As we dive into the different areas of the Flyers roster, today we’ll turn to some of the younger depth pieces on this roster. They aren’t the franchise cornerstones, but the trio of Denver Barkey, Alex Bump, and Nikita Grebenkin are important players for the franchise nonetheless. There’s a lot to like with all three of these players, and it’ll be interesting to track the continued development of each under Rick Tocchet and Co.
Denver Barkey
What did we see from Barkey last season?
In his first full season in the NHL, Denver Barkey arrived and adjusted to the pace faster than anyone could have reasonably expected. Called up in mid-December after Tyson Foerster went down with an injury, Barkey was one of the first players that were given a chance to replace him. Immediately, in his first game with the Flyers, Barkey registered two assists in a close loss to the Rangers. From the start, Denver Barkey looked like he belonged.
Across 43 NHL games, Barkey put up 5 goals and 12 assists for 17 points. That isn’t a groundbreaking number, but considering that Barkey is an extremely undersized winger that wasn’t given top-6 minutes, that’s a really good first taste of the big leagues. When you combine it with the fact that there were many nights where Barkey looked like the most involved Flyer on the ice, you start to think that there might be something special here. In a lot of ways, Barkey’s all-around game translated better to the NHL than many could imagine. Just as he did for the London Knights and for the Phantoms, Barkey routinely won races to the puck he shouldn’t have, battles against big players that he had no business winning, and found himself with the puck in so many dangerous areas.
Barkey, more than anything, showed himself as a potentially key contributor for this organization moving forward.
What type of role do we expect Barkey to play this season?
With all of Owen Tippett, Tyson Foerster, Matvei Michkov, and Travis Konecny healthy, the easiest place to pencil Barkey in is in a third-line wing role. Interestingly, Barkey has been slotted at center in the early days of training camp, often with Michkov. The Barkey-Michkov pairing worked at times last year, so it’s not surprising to see Rick Tocchet go back to that combo right now. Having said that, it will be fairly shocking to see Barkey down the middle for significant time this season. He may get a few games here or there, but it feels more likely that Barkey stays on the wing.
Really, we’re expecting Barkey to build on his rookie year and play a very similar style. Barkey was already strong on his feet, exceptional in one-on-one battles, and a pest all around last season. With his first full NHL offseason training in the books, you’d expect Barkey to be even better in those situations next year. Barkey played at a nearly .4 points per game pace in 2025-26, so if that improves? You might be looking at a 40-50 point player. Barkey might not get there for a few more years, but there’s so much to dream of moving forward.
Alex Bump
What did we see from Bump last season?
While Barkey immediately translated his game into the pros, Bump’s ride to the NHL was a little more rocky. Bump had a rough training camp last year, even with the early hype that Bump could make the roster. Coming out of Western Michigan, Bump was arguably a better bet than Barkey was to make an earlier NHL impact. Instead, Bump’s first half of his season was in Lehigh Valley, where the Phantoms refined Bump’s game. There was never a question about Bump’s abilities on the offensive end, but Bump really put in the work to improve his defensive and neutral zone play in the minors.
So, when Bump was called up in early March for a game against the Penguins, he immediately made his presence felt by scoring a goal in his first game. Across the 17 games he played in the regular season, Bump registered 5 goals and 4 assists. He looked like he belonged, and immediately had one of the best shots on the team (next to guys like Tyson Foerster, Porter Martone, Owen Tippett). While there were still moments of immaturity, Bump’s ability to create in the offensive zone were evident through the playoffs.
What type of role do we expect Bump to play this season?
Bump is one of the players with a ton of variance in his outcomes on the roster. If his offensive game steps forward again, it would not be a big surprise to see Bump earn a share of Top-6 minutes this year. If that doesn’t happen, and the defensive side of his game proves to be a work in progress, minutes might be hard to come by. It would be a bit surprising to see Bump down in Lehigh Valley for an extended period of time, but it can’t be entirely ruled out. More so than Barkey, this is a season for “finding out” what Bump can be moving forward. That’s not to say it is make or break, but we’re likely going to have a much better idea what type of role Bump is going to play at the NHL level. Expect the Flyers to give him plenty of opportunity in the early going to prove that he should be here.
Nikita Grebenkin
What did we see from Grebenkin last season?
After showing promise with the Flyers post-Scott Laughton trade at the 2025 deadline, Grebenkin was given a shot to solidify his spot on this roster in 2025-26. Playing mostly fourth line minutes, Grebenkin’s 55 games last year offered a glimpse into the type of player he is likely to be. He will likely never have much production on the scoresheet, but he’s sort of the ideal fourth liner in the modern NHL. We saw so many instances where Grebenkin was a complete pest, an annoying physical presence, and just an overall nuisance to opposing teams. He excels in board battles, comes away with a ton of loose pucks, and occasionally flashes a high-end passing play that you don’t expect out of a player in a fourth line role.
An injury in March kept Grebenkin from finishing the season and playing in the playoffs. If he had gotten there, we might have seen a player that thrived in these scenarios, considering his playing style. It’s a shame we didn’t get to see that and evaluate Grebenkin there, and hopefully he’ll get that time in the coming season.
What type of role do we expect Grebenkin to play this season?
If it wasn’t for an injury in March that held him out for the rest of the season and into the playoffs, we’d probably have Grebenkin penciled in as a certainty on this roster. But the reality is, with guys like Bump, Barkey, and Martone now on this roster, there’s a bit of a squeeze to fit Grebenkin. All three of those guys look certain to make the roster, so unless Grebenkin can push newly-signed Noel Acciari out of the lineup, Grebenkin is either the 13th forward or down in Lehigh Valley. Also, considering Grebenkin had a small setback in his injury recovery and started camp a few days late, he might be starting from even further behind.
Grebenkin is going to be at the NHL level for parts of this season, and will certainly be the first guy to take down more minutes if a guy like Barkey or Bump struggles. But, compared to last year, there’s a lot less opportunity for Grebenkin to take advantage of. It feels like it is going to be an uphill battle for Grebenkin to seize a long-term roster spot moving forward, but he’s not out of it.
