Three top Philadelphia Flyers prospects, and, potentially, their future teammates, have been recognized by OHL coaches as some of the top players in different categories in this year’s annual OHL Coaches Poll.
Denver Barkey, Jett Luchanko, and Oliver Bonk all placed highly in at least one category, though Barkey, the captain of the London Knights, was the most prominently featured Flyers prospect in the poll.
Barkey, 19, earned 11 points for the Western Conference’s Smartest Player category, trailing potential 2025 No. 1 overall pick Michael Misa (32) and breakout star Ilya Protas (30).
The Flyers’ 2023 third-round pick again placed behind Misa (23) and Protas (36), picking up 21 points in polling for the Western Conference’s Best Playmaker.
As for the Best Stickhandler, Protas came out on top with 27 points, but Barkey was narrowly behind him with 19 points, which also put him level with top Calgary prospect Zayne Parekh.
Luchanko, who recently recorded his first professional point, only appeared as a finalist in one category, though it is the one you’d most expect from the Flyers’ 2024 first-round pick.
Defenseman Matthew Schaefer, contending with Misa and others for the right to be the top pick this summer, was named the Best Skater in the Western Conference with 34 points, though Luchanko was a very close second with his 30 points.
Bonk, Barkey’s teammate, fellow Flyers prospect, and draft classmate, was a finalist in two categories, but was not particularly close to winning either.
The 20-year-old defenseman placed third for the Best Shot Blocker in the Western Conference (13 points), but notably finished second for Best Defensive Defenseman (14 points) ahead of Schaefer (13 points). Ottawa’s Matthew Andonovski ran away with top honors with his 33 points.
Takeaways from the OHL Coaches Poll
As noted above, Barkey is the clear standout here, though the Flyers are assuredly happy to see any prospects recognized this way.
Due to an offseason bout with mono, Barkey was unable to participate in the Flyers’ development camp and training camp, and upon returning to the Knights, got off to a slow start offensively.
The 19-year-old exploded for 35 goals and 102 points for the Knights last season, and while his 25 goals and 82 points this season pale in comparison, he also played 14 fewer regular season games.
At the end of the day, 10 goals and 20 points in 14 games are nothing for a talented prospect like Barkey playing in the OHL in his D+2 season. Accounting for the slow start, Barkey would have easily shattered his career-highs in those categories.
Barkey and the Knights just made quick work of the Owen Sound Attack in the OHL playoffs, sweeping their opponents in four games and winning by no fewer than three goals in all four.
Quietly, Barkey has 16 points in his last five games and 24 points in his last 10. The Knights’ season might not end in time for Barkey to make his pro debut for the Flyers organization, but it’s now a matter of when, not if.
What the diminutive 5-foot-9 forward lacks in size, he makes up for in skill and a never-say-die attitude on the ice.
Some Flyers fans are concerned with the lack of offensive production from Bonk, who scored 13 fewer goals and 27 fewer points than last season despite only playing in eight fewer games.
The reality is that Bonk was never going to be a major point-producer at the NHL level, as nice as it would be. A lot of his production came from filling a niche role on the Knights’ power play (see: Bumper Bonk), and we know the Flyers’ power play is not exactly one that is prolific.
Placing highly in two defensive categories bodes well for Bonk’s future as an NHL player.
Luchanko had a strange season. The 18-year-old played four NHL games for the Flyers between Oct. 11 and Oct. 19, then returned to the Guelph Storm.
The issue is that Guelph was not a good team all season and traded away much of their talent aside from Luchanko.
The first-year Storm captain finished his third OHL season with 21 goals (career-high), 35 assists, and 56 points in 46 games.
Now that he’s made his debut for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, Luchanko has played in the NHL, AHL, OHL, and World Junior Championships this season.
From personal experience talking to him and meeting him, Luchanko works hard, takes things easy, and never complains. But he’s had quite the busy season overall.
Coaches Poll notwithstanding, it would not at all be a surprise to see Luchanko rocking the Orange and Black again next season, just for more than a four-game trial.
All three of these Flyers prospects were drafted to be meaningful pieces for the future, and they all appear to be well on their way to becoming that.
When the Boston Bruins turned up at the Bell Centre to face the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday night, only seven of their dressed players were with the team at the end of the last season. No more Brad Marchand, no Charlie McAvoy (due to injury), and no more Linus Ullmark who was traded to Ottawa last offseason. It’s been a tough season in Boston, but before this final tilt, the Bs had managed to win their first two games against the Canadiens this year.
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The actors of past memorable battles may not be there, but as long as those two teams face each other, there will be extracurricular activities after the whistle, as sure as the sky is blue. In the first frame, 23 hits were thrown, 13 by Boston and 10 by Montreal.
Juraj Slafkovsky had some words with David Pastrnak, and it looked like the Czech was asking him to dance, but nothing came of it. Still, shortly after that, the former first-overall pick had to handle a punishing hit from Nikita Zadorov. As the Canadiens led 2-0 in the middle frame, the youngster was enjoying poking fun at several Bruins, the Slovak isn’t scared to poke the sleeping bear apparently.
As for Josh Anderson, he was his usual wrecking ball self, throwing three hits, second only to Emil Heineman, who had four in the first frame. He was tied with Zadorov for the most hits across both teams. Anderson and Heineman finished the game with five hits each while Michael Pezzetta, who played 7:47 recorded seven hits.
By the end of the game, the Canadiens had 33 hits and the Bruins 29, which was the only aspect in which the Bruins weren’t manhandled.
In the first frame, the Canadiens didn’t look like they were playing a team that had lost its last six games in regulation and nine in a row; they looked like they were playing down to the competition. They looked nervous, and couldn't execute properly in the offensive zone. Someone must have said something during the break because the Habs dominated the middle frame.
Boston struggled to get out of its own end and could only muster three shots on net in that frame—full marks to Samuel Montembeault for not falling asleep out there.
The Tricolore had complete control of the puck in Boston’s territory and took 18 shots on goal. Had it not been for Swayman, it could have been 5-0 for the Canadiens after 40 minutes. We’ve seen this team dominate in the past but struggle to separate itself from the opponent, but on Thursday night, the goals were there.
While some may not have noticed, the third line formed by Brendan Gallagher, Christian Dvorak, and Andeson has a goal in nine of the last 10 games, including five goals for the pivot. Asked for his thoughts about that line, Martin St-Louis said:
I think those are three vets who understand how we want to play, the moments of the game, and the momentum; they’re all on the same page. They are dedicated; they shoot, shoot, and shoot again. It’s a line that’s a good example of how direct they are in their play. They don’t take too many risks in the neutral zone and are efficient on the forecheck.-
Gallagher was named the game's first star thanks to a goal and an assist, and he received a big ovation. There’s no doubt these fans are right there with the Canadiens’ biggest warrior as he navigates through the pain of losing his mother.
être travaillant, ça rapporte 👷
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) April 4, 2025
great forecheck, great shot, great goal#GoHabsGopic.twitter.com/XuD6qCVOb2
The Canadiens won the game 4-1 in the end and remain in the second wild card spot with seven games to go. It was a big night for Nick Suzuki, who reached the 80-point mark, the first Canadiens player to do so since Alex Kovalev. As for Cole Caufield, he recorded his 35th goal of the season. While the 40-goal mark is in sight, it may be out of reach for this season, but it feels like he will get there sooner rather than later.
You can see the excitement in the coach's eye in his post-game pressers, St-Louis the player was a competitor and the coach wants to be as well:
Learning's over at this stage, we have to execute and that's what we did tonight.-
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