Welcome to the Philadelphia Flyers Top 25 Under 25 ranking, Winter 2026 edition. Over the next couple of weeks, we’ll be putting out our ranking of the, well, top 25 players in the Flyers organization who are under 25 years old. A total of 13 writers at Broad Street Hockey submitted ballots and here is the consensus ranking.

In our second batch of young Flyers that we’re ranking, there’s a controversial goalie, a surprise college player that is turning into a solid pro, and someone as young as can be but not really shining in their freshman year.

It’s starting to get a little bit more fun to see where players land.

22: Aleksei Kolosov

Primary Team: Lehigh Valley Phantoms, AHL
2025-26 Stats: .900 SV%, 2.75 GAA in 22 GP
Rank in Summer 25 Under 25: Unranked
Age: 24
Acquired: 3rd-round pick (78th overall) in 2021 NHL Draft

Maddie (Ranked #18) : I might have been a little bit dramatic last time around, and Kolosov dropped off my list entirely because as of the summer, I still wasn’t entirely convinced that he was going to show up for camp, and we might never see him again. So, with that in mind, credit to him for being a good sport and presumably coming to terms with his need for development at the AHL level, and between that and the good work he’s put in to advance his game this season, he’s returned to my list. That said, though, you’ll see that he’s ranked a decent bit lower than Carson Bjarnason for me, because I feel generally that Bjarnason’s been more consistent so far this season, and some of Kolosov’s focus issues (more on those later too) have placed a ceiling on my projection for him. But, of course, he’s still developing, so maybe that gets polished out down the line, but there’s still a lot of work left for him to do, by my estimation. 

Thomas (Ranked #22): Kolosov has been on a reputation rollercoaster the last dozen months. As Maddie pointed out, he deserves at least some credit for finally realizing that he shouldn’t be so stubborn about being in the NHL, and should be in the AHL. He’s performed decently there for the Phantoms, but then also when he’s been needed by the Flyers this season it has been a disaster among disasters. He has claim to be the worst goaltender in the league statistically. He’s obviously still developing so there’s some faith that he figures it out and turns into someone capable of at least being an average backup.

Evan (Ranked #11): I’m not a huge Kolosov fan by any means, but I do have him much higher on my list than I think I realized. We’ve seen probably the worst case scenario play out for him over the last two years, and I think it’s left a sour taste in everyone’s mouth. This season, he’s got better numbers than the other goalies in Lehigh Valley and taken the majority of the starts, and is clearly the next goalie in line to take NHL games when injuries arise to the Dan Vladar and Sam Ersson duo. He’s had decent NHL minutes this season. Just by organizational pecking order and proximity to the NHL, I ranked him higher than many of the college or junior players, even if there’s more questions about his true upside. The goaltending carousel in Philadelphia is a wild ride.

21: Ty Murchison

Primary Team: Lehigh Valley Phantoms, AHL
2025-26 Stats: 2 G, 6 Pts in 29 GP
Rank in Summer 25 Under 25: Unranked
Age: 23
Acquired: 5th-round pick (158th overall) in 2021 NHL Draft

Maddie (Ranked #20) : I’ve really grown to be a big fan of Murchison’s game. I find that I’m often a little naturally a little leary of purported stay-at-home defensemen, because I think sometimes that designation can be a mask for mobility issues that will ultimately hold the player back at the pro levels. So I had that concern in the back of my mind after his signing, but it turns out it wasn’t really needed. There was a bit of an adjustment period that he had to work through early on, but I was really impressed by how quickly Murchison was able to settle into the pro game and carve out an everyday role for himself with the Phantoms. It’s really a shame that his season’s maybe more or less done due to an injury he took last month, but all the same, there’s a lot of reason for optimism about his potential to push for an NHL job before too terribly long. 

Thomas (Ranked #20): This might be so much recency bias, but Murchison impressed me as someone who I had zero expectations for. I didn’t even think the Flyers were going to sign him and he was going to head into unrestricted free agency after graduating last year. To then turn it around and become, in my mind, the top defenseman in the “young but limited ceiling” group with Hunter McDonald and Helge Grans, is a good sign. That’s why he earned a vote on my ballot and not just one at the bottom but fairly solid considering who else is around here.

Evan (Unranked): I’m not sure if anyone really saw Murchison coming into the NHL this season, and looking like he belongs, at that. It’s a shame his season appears to be over. However, I don’t see a long-term spot for him on the NHL roster, nor do I think the organization is all that committed to creating one. I don’t have him ranked, but if he comes back and has a good start to the season next year, he could absolutely play himself into some kind of injury call-up role, and you could certainly do a lot worse. I would really like to see him back again; there’s just so many defensemen and so little time to go around.

20: Jack Murtagh

Primary Team: Boston University, NCAA
2025-26 Stats: 4 G, 7 Pts in 28 GP
Rank in Summer 25 Under 25: N/A
Age: 18
Acquired: 2nd-round pick (40th overall) in 2025 NHL Draft

Maddie (Unranked) : It’s been a tough year for Murtagh. The jump to the college level is definitely a big one, and he’s been struggling a bit to settle in at that level, but that adjustment also really hasn’t been made much easier by how much BU has been struggling this season. He’s been used pretty sparingly this season (generally around 10 minutes or so, but sometimes even less), so it’s been hard to see a whole ton of undoubtedly positive development from him. Of course, I still like Murtagh as a prospect and I think there’s a lot of potential there, but the prospect pool is a crowded one, and it was tough for me personally to keep him on my list ahead of some of the more known commodities. 

Thomas (Ranked #23): In my mind, this is a wait-and-see vote. I like Murtagh and think that he’s a very solid prospect as a plus skater with a solid shot and work ethic. Right now, there isn’t much to go off of as he’s in his freshman year, but considering just how poorly everything is going at Boston University (as Maddie mentioned) and his limited role, I will give him some grace. While he’s at No. 23 on my list now, I suspect this time next year or even two years from now as he’s scoring more than a point per game in college and eyeing the pros at 20 years old (or so), he will be in the upper half.

Evan (Unranked): Murtagh is also a too-early-to-rank guy for me. I liked the pick at the time, and I’m not writing him off yet. He’s got two goals and no assists since the end of October, and I know the ice time isn’t there, but it’s hard to put much stock into him at the moment. My favorite highlight of his this year was when he was caught on an odd-man rush and tried to javelin his stick down the ice to his unarmed defenseman, which failed, while the opponents scored. I like guys who have a little creativity. He’s got the skill, we just need a little more ice time next season.