June 28, 2025
Kirby Lee/Imagn Images
The Flyers will add a few more prospects in Rounds 2-7 of the NHL Draft on Saturday after picking up Porter Martone and Jack Nesbitt in the first round on Friday night.
The Flyers' front office and scouts woke up on Saturday morning to get right back to work.
They picked up skilled power forward Porter Martone and promising center Jack Nesbitt with the sixth and 12th overall selections, respectively, in the first round of the NHL Draft on Friday night.
Then, on Saturday, they looked to keep stocking their prospect pipeline with Rounds 2-7.
Here's how the Flyers went about it as the picks came in from their draft HQ stationed up at the Hard Rock in Atlantic City...
• Round 1, No. 6 – RW Porter Martone, Brampton (OHL): A powerful winger with a laser of a shot and some slick passing, too, Martone brings both skill and some much-needed size into the Flyers' future at a listed 6'3 and 204 pounds.
The 18-year-old from Peterborough, Ontario was a 37-goal, 98-point scorer in juniors this past season skating with an aggressive and physical game, and upon getting his Flyers hat and jersey on the draft stage in L.A. on Friday night, he said soon after that his immediate priority is to get stronger so that his style can translate as seamlessly as it can into the pros.
Martone is a right winger, and the Flyers have a bit of a logjam at that position right now, but his selection was a matter of best player available. He has the ceiling to be a star in Philly, so they'll find an opening for him when the time comes.
Also, he liked the Flyers growing up, and said he has a Claude Giroux poster up on the wall in his basement back home.
Read more about Martone HERE.
• Round 1, No. 12 – C Jack Nesbitt, Windsor (OHL): A 6'5' centerman who's willing to dig in and battle after pucks in the corners and in front of the net, Nesbitt was another clear play on size and one for upside on the Flyers' part after they traded picks 22 and 31 to the rival Pittsburgh Penguins to jump up the board at 12.
Nesbitt was a 25-goal scorer for Windsor this past junior season, and fell just shy of a point-per-game production (64 points in 65 games). His play especially picked up in the back half of the year, though, which caught Brière's attention and instilled a belief that Nesbitt has much more to him.
"We're pretty confident that he's just touching the tip of the iceberg in his development," Brière said of Nesbitt after Round 1 concluded Friday night.
Nesbitt was a needed pick at center for the Flyers, and adds to a developmental pipeline at the position that now consists of himself, last year's first-rounder Jett Luchanko, Jack Berglund out of Sweden, and Heikki Ruohonen at Harvard (by way of Finland).
The Flyers still have a major need at center up at the NHL level, which still won't be fulfilled for quite some time, but Brière believes that Friday night's addition of Nesbitt is another step toward solving it...eventually.
Read more about Nesbitt's fit into the Flyers' center plans HERE.
• Round 2, No. 38 (from Seattle) – D Carter Amico, USNDP: The Flyers shuffled the second-round deck a bit, trading picks 36 and 68 (in the third round) to the Seattle Kraken for picks 38 and 57 (both seconds).
With No. 38, the Flyers took Amico, a 6'6" and 232-pound right-handed defenseman out of the U.S. National Development program, who can move well and hit hard.
The Flyers continue to stick to size.
Amico is headed to Boston University for college hockey next. He suffered a broken kneecap, which cost him the majority of last season, along with hurting his draft stock, but he told the media over a video call Saturday that he feels good and that rehab back from it is going well.
• Round 2, No. 40 (from Anaheim) – LW Jack Murtagh, USNDP: A downhill skater, Murtagh scored 22 goals this past junior season with a knack to always find his way into the offensive danger zones.
Still just 17, and won't turn 18 until August, Murtagh is one of the youngest prospects in the draft class, and will also be on his way to Boston University in the NCAA.
Murtagh is listed at 6'1" and 198 pounds.
Once again, the Flyers take another pick with size.
• Round 2, No. 48 (from Calgary) – RW Shane Vansaghi, Michigan State (NCAA): A six-goal and 16-point scorer as a freshman for the Spartans, Vansaghi is another winger who uses his frame, his skating, and his shot to get the puck to the net.
The 18-year-old is 6'3" and 212 pounds.
See the trend here?
Vansaghi met with the media over a video call soon after his selection and confirmed that how he used his size to create space for himself was his greatest strength this past season. His skating, he said, is what he wants to improve on, mainly in his first three steps to accelerate.
• Round 2, No. 57 (from Seattle) – C Matthew Gard, Red Deer (WHL): A 19-goal scorer with a mean streak and commitment to checking, Gard adds another center to the Flyers' pipeline...at 6'5" and 195 pounds.
Yeah, the Flyers definitely wanted to get bigger with this draft.
• Round 5, No. 132 – LW Max Westergard, Frolunda Jr. (SWE): A 17-year-old winger from Finland, Westergard put up 19 goals and 50 points through 41 games in Swedish juniors this past season, bringing a two-way game that he'll continue to round out as he progresses up into the pros overseas.
He's 5'11, per NHL Central Scouting, making him the first selection for the Flyers all draft who has fallen below six feet tall.
• Round 5, No. 151 (from Carolina) – D Luke Vlooswyk, Red Deer (WHL): A defenseman who can move well and keep things cleaned up in his own end.
He's also 6'5". The Flyers went right back to size.
• Round 6, No. 164 – C Nathan Quinn, Québec (QMJHL): The Flyers capped off their draft with the 17-year-old center from the Remparts. Quinn posted 17 goals and 29 assists in 54 games this past junior season, bringing playmaking qualities that the Flyers hope will develop over time as a late-round find.
He's 5'11", per NHL Central Scouting, making him only the second draft pick the Flyers made next to Westergard who measured below six feet.
With that, the Flyers' 2025 draft is a wrap.
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