Flyers' young — but mature — talent on display at rookie camp

Flyers’ young — but mature — talent on display at rookie camp originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

ALLENTOWN, Pa. — The Flyers don’t have an inexperienced group at 2026 rookie training camp.

Porter Martone, Denver Barkey, Alex Bump, Jett Luchanko and Oliver Bonk are all on the roster. Those five players saw action in the NHL playoffs last season, a good development for the club’s future.

And while the group is young, it isn’t naive. The Flyers’ prospects seem to know it’s a new season. They have two rookie games against the Rangers and a few more practices before it all begins with the big boys.

“Going into camp again with a chip-on-your-shoulder mentality,” Barkey said after Friday’s practice at PPL Center, home of AHL affiliate Lehigh Valley. “That’s always something that has separated me, just bringing that compete, that motor. Coming into camp again with something to prove, not being satisfied with what I did last year.”

The 21-year-old made his way to the Flyers in December and never went back to the Phantoms. As an undersized forward, his smarts and competitiveness won him a call-up. He played over half of the season with the Flyers and appeared in all 10 playoff games.

“Obviously it was really cool, it was great experience, I learned a lot and was able to grow a lot this summer coming back in now,” Barkey said. “But I’ve still got something to prove, got to earn your spot. I just want to continue to grow as a player and do whatever it takes to help the team win.”

Martone is undeniably the rookie camp headliner after fueling the Flyers’ playoff push at 19 years old. The winger is a slam dunk for a huge role this season, but he doesn’t act like it. The Flyers really like his humility and maturity.

“He asks a lot of questions, he’s always looking to better himself wherever it is on the ice,” Lehigh Valley head coach John Snowden said. “Even in practice today, ‘Can we do this? Can we look at something differently on this? What can I do different?’ He asks those questions, he wants to be a hockey player.”

Martone was a college freshman at Michigan State just five and a half months ago.

“In fairness, he played at the end of the season last year, he got a very, very small taste of the NHL level,” Snowden, who runs rookie camp, said. “He should ask those questions and he should find every single resource and avenue to make himself a better player. He’s a very good player, he showed what he can be in the NHL, but he wants to be a superstar player. And those are the type of things that you’re going to have to ask.”

The 2025 sixth overall pick has been a busy and well-traveled teenager. His whirlwind year continued after the playoffs when he represented Team Canada at the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship. He was also at development camp this summer. But he found some downtime.

“After the world championships there, I went home for probably about a month,” Martone said. “It was nice to kind of lay low, spend it with my family, see my siblings, my friends and kind of just be a kid again. I went back to Michigan State for about three weeks to a month this year and trained. Then I went home for a little bit, about two weeks, and then I’ve been in Philly for the past few weeks, kind of getting ready, getting back into the city and kind of getting rolling here.”

Similar to Barkey, the 22-year-old Bump is coming off his first full season at the pro level. He joined the Flyers after the March trade deadline and opened eyes. He recorded nine points (five goals, four assists) over 17 regular-season games and added two goals in six playoff games.

Last fall, the winger felt the pressure of his first NHL training camp.

“I kind of know what to expect more now,” Bump said. “More experience. Going into last camp, I didn’t really know what to expect and I just got overwhelmed almost. I think I just know what to expect and the experience definitely helps.”

He wants to make up for last year’s camp.

“This year’s big, I think this is kind of the next step for me, to make the NHL full-time,” he said. “This camp is big and kind go into it with a chip on my shoulder.”

Luchanko and Bonk also have a lot to prove. They had to miss last year’s rookie games because of injuries.

The Flyers will look for Luchanko to have more of a shoot-first mentality. The 20-year-old center has not had an easy path the last two seasons.

In a drill Friday, he scored on a nice rip from the slot. Snowden said Luchanko was “absolutely snapping the puck in the net” and that his shot looked “really, really good.”

“He’s a very responsible player, he has got a very high hockey IQ,” Snowden said. “The one thing that we all talk about is we want to squeeze that offense out of him. Today, seeing him shoot the puck and scoring goals from distance in some different scenarios, that’s a huge plus.

“He can make plays, we know he can make plays, but can we find that scoring touch? Can you be selfish in some situations? Where maybe you defer to pass, maybe now you’ve got an opportunity to shoot the puck in the net or create a secondary chance by shooting the puck.”

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