Earlier this week, I attempted to project what the Sixers' 15-man roster will look like at the end of the NBA preseason. It’s only fair that the Flyers, who officially begin rookie camp on Monday in Voorhees, get the same treatment today.
As a reminder, an NHL team can have up to 23 players on the roster. Only 20 of them (18 skaters, two goalies) can suit up in orange and black for a given game. Things hopefully should become a bit clearer in a few weeks, but here is a first guess at how the roster shakes out:
| LW | C | RW |
| Brayden Schenn | Claude Giroux | Jake Voracek |
| Michael Raffl | Sean Couturier | Wayne Simmonds |
| Scott Laughton | Nick Cousins | Matt Read |
| Pierre-Edouard Bellemare | Boyd Gordon | Dale Weise |
Forwards (14)
Brayden Schenn, Claude Giroux, Wayne Simmonds, Michael Raffl, Sean Couturier, Jake Voracek, Matt Read, Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, Dale Weise, Nick Cousins, Boyd Gordon, Scott Laughton, Chris VandeVelde, Taylor Leier
I feel pretty good about the first two lines, even if we’re not sure of the exact combinations yet. My best guess that Voracek, hoping to get off to a fast start after a down season, starts out to the right of Giroux.
Trying to figure out how the bottom six is extremely difficult. There are so many combinations that Dave Hakstol could dream up, none of them a particularly obvious choice. Jordan Weal and Roman Lyubimov will state their cases, as well.
It feels like top prospect Travis Konecny is ready for the NHL, but unfortunately for the exciting 19-year-old winger, the Flyers might not be ready for him just yet. In this scenario, the Sarnia Sting would be bringing back a major talent to juniors for one last go-round.
| Left | Right |
| Michael Del Zotto | Mark Streit |
| Nick Schultz | Shayne Gostisbehere |
| Ivan Provorov | Radko Gudas |
Defensemen (7)
Shayne Gostisbehere, Mark Streit, Radko Gudas, Michael Del Zotto, Nick Schultz, Ivan Provorov, Brandon Manning
Out of this group, the first four names (Ghost, Streit, Gudas, Del Zotto) should be locks to be on the ice October 14th in Los Angeles, barring an injury or trade. That likely leaves three roster spots and two on-ice positions for four players.
The early guess is that Provorov makes the roster out of camp after forcing the front office’s hand with his preseason play. In this scenario, Manning slides back to the 7th defenseman role. If the Flyers are looking to retain all of their defensemen, Andrew MacDonald might be the odd man out. With four years and $20 million left on his contract, MacDonald would very likely clear waivers again in 2016 and report back to Lehigh Valley. MacDonald will likely be up this season at some point, and he should have the opportunity to earn a spot in the preseason.
| Goalie |
| Steve Mason |
| Michal Neuvirth |
Goalies (2)
Steve Mason, Michal Neuvirth
That was the easy part. Trying to figure out how much each netminder will play is a task that we’ll save for another day.
Follow Rich on Twitter: @rich_hofmann