Flyers finalize 23-man opening night roster; Jiricek, Grebenkin, Grundström and Wilson all make the cut

Mar 21, 2026; San Jose, California, USA; Philadelphia Flyers left wing Garrett Wilson (10) walks to the ice before the game against the San Jose Sharks at SAP Center at San Jose. Mandatory Credit: Robert Edwards-Imagn ImagesWith their actions over the past three days, general manager Daniel Briere and the Philadelphia Flyers had already showed their hand regarding the nature of their opening night roster — due Monday at 5 PM EDT. But they still needed to submit the final list before they could turn their full attention to the season opener on Wednesday night.

class="wp-block-paragraph">Consider the list submitted.

class="wp-block-paragraph">The Flyers announced their final roster with 30 minutes to spare, and there were few surprises. As expected, Briere and the Flyers will open the season with the maximum of 23 players, and with one projected starter — Denver Barkey — beginning the year on injured reserve.

class="wp-block-paragraph">Briere noted on Saturday to the media that Barkey’s absence from the Philadelphia lineup is not expected to be a lengthy one. And while Barkey’s placement on IR does technically require Barkey to stay on IR at least seven days before becoming eligible to be activated, the Flyers are permitted via the CBA to backdate that to the day after Barkey suffered the injury — September 22. As a result, Barkey can be removed from IR as soon as tomorrow, allowing the Flyers full activation flexibility when it comes to the banged-up forward.

class="wp-block-paragraph">Barkey’s placement on IR did temporarily open up an extra roster spot, though, and the result was that the Flyers are able to keep both Carl Grundström and Garrett Wilson on the team to start the season. Grundström was successfully waived last week, making him a plausible candidate for a demotion, but the Flyers chose to keep him on the roster despite having that flexibility.

class="wp-block-paragraph">As for Wilson, he was not a candidate to make the roster at the start of camp, since he was signed to an AHL-only contract with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms and was just a camp invite. That changed on Sunday, when the Flyers and Wilson agreed to a one-year, two-way NHL contract worth $850,000. Wilson — who appeared in three games for the Flyers last season — then became a plausible NHL roster option, and on Monday, the Flyers confirmed that he would indeed be staying with the big club for now.

class="wp-block-paragraph">Grundström’s place on the roster is easy to understand — the 28-year old impressed last season in 47 games with the club (nine goals, 13 points) as a depth forward. Wilson’s fit isn’t as obvious, though, given his age (35) and the fact that his last NHL was way back in 2019 prior to the Flyers signing him to an NHL contract late in the 2025-26 season and dressing him for three games during the stretch run.

Mar 21, 2026; San Jose, California, USA; Philadelphia Flyers left wing Garrett Wilson (10) fights against San Jose Sharks right wing Ryan Reaves (75) during the first period at SAP Center at San Jose. Mandatory Credit: Robert Edwards-Imagn ImagesBut Wilson does provide a toughness that the Flyers likely feel they lack with Nicolas Deslauriers now plying his trade in Carolina; Wilson is more than willing to drop the gloves on behalf of his teammates. Plus, Wilson has long been known as an excellent teammate, serving as captain in Lehigh Valley for years and functioning as a mentor of sorts to the many young prospects who have come through that roster during his tenure with the club. The Flyers likely see value in adding that personality to the locker room mix in an extra forward role.

class="wp-block-paragraph">The other “bubble” players had solidified their places on the opening night roster well before Monday. David Jiricek’s mistake-filled showing in the preseason finale on Saturday may knock him out of the opening night lineup, but in the wake of Oliver Bonk’s demotion on Friday, there was little chance he would miss out on the final roster entirely. Simon Benoit was always a near-lock, and moved into actual-lock status with the Bonk demotion. Once Nikita Grebenkin proved he was truly healthy (as he did in the closing days of camp), he was always likely to stick on the final roster as well.

class="wp-block-paragraph">As for the rest of the roster, it came as expected. Porter Martone and Alex Bump both made the opening night Flyers roster for the first time in their respective careers. New additions Noel Acciari and Joseph Woll will indeed don the Orange & Black for the final time in regular season action come Wednesday. And there were no surprise injuries, sans Barkey’s start-of-season IR placement.

May 4, 2026; Raleigh, North Carolina, USA; Carolina Hurricanes left wing Jordan Martinook (48) clears the puck away from Philadelphia Flyers center Denver Barkey (52) during the third period in game two of the second round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Lenovo Center. Mandatory Credit: James Guillory-Imagn ImagesHelge Grans will begin the season as an injured non-roster player, but that placement does not imply that Grans is a candidate to stay with the big club all year. Grans suffered an injury on Thursday, and injured players cannot be sent to the AHL until they are fully cleared. Once Grans makes a recovery from his injury, he’ll almost certainly be waived and then demoted to the AHL, which was always his most likely end-of-camp destination barring a massive preseason performance.

class="wp-block-paragraph">The specifics of the Flyers’ opening night lineup are yet to be finalized. But the roster itself is now locked in place, as the team prepares for the start of the 2026-27 season.

class="wp-block-paragraph">Forwards (14): Noel Acciari, Alex Bump, Noah Cates, Sean Couturier, Christian Dvorak, Tyson Foerster, Nikita Grebenkin, Carl Grundström, Travis Konecny, Porter Martone, Matvei Michkov, Owen Tippett, Garrett Wilson, Trevor Zegras

class="wp-block-paragraph">Defensemen (7): Simon Benoit, Jamie Drysdale, David Jiricek, Rasmus Ristolainen, Travis Sanheim, Nick Seeler, Cam York

class="wp-block-paragraph">Goalies (2): Dan Vladar, Joseph Woll