April 11, 2026
Matt Krohn/Imagn Images
The Flyers seem to have big plans in mind for center prospect Jack Berglund.
Porter Martone is here with the Flyers now, trying to help them make that last push into the playoffs.
There's no more waiting or scouring for clips and highlights out of Michigan State. The Flyers' top prospect signed out of college, jumped right into the NHL lineup, and right away, he's been excellent with two goals and six points through his first six games already.
Martone, still at just 19 years old, is a major, star-level piece of the Flyers' future who is made it up quick and is already making an impact today, which understandably, has grabbed much, if not all, of fans' attention.
But in the background, the Flyers also made a couple more notable prospect signings that should ensure that the pipeline keeps moving.
Here's a rundown...
Center prospect Jack Berglund signed his three-year entry-level deal with the Flyers earlier this week, and has made his way over from his native Sweden to play the remainder of the season with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms in the AHL.
Berglund is expected to make his Phantoms debut later Saturday night when they take on the Bridgeport Islanders up in Allentown.
In a season where Martone just arrived and is already looking like a star, and where Denver Barkey made it up to the NHL ahead of schedule, Berglund is still right up there as one of the Flyers prospects who had one of the greatest increases in stock over the past 12 months.
The 20-year-old's mature and well-rounded game at each end of the rink thrived on the World Junior stage over the holidays as he captained Sweden to the gold medal, and yielded seven goals and five assists (12 total points) in 40 games in the SHL, where a still-developing Berglund was holding his own against established overseas pros.
General manager Danny Brière has spoken highly of Berglund's importance to the Flyers' center pipeline ever since last summer's draft, and the move to get him signed and over to North America to start playing in the minors might just be a step toward getting the former 2024 second-rounder set up to chase after a job at the next training camp.
If everything lines up that way, it would be a huge boost to a Flyers team that is very much in need of centers and has been for a while.
Sweden beats Finland in the shootout to advance to the gold medal game
— Nasty Knuckles (@NastyKnuckles) January 5, 2026
Flyers prospect Jack Berglund with one of the shootout goals pic.twitter.com/jM1OYFSUXc
The Flyers also got defenseman David Jiříček signed to a two-year extension at the beginning of the month, which will carry a pretty manageable annual hit of $1.5 million.
Jiříček was taken back in the deadline deal that sent winger Bobby Brink to Minnesota, and with the 22-year-old's standing as a former sixth overall pick from 2022 (ironically, right after Cutter Gauthier), the Flyers' aim is to get his development back on track after an unsteady first few years as a pro, hoping to have him on a somewhat similar trajectory as Jamie Drysdale, who is now thriving for them as middle-pairing blueliner.
If the Flyers can succeed in their Jiříček reclamaition project, then they're going to end up with a skilled and pretty sizeable right-handed defenseman (at 6'4" and 204 pounds) who will still have a lot of years ahead of him.
The thing is, he still needs a lot of work, and that was made clear right away when he was sent down to the AHL to play with Lehigh Valley immediately upon the trade with Minnesota going through.
His skating and decision-making are the biggest aspects of his game that need to improve in the months ahead, and this two-year extension that will carry through 2028 buys that time under some pretty affordable means.
So far with the Phantoms, Jiříček does have two goals and 10 assists to have him at 12 points through 12 games since getting into the system. But he is carrying a minus-9 rating, which is a finicky stat, sure, though not one you would typically want to see that low for a defenseman over that small of a sample size.
He's had some instances of clumsy skating up in Allentown, too, but the Flyers appear set to help him work through it with some patience.
Cole Knuble, a 2023 fourth-rounder and the son of former Flyer Mike Knuble, signed his entry-level deal in the middle of March and started skating for the Phantoms by the end of it.
The 21-year-old notched an assist in his debut on March 27, a 5-3 loss to Springfield, then scored his first pro goal on April 4, a 6-2 loss to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, with a laser while on the power play.
Jedi’s first pro goal!🧡#LVvsWBS | #LVPhantoms pic.twitter.com/SwXuS4WbdR
— Lehigh Valley Phantoms (@LVPhantoms) April 5, 2026
So far, Knuble has that goal and first assist for his first two points with the Phantoms across five AHL games. He's skating at minus-2.
Knuble made the pro jump after a frustrating junior season at Notre Dame that saw the whole program seem to go backwards, his production included.
But his skating and aggression, both with getting after the puck and carrying it up the ice when he has it, have looked solid, which first started getting noticeable back at the Flyers' development camp last summer.
Knuble doesn't project to be a star, but his game could round out into making him a valuable bottom-six center who checks hard and can get the puck moving downhill, which all things considered, is a pretty good get as a fourth-round find if he continues to shape up.
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