Nesbitt may have surprised some, but a former Flyer sees ‘a little bit of Couturier' originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
VOORHEES, N.J. — Jack Nesbitt was aware of the 2025 NHL pre-draft rankings.
“Definitely a little bit,” he said.
Some experts and scouting services had him around the top 20, but others didn’t. He was slotted as low as 48th on EliteProspects.com. So when the Flyers traded two first-round picks (Nos. 22 and 31) to move up and select Nesbitt at 12th overall a little over a week ago, the decision was probably met with a share of skepticism.
But Nesbitt didn’t sound bothered by it.
“I know I was ranked either 10 to 20 or even lower,” the 18-year-old center said Wednesday at Flyers development camp. “I just went into the draft knowing that I could be a first-rounder and if I dropped out of there, it’s OK, it’s just a pick. But I’m very happy about going 12th, I know a lot of people didn’t expect that. I’m very happy about it, proud about it and I’m honored to be in this position.”
Nesbitt sure looks intriguing when you see him up close. He’s between 6-foot-4 and 6-foot-5, he’s highly skilled with the puck and he’s just fine with playing in the trenches. On top of that, his hockey IQ is already there.
Wayne Simmonds, now a consultant for the Flyers’ hockey operations department, saw Nesbitt around four to five times last season while scouting the OHL. The former Flyer was once a teammate of a long, lanky center who developed into a Selke Trophy winner. Simmonds sees some of Sean Couturier in Nesbitt.
“Jack is very smart, huge body,” Simmonds said Wednesday. “When he fills into his body, he’s going to be unstoppable. I think of, to me, when I watch him play, a little bit of Couturier.”
On a loaded Windsor team that featured 124-point Ilya Protas and 119-point Liam Greentree, Nesbitt put up 64 points (25 goals, 39 assists) and a plus-12 rating in 65 games last season. He earned more and more opportunity down the stretch before adding 10 points (one goal, nine assists) in 12 playoff games.
The Flyers have gotten a glimpse of his physicality at development camp.
“He likes those dirty areas, you see him in those corner battles, he is not shying away from anyone out there,” Flyers director of player development Riley Armstrong said Wednesday. “Once he understands how to use his body and come out of the corner with the puck, once he gets stronger, I think he’s going to be a nice addition here in a couple of years.”
The 186-pound Nesbitt will have to gain strength and improve his foot speed as he develops with the Spitfires. He’s slated for two more years of junior hockey. After development camp, he’ll be working with Windsor skating coach Kathy McLlwain this summer.
“I think I grew, like, four inches one year maybe three years ago,” Nesbitt said. “It just came along the way and now it’s about putting the weight on. … Growing up, I was always the biggest guy on my team, so my skating wasn’t the greatest.”
Flyers prospects Denver Barkey and Oliver Bonk are familiar with Nesbitt from their matchups in the OHL. Nesbitt had four goals and four assists over six games against their London squad last season.
“Really big body, he has got really good hands around the net, he has got a knack to score,” Barkey said Saturday. “Every time we played him, I think he might have scored at least one goal, he’d always find a way to put one in the back of the net. So he has got a good knack for scoring. He’s not shy, either. He’s a big body, he plays physical, not afraid to fight and mix it up, as well.”
From February to the end of the regular season, Nesbitt had 21 points (eight goals, 13 assists) in 18 games.
“We think his upside is really, really strong,” NHL Central Scouting vice president Dan Marr said last month. “I think teams will step up for him. It was consensus with our group and I think it’s consensus with a lot of NHL teams.”
That could be why the Flyers felt they had to be aggressive if they wanted to grab him.
“I know he’s a player the organization was really high on based on the move that they made to go up and get him, they did that for a reason,” Patrick Sharp, a special advisor to the Flyers’ hockey operations department, said Saturday. “So far, very impressed with him.”
