Flyers Trade up to Draft Jack Nesbitt at 12
Jun 27, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Jack Nesbitt is selected as the 12th overall pick to the Philadelphia Flyers in the first round of the 2025 NHL Draft at Peacock Theater. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
The Flyers have found their center in this NHL draft, and no, it isn’t James Hagens.
Daniel Briere made a deal with the devil, sending the 22nd and 31st overall picks to the Penguins to get their guy, Jack Nesbitt. He becomes the first 12th overall pick in the franchise’s history, although they were slated to pick 12th overall in 2024, they traded down 1 spot to select Jett Luchanko.
Nesbitt is your standard 6-foot-5 power forward that the Flyers could use, especially after trading for an undersized center in Trevor Zegras.
Most of the attention involving the Flyers and a center going into the draft revolved around the aforementioned Hagens from Boston College. To the surprise of many, Hagens fell to the Flyers at pick 6, but the team opted for the winger Porter Martone. The deciding factor could’ve been Hagens, standing at just 5’11 compared to Nesbitt’s 6’5. The Flyers got the best of both worlds in this first round. Martone as the team’s elite scoring winger and Nesbitt as an enforcer at the center position.
Nesbitt spent this past season playing hockey for the OHL’s Windsor Spitfires. The lefty’s scoring took a massive step forward following just 18 points in his 2023-24 season. In 65 games in his 2024-25 season, Nesbitt burst onto the scene with a 25-39-64 season, including 10 points in 12 playoff games. Nesbitt also played well in the World Juniors, scoring 5 points in 6 games for Team Canada.
He gets lots of praise from NHL scouts and pundits for his hockey IQ. Nesbitt, one way or another, finds a way to be in the right place at the right time. Whether that be using his frame to dig out pucks from the corner or putting that puck in the back of the net, he makes an impact everywhere when he’s on the ice. He’s not afraid to use his size and physicality in games and is bound to fit right in as a new age Broad Street Bully.
He’s not without flaws, as his skating could use some work, but he is full of potential in the NHL.
Briere and the Flyers brass had to have been very high on Nesbitt as to trade up 10 spots to acquire him. The price of admission for a top 15 was somewhat steep, with the Flyers giving the Penguins their last remaining first-round pick at 31.
The Flyers still hold 7 picks in the draft across rounds 2 through 6.
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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.
