VOORHEES, N.J. — The Flyers wrapped up 2025 development camp Sunday with an entertaining 5-on-5 scrimmage.
Fans made their way to Flyers Training Center to watch from the stands and along the boards.
The two squads were named after president of hockey operations Keith Jones and general manager Danny Briere. Rallying from a 3-0 deficit, Team Briere beat Team Jones, 4-3, in overtime.
Alex Bump and Jack Nesbitt each scored two goals. Jack Berglund, Santeri Sulku and Matteo Giampa also found the back of the net.
“There are lots of good players here,” 2025 sixth overall pick Porter Martone said Sunday. “There are guys that have played in the NHL, there are guys that have won national championships in college, guys who have won Memorial Cups. I think there’s a great prospect pool here.”
More: Martone makes Simmonds smile, has mindset of making Flyers’ lineup in October
Let’s get into three observations from the scrimmage.
Bump up the jam
Bump, a 21-year-old winger who has impressively climbed in the Flyers’ system, was a big-time standout.
He opened the scoring and then tacked on another off a quick release from just inside the circle. Cole Knuble and Shane Vansaghi made great plays to set up Bump’s second goal, which put Team Jones ahead 3-0.
With a breakaway later in the scrimmage, Bump nearly completed a hat trick, but he hit the crossbar on a soft flip.
While it may have been expected, Bump looked like the best player in development camp. He has a legitimate chance to crack the Flyers’ roster when training camp arrives in September, especially with some uncertainty surrounding Tyson Foerster’s status.
“Bump has put himself in position regardless of Foerster’s injury, where he’s going to be competing for a job,” Flyers assistant general manager Brent Flahr said Sunday. “He has done everything we’ve asked him to as far as his collegiate career, his training since we’ve drafted him. And you can see the product out there for a young guy.
“He’s not coming to camp to hope to play one day; he’s coming to make the team. If he’s good enough, we’ll have to figure it out.”
The Prior Lake, Minnesota product has gone from the fifth round of the 2022 NHL draft to knocking at the Flyers’ door.
“I’ve come a long way, for sure,” Bump said Sunday. “It went by fast, too. This is my fourth dev camp. Just tried to execute what they told me to do. They wanted me to improve my skating, get bigger, stronger, faster so I can hold onto pucks longer, and I think I’ve done that. Obviously keep improving it.”
He’ll try to continue to open the eyes of the Flyers’ new coaching staff in about two and a half months.
“I’m pumped,” Bump said. “First training camp, so I don’t know really what I’m walking into, but that’s why you lean on the older guys, too.”
Not bad, Jack
Nesbitt’s second goal was the OT winner for Team Briere. The 12th overall pick in the 2025 draft made a strong move before burying the shot.
Standing between 6-foot-4 and 6-foot-5, Nesbitt has excellent hands and likes to use his size to compete.
“Jack’s a confident kid, you see the frame on him, he has got a long ways to go physically as far as putting on weight, getting stronger,” Flahr said. “But just in this brief little blip here, you can see his hockey sense, his ability to handle the puck and his competitiveness, the ability to play kind of in all zones.”
The Flyers traded up to grab the 18-year-old center.
“He’s an exciting player, he’s one of those guys that every time you watch him play, you like more and more,” Flahr said. “He certainly grew on our staff this year.”
Nesbitt also seems like a great kid. He gave all the credit to his teammates for his goals. And if you watch any of his OHL highlights, he has no problem dropping the gloves to defend a teammate.
“Oh yeah, most definitely,” Nesbitt said Sunday. “I feel like I can stick up for anyone. If someone does something stupid out there, I’ll definitely stick up for them.”
He has shown he can play in the hard areas.
“I love playing gritty, I love making hits and I’ll fight if I have to,” Nesbitt said. “Once I put more weight on, that’ll even get better from there. Hopefully I can do that at the next level and I’m looking to put on a lot of weight.”
Another Jack at center
Maybe it’s because he plays in Sweden, but Berglund has gone under the radar a bit, even as a 6-foot-4 center.
He looked very good in the scrimmage for Team Briere and throughout camp. The 19-year-old plays a pro game and there’s some scoring ability.
“He’s noticeable from last year to this year,” Flahr said. “He has put on weight, he’s getting stronger, the skating’s coming, but he’s a strong guy, he’s a powerful guy. He’s very smart, he has the ability to put people on his hip, feel them there, hold them off. He controls the wall, he goes to the net, he plays a real heavy game.”
Flahr likened Berglund’s style of play to Mikko Koivu, who had a long and productive career, mostly with the Wild.
“He has got some of those same traits,” Flahr said. “Mikko was not the flashiest skater, but he was just a heavy, heavy guy, real hard to play against on both sides of the puck. Once he was down low, you couldn’t take it off of him.”
Berglund will be playing for Farjestad BK this season in the SHL, Sweden’s top pro league. Last season, he was unable to play for Team Sweden at the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship because of an injury.
“He’s in a great program over there in Farjestad, he’s going to have a bigger role this year, world juniors and hopefully he stays healthy this year,” Flahr said. “But he’s in a good spot to keep getting better.”