PHILADELPHIA, Pa – The Philadelphia Flyers have made a full-on commitment in recent years to building the team from within rather than through trades and free agency. Flyers fans do not need to be retold of the history for a number one goaltender. Not since Ron Hextall’s rookie season in 1987 has the orange and black found their answer in net. Ironically, Hextall’s in the General Manager’s chair in search for that golden nugget. You can be sure that he is making every effort to make sure it does not 
take another 30 plus years to find another just like him.
The Flyers goalie situation has been looking up in recent years, especially with some of their top prospects. For the first time in a long time, there appears to be some real hope in one of the city of Philadelphia’s most scrutinized positions. Other than the Philadelphia Eagles quarterback, no other position in the city garners so much attention in a sports crazed town.
Today we look at our final goaltending prospects rankings in the Flyers system according to PHN for 2017.
Anthony Stolarz – The former second round pick in 2012 has shown steady progress ever since he was drafted 45th overall. The Flyers were looking for him to become a potential number one goaltender, but things have rather changed. Despite having no lower than a .905 save percentage and a .916 high mark, Stolarz has shown no reason for the Flyers to not be excited about him. The usual gripe about his game is his consistency. His 2.92 goals against average did not help his cause any especially since his teammate Alex Lyon, who went undrafted, outplayed him.
Still, in seven NHL games last season, he showed more than enough to show why the Flyers need to show some patience and faith in him with a 2.07 goals against average and .928 save percentage. He had some injury issues, which might have scared the Flyers brass a little bit but as far as we know, the team has no soured on him even if some in the media are already writing him off because they Flyers resigned Michal Neuvirth and signed Brian Elliott. Neuvirth is also coming off some injury issues, which is part of the main reason why Stolarz will be given a chance at some point or end up on a franchise like Vegas to give him one.
Carter Hart – Dispending on how this season goes, Hart will either be at the top of our list by the time we do our mid-season rankings in 2018, or by the end of it. It has been a while but it finally looks like the Flyers might have finally hit the jackpot in their never-ending search for a true number one goalie. If you want to know what the Flyers future number one goalie just might look like in 3-4 years, look no further than Hart.
For the second year in a row, Hart was named the Goaltender-of-the-Year in the WHL and is playing better with each passing season. This season he had a 1.99 goals against average and a .927 save percentage. He is also played for Team Canada in the 2017 IIHF World Junior Championships. Because of his age, he is not eligible to be in the AHL but you can bet the second he is able to do so he will be there.
Alex Lyon – The former Yale star goaltender was not drafted by the Flyers but has the look of someone who could become a steal for the team. He shared goaltender duties with Stolarz and outplayed him. That not only got him noticed but he played his way into the mix. Lyon had a 27-14-5 record, a 2.72 GAA, and a .912 save percentage with four shutouts. He was the starting goalie for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms in the AHL playoffs until he was injured. Lyon has some major competition from the above-mentioned prospects but for a franchise desperate to settle their goaltending issues, Lyon has just as good a shot as anyone else in the organization.
Felix Sandstrom – A third round pick in 2015, the Flyers have shown why they targeted him. He was Sweden’s starting goalie in the World Junior Championships, and had a great season playing for Brynas with a 2.25 GAA and a .908 SP. If he stays on his current trajectory, he will not only be challenging for the Flyers top spot but could become a solid tandem with fellow Hart or any other prospect in the system in 2-3 years.
Honorable Mention: Matej Tomek and Kirill Ustimenko – Tomek as drafted in the same round as Sandstrom (20 picks later at #90) but the Flyers doubled down on another Tomek. The Slovakian native, like just about every other Flyers prospect it seems, played in the 2017 World Juniors. Tomek will play for North Dakota next season, but he needs to show just how good he really can be with such a talented group of prospects ahead of him.
Not much is known about Ustimenko other than what they saw briefly at the, wait for it, World Juniors. Yes, even Ustimenko saw some time at the WJC and caught the Flyers eye. He was a third round pick, 80th overall, and you can bet the Flyers will keep an eye on his progress.
Look for him to be in college for the next 2-4 years then head into the AHL.
You can follow Brian on twitter at @flyersfan22
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