Flyers roster, player-by-player capsules
Forwards Player Ht./Wt. '16-17 GP G-A-Pts. P.-Edouard Bellemare 6-0/198 74 7-7-14 Bellemare's game grew while he was playing for surprising Team Europe in the World Cup, and he hopes the momentum carries into the season.
Forwards
Player Ht./Wt. '16-17 GP G-A-Pts.
P.-Edouard Bellemare 6-0/198 74 7-7-14
Bellemare's game grew while he was playing for surprising Team Europe in the World Cup, and he hopes the momentum carries into the season.
Nick Cousins 5-1/188 36 6-4-10
After some impressive OHL and AHL seasons, the feisty Cousins will start the year as a third-line left winger who will also get power-play time.
Sean Couturier 6-3/211 63 11-28-39
With Travis Konecny and Jake Voracek as his wingers, Couturier should get a lot more scoring chances and might reach 20 goals for the first time.
Claude Giroux 5-11/185 78 22-45-67
Unlike the second half of last season, the Flyers captain is healthy and ready to improve his production.
Boyd Gordon 6-0/201 65 2-2-4
Signed as a free agent, Gordon is terrific in the faceoff circle and should bolster a penalty kill that has struggled the last two seasons.
Travis Konecny 5-10/184 60 30-71-101*
Konecny had a team-high six points in the preseason, and he adds speed, energy, and creativity to an attack that was stagnant last year.
*OHL statistics
Roman Lyubimov 6-2/207 52 7-7-14**
A former KHL player, he adjusted nicely to the smaller NHL rinks in the preseason and gives the Flyers some needed size.
*KHL stats
Michael Raffl 6-0/200 82 13-18-31
A versatile left winger who can play on any line, Raffl is trying to find the form that produced 21 goals two seasons ago.
Matt Read 5-10/185 79 11-15-26
After consecutive disappointing seasons, Read needs to bounce back and regain his scoring touch.
Brayden Schenn 6-1/190 80 26-33-59
Coming off the best season of his young career, the physical Schenn is effective at all three forward positions, but he starts the year suspended for three games.
Wayne Simmonds 6-2/183 81 32-28-60
The consistent and hard-nosed forward scored a career-high 32 goals to lead the Flyers and finish fourth among NHL right wingers.
Chris VandeVelde 6-2/190 79 2-12-14
VandeVelde, who played for coach Dave Hakstol at North Dakota, is a grinder who does his best work on the penalty kill.
Jake Voracek 6-2/214 73 11-44-55
Based on an outstanding preseason, Voracek looks ready to rebound from a disappointing year, when he had 25 fewer points than in 2014-15.
Dale Weise 6-2/205 71 14-12-26
Signed as a free agent, the right winger brings size and some scoring ability to the third line.
Defense
Michael Del Zotto 6-0/194 52 4-9-13
Del Zotto, who is expected to miss the first month because of a knee injury, is playing for a contract extension on a team that has some top-notch defense prospects waiting in the wings.
Shayne Gostisbehere 5-11/186 64 17-29-46
He will build off last season, when he exploded onto the scene and became one of the league's most dynamic offensive defensemen.
Radko Gudas 6-0/204 76 5-9-14
The team's most physical blue-liner, Gudas starts the season on a six-game suspension - and needs to play with the discipline he showed at the end of last season.
Andrew MacDonald 6-1/190 28 1-7-8
He played solidly after replacing the injured Del Zotto last season, and he begins the year on the top pairing, alongside Gostisbehere.
Brandon Manning 6-1/205 56 1-6-7
A steady defender who plays with an edge, Manning has been thrust into the lineup because of Gudas' suspension.
Ivan Provorov 6-1/203 62 21-52-73+
A two-way player who seems destined to blossom into an elite defenseman, Provorov dominated juniors and earned a roster spot with a superb camp.
+ Juniors stats
Nick Schultz 6-1/203 81 1-9-10
Playing in the final year of his contract, Schultz gives the Flyers veteran leadership and steady play on the back end.
Mark Streit 5-11/192 62 6-17-23
Another team leader who is in the final season of his contract, Streit will be a mentor to Provorov and will quarterback the second power-play unit.
Goaltending
Player Ht./Wt. '16-17 Rec GAA
Steve Mason 6-4/210 23-19-4 2.51
Mason carried the Flyers to a playoff berth with strong play down the stretch, and he was one of their best players in the recently completed exhibition season.
Michal Neuvirth 6-0/209 18-8-2 2.27 He gives the Flyers two goalies capable of being a No. 1, and, like Mason, he is in the final season of his contract and playing for an extension.