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Rick Tocchet, Philadelphia Flyers (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)

Philadelphia Flyers Announce 2025–26 Opening Night Roster

Originally posted on The Hockey Writers
By Justin Giampietro | Last updated Oct 8, 2025 11:05 AM ET

Hockey season is officially underway. The Philadelphia Flyers will begin the 2025–26 campaign on Oct. 9 against the back-to-back defending Stanley Cup winners, the Florida Panthers. What will the Orange and Black be rolling out with?

Flyers’ Opening Night Forwards

The Flyers will have 14 forwards on their roster for opening night. They are the following:

Forwards (14): Rodrigo Ābols, Bobby Brink, Noah Cates, Sean Couturier, Nicolas Deslauriers, Christian Dvorak, Tyson Foerster, Nikita Grebenkin, Garnet Hathaway, Travis Konecny, Jett Luchanko, Matvei Michkov, Owen Tippett, Trevor Zegras

Fortunately, the Flyers have a full-health offense (the same can’t be said about the defense, which we’ll get to shortly). Two rookies are on the team’s opening night roster: Nikita Grebenkin and Jett Luchanko. They will, however, have to battle for usage.

Veterans Rodrigo Ābols and Nicolas Deslauriers seem to be more trusted by head coach Rick Tocchet. In the team’s latest practice, they were slotted in at the fourth-line center and left-wing spots, respectively.

There are two offseason newcomers here. One is Christian Dvorak, who signed a one-year deal worth $5.4 million. That cap hit came as a shock, as he’s more of a penalty-killing bottom-six forward, but there’s a chance he gets some looks alongside Matvei Michkov. After all, his two-way game could be an asset.

Next is Trevor Zegras, who we can almost guarantee will play with Michkov. Acquired via trade from the Anaheim Ducks, the Flyers are betting on the 24-year-old center’s upside. He was on the cover of EA SPORTS NHL 23.

Flyers’ Opening Night Defensemen

Now, for the team’s defensemen. The team’s three injured/non-roster players will be included in this section, as they’re all members of the blue line:

Defensemen (7): Jamie Drysdale, Dennis Gilbert, Adam Ginning, Noah Juulsen, Travis Sanheim, Nick Seeler, Egor Zamula

Injured/Non-Roster (3): Oliver Bonk, Rasmus Ristolainen, Cam York

Without Rasmus Ristolainen and Cam York, the defense is a bit of a mess. The Flyers’ defenders didn’t have the most encouraging training camp and preseason battle to earn a spot on the team, with arguably the best one, Emil Andrae, getting sent down to the American Hockey League (AHL). This was most likely due to his 5-foot-9 frame.

Jamie Drysdale, Travis Sanheim, and Nick Seeler, all regular fixtures from last season, should consistently see top-four usage in the early going. But between the other four guys, it’s anyone’s game. Perhaps Egor Zamula gets some looks with Sanheim—they’ve played as a pair in the past.

Flyers’ Opening Night Goaltenders

Finally, the Flyers’ goaltenders. They are listed below:

Goaltenders (2): Samuel Ersson, Dan Vladař

The Flyers are running with two NHL veterans for a change, as opposed to Samuel Ersson and a couple of rookies backing him up like last season. He and Dan Vladař should more or less split starts this upcoming campaign, although the latter was more impressive in the preseason.

The bad news is that, among the 186 goalies with at least 100 games played since 1999–00, they are the two worst netminders in save percentage, according to QuantHockey. But the good news is that they have some experience. A one-two punch of Ersson and Vladař could be an upgrade over what the Flyers had last season: the worst team save percentage in the advanced stats era.

What will the new season have in store for the Orange and Black? Feel free to leave any predictions in the comments below!