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5 biggest surprises for Flyers so far this season

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The Philadelphia Flyers are 15 games in and have a record of 8-5-2. This time last season after the same amount of games they were 5-8-2. But that hasn’t been the only change that’s been rather apparent this season. A few players are starting to do a lot of good things, the special teams are coming to life, and the goaltenders are stopping shots more than last season. Here then in no particular order are five of the biggest surprises so far in this rather young 2025-26 season.

Vladar The Goal Saver

Dan Vladar was signed in the summer by the Flyers. The idea being that he would be a good backup to Sam Ersson and be able to stabilize the goaltending after a rough and rowdy 2024-25 circus. Vladar had other ideas, namely not rocking the boat in terms of wanting more games but simply putting his head down and being strong. And he’s been all that and more, looking more and more like he’ll not just be the backup to Ersson, but possibly earning more than half the starts this year.

After having what he thought was a so-so start in Montreal and not looking stellar against Toronto, Vladar still is third in the National Hockey League in goals-against average (2.18) after Sunday’s slate of games. Only Calgary’s Devin Cooley (1.75) and Washington’s Logan Thompson (1.61) have been better. And he’s sixth overall in save percentage (.917), a notion that probably nobody outside of Vladar could’ve envisioned to start the season. He hasn’t been extremely busy (ranking 28th in shots against with 228), but has come up with some key, timely saves both in overtime sessions and in the shootouts.

Given how many fans and experts would’ve drooled over a Flyers goalie eclipsing the .900 line at any point last season, this stretch of games have given Vladar and the skaters in front of him confidence. And for the first time in a little while at least, the Flyers aren’t having an issue with goaltending. Ersson has had his moments, but Vladar has been the guy so far behind Philadelphia’s success.

Power play potency

This paragraph won’t begin with stats and numbers showing how horrible the power play was under Rocky Thompson and John Tortorella. The nightmares and waking up in a cold sweat still happen. Needless to say, probably anything Rick Tocchet and his staff could’ve done to improve the power play would’ve been a plus. Well, the power play isn’t clicking yet on all cylinders. But it’s been far more entertaining to watch. And a lot more effective despite one unit doing most of the work.

Prior to Tyson Foerster’s injury, the unit featuring the Noah Cates line, Jamie Drysdale and Trevor Zegras were fun, making quick passes without over-thinking what needed to be done. As well, the Flyers have been using the bumper and working the puck down low far more often a month into the schedule. It’s quite refreshing from last season where the Flyers effectively killed a lot of their own power plays with indecision and rather ridiculous approaches. For instance, fans have rarely seen power plays this year where gaining entry into the offensive zone was a mammoth challenge. One successful entry per power play last year was almost seen as a moral victory.

Currently, the Flyers are not just in the top 20. They find themselves in the top half of the league (14th with a 19.6 success rate) and look like they have room to grow. Of course, having one player who has points on eight of the nine power play goals might have some impact on the statistic. Philadelphia had nine goals at roughly the same point last year. We all know how that ended up. Yet for now, the Flyers might be making teams pay more in 2025-26 for taking penalties against them than last year. That’s a huge plus for a team that is still working out some kinks.

Zegras is greener in Philadelphia for Trevor

When Philadelphia acquired Trevor Zegras from Anaheim prior to the NHL Draft, it was seen as a low-risk, high-reward proposition. They weren’t really giving away much to possibly land a future center. And if the one-year experiment was a disaster, it would only last a year or less if Zegras was dealt at the trade deadline. The idea of trading Zegras now at the deadline sounds insane. He has been the engine that has revved up Philadelphia’s power play while also looking like he could establish himself for the time being as a “hybrid” winger/center.

Zegras is averaging over a point a game (16 of them in 15 contests) and has points on all but one of Philadelphia’s power play goals. He has also brought with him the fact that he’s the most successful shootout player of all time (minimum 20 attempts) and is only increasing that percentage with each attempt. That alone could be the difference in being a non-playoff team and the Flyers squeezing into a wildcard spot. And Zegras has brought with him a great attitude, realizing his mistakes at times and being the first to own up to them afterwards. It’s also a bonus that Zegras and Tocchet have quickly developed a line of communication that wasn’t seen the last few seasons.

He’s also seemed to have brought out the best in a former teammate from Anaheim in Jamie Drysdale. Drysdale looks better this year in his play while getting more responsibility from Tocchet on the power play. And Cam York who is close with Zegras hasn’t suffered from his arrival, playing extremely well and generating a lot more points this year so far than he did in 2024-25 under his former coach.

The forward is playing himself into being a part of Philadelphia’s future with the idea of a contract extension a very distinct possibility. Given how the free agent class of 2026 continues to dwindle down to the likes of Claude Giroux and other veterans, locking Zegras up for the long haul should be a no-brainer for Flyers general manager Danny Briere. It’s been just 15 games, but it’s been a fantastic first impression for the former Anaheim forward.

Penalty killing is stellar

Give Tocchet and his staff credit for how they’ve approached the special teams. No longer considered afterthoughts, the penalty-killing units have been very sturdy most of the season. The Flyers still need to cut down on the minor penalties and seem to be slowly turning a corner in that direction. Yet for now Philadelphia are fourth overall on the penalty kill (88.2 per cent) and sixth overall regarding net penalty kill (again, 88.2 per cent). The box and/or diamond setup seems to be doing the trick while also keeping the opponent’s power play to the outside, rarely getting into the dirty areas or high danger zones.

The Flyers have given up six goals down a man (or two) this season, the worst outing allowing two goals against Montreal in a shootout win. They’ve had a six-game streak of not conceding a goal and are now two games into another one. That might be put to the test Wednesday night against Edmonton. However, generally, the penalty kill has been another spot where the Flyers aren’t getting manhandled like they did last season, ending up twentieth with a 77.6 per cent in 2024-25. Hopefully it continues.

Back up the Brink truck

Yes, Cam York has been a great surprise and is having a huge bounce-back season. Bobby Brink continues to be a fine forward and one of the hardest-working wingers Philadelphia plays night in and night out. Brink has come miles from being a healthy scratch under John Tortorella to now finding himself against the top lines of some teams and tilting the ice in Philadelphia’s favor. He has nine points so far, tying himself with York and Christian Dvorak for fourth in the team scoring. And he has more points than the Mad Russian, but it’s early.

Brink, assuming he remains healthy, is looking to set career-highs in points and could end up being a key part of one of Philadelphia’s two power play units. With Foerster injured it’s not guaranteed that Brink and Cates will return to being the Flyers’ most consistent line. The trio might be split up the rest of the season depending on how things play out. Brink is also better in most of the underlying metrics this year compared to 2024-25. And he is earning the respect of his teammates and the coaching staff. At the very least, Brink is playing himself into being part of the rebuild down the road far more than anticipated. As well as a good raise in pay, even if it ends up being just a bridge deal.

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