Size Matters: Flyers Get Bigger, and Deeper, After Draft Weekend

On night one of the 2025 NHL Draft, the Flyers picked two players that shared a similar characteristic. Porter Martone is 6’3”. Jack Nesbitt is 6’5”.

Martone was widely regarded as a Top-5 pick, the top natural winger in the draft, and essentially fell to the Flyers at six. If they were going best player available, Martone was more than understandable for their selection, even with an abundance of wingers.

Nesbitt, on the other hand, was more of a surprise. The Flyers had traded picks 22 and 31 to move up to 12th, signaling a clear need to go up and get a player. Nesbitt was ranked anywhere between 17 and 40 in various draft guides and prospect ranking lists. But the Flyers liked the size, like the fit at the position, and had intel that Nesbitt wasn’t going to be on the board beyond 15. They found a trading partner, and Nesbitt was selected as a Flyer.

On Day 2, the Flyers doubled down on the issue of size. After making a trade with their first pick of the second round, moving back two spots to add another second-round pick, all four picks in the second round were 6’1” or taller, including 6’6” defenseman Carter Amico at 38th overall and 6’4” center Matthew Gard to round out the four picks.

Don’t let anyone tell you size doesn’t matter to NHL teams. 

It’s not hard to see that the Flyers were among many teams looking to get bigger in their prospect pool. Taking a page from the playbook of the back-to-back Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers – who only had three players under 6’0” on the roster this season – the Flyers looked for players that resembled the Panthers.

Martone’s player comparison is Matthew Tkachuk, another former sixth overall pick. Amico said he models his game after Seth Jones. Watching a team thump their way to success in the playoffs, with a blend of physicality and skill, was certainly on the Flyers radar.

“You watch the playoffs, it’s a grind,” assistant GM Brent Flahr said. “To be able to get to the NHL, you have to have a tremendous work ethic. And then to be able to have success in it, you’ve got to have that side of it. So the guys we drafted, and it’s part of what [Rick Tocchet] wants, it’s part of what [Keith Jones] and Danny [Briere] want. We want competitive people and I think we did a pretty good job of that today.”

These were certainly picks of a Rick Tocchet type of team. A share of power forwards in Martone, Nesbitt, Jack Murtagh (6’1”), Shane Vansaghi (6’2”), and Gard. Two big defensemen in Amico and Luke Vlooswyk (6’5”). 

As the second round opened, the Flyers had three picks and plenty of talent left on the board that could have easily gone in the first round. They made the most of the opportunity.

Moving back to 38th overall allowed the Flyers to move up to 57th as well, giving them four second-round picks once again. Amico was a projected first-round pick before injury trouble caused him to slide. Murtagh impressed for the US National Team Development Program and was a potential late first-round value they got at 40th overall. Vansaghi was even better, another late first-round projection that fell to the Flyers in the middle of the second round. And Gard, a player projected roughly in his selection range, gave the Flyers four players with similar qualities.

Big size. Endless motors. Skill. Physicality. A whole bunch of boxes the Flyers needed to check were checked.

“We were conscious of it but to be honest with you, those picks, they were all back to back to back, we weren’t just going for size,” Flahr said. “They were players that we targeted, and it was more of a coincidence that they all happened to be that size. But certainly something that we’re not against when we’re drafting.”

With the final three picks of Day 2, the Flyers took more of a chance. Selecting Max Westergard could become an incredible value for the fifth round. Vlooswyk and Nathan Quinn, taken in the sixth round, are more projects that the team hopes could amount to something.  

As expected, the player picked at the top is the player whose success matters most. And the Flyers got a good one with Porter Martone. He’s mature. He’s a leader. He’s got great offensive ability. And he’s got the size of an NHLer with potential for top-line minutes.

Of course, the Flyers passed over James Hagens to select Martone, which left the need for center open. The Flyers addressed that in the first round as well with Nesbitt. But Nesbitt is far from a sure thing at the NHL level.

The biggest area of improvement for Nesbitt is his skating. If he can put it all together, he may be able to be a solid second-line center. But it’s a risk, one that cost the Flyers two first-round picks and left some other valuable talent on the board.

What the Flyers did on Day 2 countered that, providing more depth. In the second round, you can afford to add those pieces. At 12th overall, it needs to amount to more.

The Flyers have a very good chance at hitting on Martone and getting another couple of worthy NHLers with their Day 2 picks. Nesbitt should be able to break through to the NHL. But it will be a wait and see situation to determine if Nesbitt hits his full potential, and makes the 2025 Draft a huge success for the Flyers.