Flyers Top 20 Prospects

Hockey's Future updated their Flyers prospect list. Currently, the Flyers still sit at having the 10th best farm system in hockey, but that could change after the amateur draft.

James vanRiemsdyk remains their number 1 prospect with Claude Giroux right behind him. Giroux got a taste of the NHL last year and he will likely be up for good at some point next year. Patrick Maroon, previously unranked, jumps into the top 10 after a great season with the London Knights of the OHL.

And now for the list:
01. James vanRiemsdyk LW, 18
02. Claude Giroux C, 20
03. Steve Downie LW, 21
04. Ryan Parent D, 21
05. Andreas Nodl RW, 21
06. Ryan Potulny C, 23, Restricted Free Agent
07. Michael Ratchuk D, 20
08. Stefan Ruzicka RW, 23 Restricted Free Agent
09. Kevin Marshall D, 19
10. Patrick Maroon LW, 20
11. Oskars Bartulis D, 21
12. Freddy Cabana C, 21
13. Scott Monroe G, 26
14. Denis Bodrov D, 21
15. Nathan Guenin D, 25 Restricted Free Agent
16. Jeremy Duchesne G, 21
17. Jonathon Matsumoto C, 21
18. Joonas Lehtivuori D, 19
19. Jakub Kovar G, 19
20. Mario Kempe RW, 19

As you can see, the Flyers have plenty of depth at the forward position, but little depth at the blue line and between the pipes. Ryan Parent will be up with the Flyers next year, which leaves their top D-man behind him, Kevin Marshall, their top D prospect for the future. Unless someone falls to them, I would be shocked if the Flyers do not draft defensively in this upcoming Amateur draft.

JVR will likely not be up with the Flyers for another year, but names you should expect to see next year are Claude Giroux and the guys we've already seen in Steve Downie, Stefan Ruzicka, and Ryan Potulny (if the latter two are re-signed). The retirement of Sami Kapanen opens up a spot on the roster, which is likely a full time position for Steve Downie. I would not expect to see Giroux come up until there is an opening on the top 3 lines, specifically the top 2. Giroux will be a great two-way forward for the Flyers as he excels in his zone.

Everyone else on the prospect list is at least a year away and they'll get seasoning in the junior leagues or AHL. I do not expect top goalie prospect, Scott Monroe, to ever make much of an impact with the Flyers. At some point, he might be a decent back-up, but he is not the goalie for the future by any means.