With the 12th pick in the 2025 NHL Entry Draft, the Philadelphia Flyers select Jack Nesbitt from the Windsor Spitfires of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL).
About Jack Nesbitt
Nesbitt spent the 2024-25 season playing for the Ontario Hockey League’s Windsor Spitfires. In 65 games, he had 64 points (25 goals, 39 assists). In Team Canada’s journey to win gold at the U-18 World Championship, he only tallied five points. However, he scored three of those points (2 goals, 1 assist) in the semi-finals and gold medal game. He was considered one of the most improved players in the OHL this season, emerging to play significant all-situations minutes for the Spitfires.
Related: 2025 NHL Draft Tracker
Six of Nesbitt’s goals for the Spitfires came on the power play, two were at shorthanded, and he won 51.4 percent of his faceoffs. He added 10 points (one goal, nine assists) in 12 playoff games. From February to the end of the regular season, he put up 21 points (eight goals, 13 assists) in 18 games. The 6-foot-4 centerman improved his points total more than three times his total from last season. His mix of size and skill makes him attractive to NHL teams.
THW Prospect Profile Excerpt
“Jack Nesbitt is an incredibly smart centre who always seems to be in the right place at the right time. Whether he’s in the defensive zone picking off a pass to the high slot area to prevent a scoring chance against, or whether he is in the offensive zone and always knows where his teammates are for a shot on goal. Nesbitt also has the great ability to get lost in the offensive zone and become an open target for his teammates to pass him the puck.”
“Standing at 6-foot-4, Nesbitt prides himself as a power forward who is never afraid to go into the corners and retrieve the puck from the opposing teams’ defenders. He and his linemate Ethan Belchetz, who stands at 6-foot-6, were great forwards for the Spitfires as both of them used their size to their advantage by retrieving pucks either in the offensive and defensive zones and were able to send a pass to their teammates, resulting in either a clean defensive breakout or an offensive zone scoring chance.”
“Players like Nesbitt will always take longer to develop because of their size, and with him being a power forward, he may take even longer than usual. But once he has fully developed and matured as a player, he could be a dominant force for any NHL team. With his great IQ and offensive awareness, he could be a great second-line centre in the NHL who complements his top-line counterpart very well.”
Full player profile can be found here.
How This Affects the Flyers’ Plans
Building on the selection of Porter Martone, the selection of Nesbitt allows the Flyers to add another high-end skill player to their prospect pool. Nesbitt is also a player with nice size who plays with a ton of grit. He also has the possibility of being another point-per-game player, which is badly needed in their pipeline.
In selecting Nesbitt, the Flyers gain a prospect who has a great IQ and offensive awareness. He could develop into a great second-line center in the NHL, complementing his top-line counterpart very well. He brings to the Flyers a player with an impressive combination of size, skating ability, and a developing offensive skill set.
