LOS ANGELES – The 2025 NHL Draft concluded on Saturday and the Flyers wrapped up the two-day event with nine players selected over the seven rounds at the Peacock Theater.
Philadelphia went for size in selecting seven front line players and a pair of defenders. Five of their selections in the NHL draft stand 6-foot-3 or taller, including first-rounders Porter Martone and Jack Nesbitt.
They overlooked smaller talent to get a hulking winger in Martone at No. 6 and traded up for Nesbitt, a 6-5 center, with the 12th pick.
“It’s a nice bonus that they’re both tall and will bring us size, as well,” general manager Daniel Briere said. “It just kind of worked out that way. It wasn’t a plan that we had in mind going into the draft that we wanted to get bigger. It just happened that way.”
Philadelphia’s second-rounders were 6-6, 232-pound defenseman Carter Amico and a trio of nice-sized forwards: Jack Murtagh, Shane Vansaghi and Matthew Gard. Murtagh described himself as “a high-end workhorse.”
Their second fifth-round pick, Luke Vlooswyk, called himself “a big defensive, defenseman.” He said Gard, a teammate with the Western Hockey League’s Red Deer Rebels, is “a big kid like me.”
Bulking up the prospect pool makes sense for the Flyers, who have a lot of smaller talent in the system, from budding star Matvei Michkov already on the roster to 2024 first-rounder Jett Luchanko, who played four games for them last season. They also just traded for 6-foot center Trevor Zegras and could use some size in their not-too-distant future.
1. (6) Porter Martone, RW, Brampton (OHL)
1. (12) Jack Nesbitt, C, Windsor (OHL)
2. (38) Carter Amico, D, USA U-18
2. (40) Jack Murtagh, LW, USA U-18
2. (48) Shane Vansaghi, RW, Michigan State
2. (57) Matthew Gard, C, Red Deer (WHL)
5. (132) Max Westergard, LW, Frolunda Jr. (Sweden-Jr.)
5. (157) Luke Vlooswyk, D, Red Deer (WHL)
6. (164) Nathan Quinn, C, Quebec (QMJHL)
The Flyers will open the 2025-26 schedule with a training camp in September and seven preseason games from September 21 through October 4. The NHL regular season schedule will be announced in July.