, motor, and size. He's
a straightforward projection to fill a
role in the NHL, and there's upside
waiting to be unlocked." So, I can
understand that reasoning when I say,
"Yo, a clear-cut projection. I see the
wait."
Yeah, absolutely. Cool. Uh, any closing
thoughts on Guard or should we go on to
our next guy?
I think that's good.
Okay. All right. Here's probably my
biggest year-over-year follower, Alex
Sheerik, who again, you and I did not
rank this summer, but last year he was I
looked it up. Cheer was number uh 13 on
my 25 under 25.
Wow.
Oh, sorry. No, number 12.
not on my list this year.
Very interesting. So, what went into
that for you? Like, why the drop off?
I had high hopes for him to perform this
season because his previous season he'd
been injured, right? He he'd had to deal
with like a lot of issues off the ice.
Yeah. And I was just
several concussions.
And I was just like, I think he's I
think he can do something this season. I
think he's got something cooking. And
then he just didn't. And then we talk
about shiny new toy and just kind of
other guys passed him on the list and
that's that's why he fell off.
Yeah, I think that's fair. Um,
overall I think he still had like a
pretty good season. Um, I think he
managed to stay healthy for most of it,
which was like the number one box I
needed him to tick.
Um, so we love that. Um, I really like
Cheick as a a prospect. I think this is
another like victim of there just being
so many guys as of why he fell off of my
list. Um but again, another guy with a
lot of potential to move up um in our
next installment of a list because um
he's going to move up to Lia next year.
He's going to be playing for Sammy Kaan
over there which is very exciting. Nice.
And I think that's going to be like a
good jump for him. you know, maybe not
quite as substantial as moving up from
uh the Alfensken to the SHL. So, I I'm
cautiously optimistic about what we'll
see from him for sure.
Yeah, I I like him as a prospect, too.
It's just like there's only so many
there's only 25 spots, but uh one of our
uh one of our voters uh JPo again ranked
Sherick at 15, and he said he liked his
offensive output as a 20-year-old, even
if it was at a lower level than the SHL.
Okay, I could respect that.
Absolutely.
Um, but he he uh had a brief AHL stint
at the end of this season, did he? Or I
think
Yeah, he got in for like two games at
the end of the regular season with the
Phantoms. He played on the fourth line.
I He was fine, but like he didn't get a
lot of minutes. So, like I don't have a
really meaningful takeaway on that time,
unfortunately, because I was really
excited to see him. What? So it goes.
Tail end of the leera. The leer era. Oh,
I don't know if I like that one.
Oh no.
Danny Briera is good enough. Danny
Breier is good enough. Anyway, the next
guy on our list, my guy. Uh,
moving on. Uh, Hiky Ruonan, uh, who
Maddie you did not rank, but I had all
the way up at 16, which was the highest
of anyone who submitted a ballot. Um, we
talked about singing.
I know. I know. We talked about Vibes
earlier on. This This is a Vibes vote.
This is a Vibes vote. Um,
I just I just want him to make it so
that we can call him the ruiner. I feel
like that'd be just a baller uh nickname
for a guy.
Yeah, there's the nickname index in
these rankings as well.
Oh, absolutely. Um, but I just I read
his lead prospects profile. He's a
somewhat defensive center. He's got good
skating. Um he's got some power forward
qualities. And I think in one of their
recent game um observations, they were
like, "The hands cannot keep up with the
feet." And I hear that and I immediately
just think, "Oh, he's Ryan Paling."
Because how many times have we seen Ryan
Paling blowing down the ice, skating
like the wind, gets the puck, and just
can't do anything with it because he's
going too fast.
Yeah. Hopefully that changes in time
though. But yeah, he's one for me I just
like kind of don't really know what to
do with. Um he was probably the last cut
from my list. It was hard to leave him
off because like I definitely am
intrigued by him, but like
he had a pretty good season in a USL
that is just like not really as
competitive as it has been in the past.
So like that kind of is what it is. but
he was he's been really good in his time
with the the Finnish national team. Um I
loved his summer showcase a couple weeks
back. So like
yeah, it's it's still a bit of a
question mark for me. Like I'm very
excited to see what he does in college
next year when he gets some better
teammates to work with and the
Harvard, right?
Yeah.
Yep.
Love that.
Um is he going to be the captain of the
Finnish team? Is that like done and
dusted or is he just in the mix for it
or
um I would say he's in the mix for it.
They're not going to have that locked
down until they have the actual full
roster, but very good chance I would
say.
Yeah.
And he might be like their best center
on the team at this point too, right?
Like the Finnish Finnish prospect pool
has not been
as great lately.
Yeah, I mean they had him playing as
their 1C at the the summer showcase. So
definitely a look they were
experimenting with. So big things ahead
for him. I think
big big things for the ruiner. Um all
right. Now we get to our fifth and final
uh candidate for today. A guy who I
still have a soft spot for but again
could not find the space to rank. But
Maddie had it 22. It's Alexia Jean Jean
on uh who's been with the Phantoms for a
couple years now.
Yeah. Um, I'm actually like looking back
on it a little bit surprised that I
don't have him even higher on my list
because
really
I am just such a fan of his game. I
mean, he he scored 20 goals as a rookie.
Technically still a rookie uh with the
Phantoms last year. First guy to do it
in like three seasons and I think only
the third to do it since they relocated
to Allentown what like
10 or so years ago. So, um, a sneaky,
very good rookie season. Um, I love his
game. He's so fast. He's so crafty with
the puck and there is just no fear in
his game. Um, maybe there needs to be
like a little bit more fear because he
ended his season with uh getting hurt
because he was just driving straight to
the net. He was going to go right
through it if he didn't get a scoring
chance.
So, you know, a bit of a a give and take
there. But, you know, I think
projectability is still the big question
mark with him. Like, is he going to be
kind of a top nine or bust type of
player and like how does that fit into
the mix with um a pretty loaded pipeline
of wingers on the whole? So, I like I
don't know how that shakes out, but I
know that I love his skill set and he's
getting himself legitimately into the
conversation for a future NHL role, and
that's huge for a former seventh round
pick.
Yeah. And he's like a son of a Flyers
scout or something, right? Like they
traded to get that. Yeah.
Um, of course, the Flyers draft a guy
they know, but hey, he's a cool pick.
Um,
yeah.
No, what you said,
what you said about projectability is my
big hangup. He's a small goalcoring
winger. And I look at the pipeline.
Well, Brink's here already. Bark's on
the way. Um, you know, Cheerick is also
a smaller winger. Toamala's a smaller
like they just have Mechov himself a
smaller winger. Like there's there's
only so many guys who are going to be
able to fulfill that role on the Flyers
in the future and I'm just not sure
where Jean Drawn stands. Um, but we did
have two people who ranked him higher
than you did.
Uh, shocking.
Jpo again and Thomas both ranked him at
17.
Um, Jpo said he likes Shon Jean because
he put up goals in that wreck of his
system, the Le Periera, I suppose. And
then, uh, Thomas uh, said he wanted to
go with a balanced approach and he tried
to weigh heavier is the ability to score
in the AHL compared to juniors. Um like
like you mentioned, he scored 20 goals
in his first ever proseason with the
Phantoms, which isn't easy to do. Only
eight assists, but still big believer in
what he's able to do and could
potentially be a middle six scoring
winger in the NHL after cooking for a
bit longer in Lehi. And I can still see
that path for him, too.
Yeah, absolutely. And I think as they
get a little bit more speed down the
middle this coming season, their centers
were just so slow last year. So that
really held him back and some of their
other speedy wingers. Um, and as the
Phantoms are going to prioritize playing
a more uptempo transition style, I think
that's going to benefit his game a lot.
So I think he could take another big
step forward this year
for sure. And they're going to be one of
the youngest teams, right? Like they
have so much youth coming in. It's
crazy.
Exciting times. I love it. Um, any
closing thoughts on
any closing thoughts on the guys we
talked about? Any guys that you voted
for that didn't even make the honorable
mentions that you think are worth uh
worth a quick uh quick shout out?
Yeah, like we've sort of touched on it
already is just the absolute wealth of
talent that the Flyers have in their
prospect pool at the moment. Um, I think
we're going to be getting into this a
little bit
maybe over the weekend in the next
couple of days, but looking back at
where they were at several years ago
with uh this ranking and the state of
the prospect pool, it was a little bit
of a doozy. Um,
yeah.
Yeah. How far we've come.
So, love that.
New era of orange indeed.
Um, oh yeah,
cool.
Cool. Uh so thank you so much for
joining me today, Maddie. Uh for all of
our listeners out there, we will be back
again next Friday where we discuss our
rankings 21 to 25. Uh and we'll be doing
that every Friday until we get to the
top five, I believe, where each
candidate will get their own little
video. If you get the top five, that's
kind of the that's the privilege that
you get, right? You get to you get your
own dedicated video. Um
there you go. Just a reminder, smash
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