Flyers add depth with 3 second round picks
Pending Boston University defenseman Carter Amico poses for a portrait after being drafted by the Flyers with the 38th overall pick Saturday in Los Angeles. (Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images)
After an eventful (and long) night one of the draft yesterday for the Flyers, which saw the team take Portor Martone at 6th overall and trading up to get Jack Nesbitt at 12th overall, the Flyers had an eventful start to day 2 of the draft as well. Armed with 3 2nd-round picks at 36, 40, and 48, Daniel Briere had plenty of ammo to work with. He had already traded one of those 2nd-round picks, sending the 45th pick to the Anaheim Ducks in a blockbuster trade for Trevor Zegras.
The trades wouldn’t stop there, however. The Flyers started the second round of the NHL draft by trading down with the Seattle Kraken, 2 spots from 36 to 38. The Flyers sent out the 36th and 68th picks to the Kraken in exchange for the 38th and 57th picks.
At the 38th spot, the Flyers got their day of drafting started with defenseman Carter Amico. The 6-foot-6 right-hander is set to play his college hockey at Boston University in the fall. As a member of the United States National Development Team, he didn’t provide much offense, scoring just 3 points on 3 assists. Where he struggles on offense, he thrives on defense and with his skating. He is a shutdown defenseman with incredible skating and stick positioning who can be lethal on the penalty kill if developed correctly. 38 is a bit higher than Amico was projected to land, but Briere was able to trade back and get his guy in the early 2nd round.
Two picks later, it was another Boston College commit in the 6-foot-1 Jack Murtagh. Murtagh was an elite goal scorer in his last season with the United States National Development Team. The definition of a shot-first mentality, Murtagh put up an eye-popping 165 shots on goal in 56 games. 22 of those shots would find the back of the net, along with 31 assists for 53 points. He did all of that while missing 10 games of his season with a shoulder injury. He’s got most of everything you’d like in an NHL forward. Size, speed, and an elite shot to pair with it all. He’s got a solid two-way game, and if he pans out like numerous NHL scouts think he will, he has the potential to become at least solid line depth for the Flyers in a few years.
With the team’s final 2nd-round pick, the Flyers opted to select the 18-year-old Shane Vansaghi. Vansaghi spent his 2024-25 season playing hockey at Michigan State University, where he’d play 37 games and have a 6-10-16 season. Shane Vansaghi is a smart hockey player more than willing to do the dirty work for his team. He’s got great vision with the puck on his stick and helps generate scoring chances. His speed is something that will need work at the NHL level. He’ll need to become more agile to thrive at the NHL level. He’s well-rounded on the defensive side of his game, but will need some work on his offensive game.
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Ethan Whitney
Ethan is a writer for Philly Sports Reports and a Color Commentator for Rally Sports Network. He has been a massive fan of all Philly Sports for as long as he can remember and wants to share that passion with the world. He is looking for a long career in the sports media sphere.
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