Latest news with #JackNesbitt
NBC Sports
30-06-2025
- Sport
- NBC Sports
Are the Broad Street Bullies coming back? Flyers go big at the NHL draft
By the time the Philadelphia Flyers are legitimate contenders again a few years down the road, they could have a lineup that makes the 1970s Broad Street Bullies proud. Six of their nine 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. Bloodlines After William Horcoff, whose dad Shawn spent 15 seasons in the NHL, went 24th to Pittsburgh in the first round, Day 2 of the draft was full of the sons and nephews of retired players hearing their names called. It started with Seattle trading up to get Blake Fiddler, son of Vernon, early in the second round. Eric Nilson, son of Marcus, went a handful of picks later to Anaheim. There were more familiar names picked in the third round: Artyom Gonchar, nephew of 2009 Stanley Cup champion Sergei Gonchar, to the New York Rangers, and Blake Vanek, son of Thomas, to Ottawa. Same with the penultimate pick of the draft, Aidan Park, a Southern California native and nephew of Richard Park, who went on stage in a hoodie and shorts after being taken by Edmonton. Italian history After Simon Wang became the highest-ranked China-born NHL draft pick when San Jose chose him at No. 33, Matous Jan Kucharcik made some Italian hockey history. Taken by Buffalo 103rd, Kucharcik is a Czech national but became the fourth player born in Italy to be selected. Seventeen birth countries were represented among the 224 picks, the most in 21 years. The 88 from Canada are the most since 2016.
New York Times
30-06-2025
- Business
- New York Times
The Flyers are pivoting on the rebuild. How aggressive might they be this week?
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — It's possible that the most captivating portion of the Philadelphia Flyers' offseason is already over. The club made a significant splash in acquiring Trevor Zegras from Anaheim last Monday, drafted a potential future top-line winger and second-line center in Porter Martone and Jack Nesbitt on Friday and added seven more players with a nice blend of size and competitive skill Saturday, earning them high marks from our experts. Advertisement With the start of the free-agency signing period looming Tuesday, the Flyers could approach this week simply in search of veteran depth to supplement their young core, particularly at the center and goaltender positions. If they want to be meaningfully more competitive next season, as is the plan, that's probably the minimum. It seems likely they will add at least one or two more players, even if they may not be the kinds of names that will get the phones ringing off the hook in the season ticket office. That said, the possibility for more headline-grabbing moves for high-end impact players remains very real. Flyers management, led by general manager Daniel Briere, has shown an ability to operate in the shadows. Most of their major transactions have caught the hockey world by surprise, from the Jamie Drysdale-Cutter Gauthier trade in January 2024 to the Zegras deal last week. Even Nesbitt acknowledged he didn't have much of a sense that the Flyers were interested in him before they selected him in the first round. The Zegras acquisition was notable in that it represented the first real pivot in the rebuild to what management hopes to be a perennial playoff team in as little as two or three more years. So the question is: how aggressive will the Flyers be when the market opens? Briere has said that the 2023, 2024 and 2025 draft classes would form the core of the farm system. That's why, for example, in his comments following the Zegras trade, he noted he was not willing to part with any of the team's trio of 2025 first-round selections to push that deal over the line. They were just too important. That was backed up by his packaging the 22nd and 31st overall picks to move up to 12th and grab a prospect they're high on in Nesbitt. It's much too early to draw any broad conclusions about those three draft classes, but there's no question the Flyers have a nice crop of prospects with the potential for some to emerge as regular, or even high-end, NHL players. The Flyers added a dozen prospects in the first two rounds alone over the last three years, with five first-rounders and seven second-rounders. One of them, of course — 2023 No. 7 selection Matvei Michkov — is already in the NHL. Martone could have an abbreviated path to the NHL as arguably the most NHL-ready prospect in his class. Jett Luchanko, No. 13 last year, has already played a few games in the league, and at just 18 years old, has the potential to become a top-six NHL center, while 2023 draftees Oliver Bonk, Carson Bjarnason and Denver Barkey will all turn pro this coming season. Advertisement It's a nice foundation. And the Flyers still have a virtually full complement of picks in the years ahead, with all of their own selections in the top three rounds in each of the next three years, as well as Toronto's first rounder in 2027 (top-10 protected) from the Scott Laughton trade and the Kings' 2027 third-rounder from the Andrei Kuzmenko trade. It's worth noting, though, that Briere has stopped short of calling the 2026 draft a vital one. They've already traded their fourth- and fifth-round picks in that draft, too. Might they be willing to part with more, in the right deal for a young player that could help them now and in the future? Briere left that possibility wide open two months ago when asked about the Flyers potentially pursuing restricted free agents via offer sheets. 'It is a tool that we are going to look into,' he said on April 21. 'It has to make sense, and the thing is, when you go down that route, you have to overpay for a player. I don't know if we are that flush with money that we can really be all that aggressive, but we are certainly going to take a look at it. If it makes sense, we will consider it.' According to PuckPedia, the Flyers are one of 12 NHL teams that can sign a restricted free agent to a deal between approximately $7 million and $9.36 million annually. It would cost them their first-, second- and third-round picks in 2026. That might be too rich considering they want to remain flexible for the 2026 offseason, but they're also one of 19 teams that can sign an RFA to a contract between a $4.68 million and $7 million AAV, which would force them to give up their first- and third-round picks in 2026. A signing of either magnitude (if it wasn't matched) would essentially make next year's draft a near wash, leaving them with no picks (or only a second) until the sixth round. But if it's for the right player, perhaps it's something they're willing to do, considering how many players they've drafted in the last three years, coupled with having five picks in the first three rounds in 2027. Maybe one solitary black-hole draft in a five-year span would be palatable at this stage, as long as it lands them a young player who could fit for now and the future. Advertisement As for potential targets, we speculated a couple of months ago that Mason McTavish might make sense, but the Ducks dealing Zegras probably takes him off the board. There are a few other pending RFA centers who could pique the Flyers' interest, though, whether it's the Winnipeg Jets' Gabe Vilardi, the Buffalo Sabres' Ryan McLeod or the Boston Bruins' Morgan Geekie — all young and, to varying degrees, still developing. The 25-year-old Vilardi, especially, is an intriguing player, considering his 6-foot-3, 216-pound frame and his ability to play center or wing. Vilardi posted 27 goals and 61 points in 71 games for Winnipeg last season. On defense, Bowen Byram, 24, has been a hot name in trade speculation around the league. If a trade doesn't materialize before Tuesday, might the talented, offensive-minded left-shot defenseman be enticed by an offer sheet? What about the New Jersey Devils' Luke Hughes or the New York Rangers' K'Andre Miller? The Flyers could also go for a more marginal player or two, too: An offer-sheet signing between $2.34 million and $4.68 million annually would only cost them their 2026 second-round pick, for example. Regardless, the steadfast refusal to deal future assets is seemingly over. Even if the Flyers don't go the offer-sheet route, just being open to it suggests they're willing to part with some of their 2026 picks in the right trade situation. Maybe they'll target a player already thought to be available. Or, perhaps it comes out of left field — just like the Drysdale and Zegras trades did. A team source said the Flyers 'are not too far off' on a contract extension for defenseman York, who is a pending restricted free agent. Might that mean they have already come to an agreement and are just waiting to announce it until after July 1? Hard to say, but I've also been told the club isn't worried about York signing an offer sheet with another club. As for Jakob Pelletier, the only other notable pending restricted free agent, Briere is already on record saying the club is going to qualify him. It's probably safe to assume the winger, who looked much more effective after John Tortorella was fired, will stick around for at least another season, too.
CTV News
29-06-2025
- Sport
- CTV News
Brady Martin, Jack Nesbitt picked in NHL draft's first round
Soo Greyhounds forward Brady Martin was selected fifth overall by the Nashville Predators. He celebrated at his family farm in Elmira, Ont. Soon after Windsor Spitfires forward Jack Nesbitt of Wiikwemkoong First Nation was selected 12th by the Philadelphia Flyers.
San Francisco Chronicle
28-06-2025
- Sport
- San Francisco Chronicle
Will the Broad Street Bullies be back? Flyers go big at the NHL draft
By the time the Philadelphia Flyers are legitimate contenders again a few years down the road, they could have a lineup that makes the 1970s Broad Street Bullies proud. Five of their eight 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. Bloodlines After William Horcoff, whose dad Shawn spent 15 seasons in the NHL, went 24th to Pittsburgh in the first round, Day 2 of the draft was full of the sons and nephews of retired players hearing their names called. It started with Seattle trading up to get Blake Fiddler, son of Vernon, early in the second round. Eric Nilson, son of Marcus, went a handful of picks later to Anaheim. There were more familiar names picked in the third round: Artyom Gonchar, nephew of 2009 Stanley Cup champion Sergei Gonchar, to the New York Rangers, and Blake Vanek, son of Thomas, to Ottawa. Italian history After Simon Wang became the highest-ranked China-born NHL draft pick when San Jose chose him at No. 33, Matous Jan Kucharcik made some Italian hockey history. Taken by Buffalo 103rd, Kucharcik is a Czech national but became the fourth player born in Italy to be selected. ___
Hamilton Spectator
28-06-2025
- Sport
- Hamilton Spectator
Will the Broad Street Bullies be back? Flyers go big at the NHL draft
By the time the Philadelphia Flyers are legitimate contenders again a few years down the road, they could have a lineup that makes the 1970s Broad Street Bullies proud. Five of their eight 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. Bloodlines After William Horcoff, whose dad Shawn spent 15 seasons in the NHL, went 24th to Pittsburgh in the first round, Day 2 of the draft was full of the sons and nephews of retired players hearing their names called. It started with Seattle trading up to get Blake Fiddler, son of Vernon, early in the second round. Eric Nilson, son of Marcus, went a handful of picks later to Anaheim. There were more familiar names picked in the third round: Artyom Gonchar, nephew of 2009 Stanley Cup champion Sergei Gonchar, to the New York Rangers, and Blake Vanek, son of Thomas, to Ottawa. Italian history After Simon Wang became the highest-ranked China-born NHL draft pick when San Jose chose him at No. 33, Matous Jan Kucharcik made some Italian hockey history. Taken by Buffalo 103rd, Kucharcik is a Czech national but became the fourth player born in Italy to be selected. ___ AP NHL:
