NHL Draft
Grading the Flyers Day 2 of the NHL Draft
The 2025 NHL Draft has come to a close, and the Philadelphia Flyers have ended with a haul of nine players. Seven of those selections were made on Saturday’s Day 2 of the draft.
It was a day that started very early with a long pause in between, but the Flyers ended the day with a plethora of promising prospects.
Day 1 was an exciting and impressive day for the Flyers, so let’s see how the second day stacked up.
Read More: Grading the Flyers First Round of the NHL Draft
Grading the Flyers Day 2 of the NHL Draft
Trade: PHI Traded Picks No. 36 (R2) & 68 (R3) for Picks No. 38 (R2) & 57 (R2) – A+
The Flyers essentially traded back two spots in round two of Saturday’s second round of the NHL Draft to move up 11 spots, jumping back into the second round from their third-round pick.
Briere was able to get the better value from his first-round draft-night trade, and he did the same in round two. I would not say the Flyers fleeced Pittsburgh, but it was a damn near fleece of Seattle.
Briere was able to sneak back into the second round to get yet another guy in Matthew Gard, who the team was very high on.
Another excellent move for the Flyers.
Pick No. 38: Carter Amico – B+
Like the Flyers organization, I was very high on Carter Amico coming into the draft. Brent Flahr said it himself; he was pretty sure that Amico would have been a first-rounder if it weren’t for the injury.
I love the pick, I love the player, and I genuinely believe that Amico can develop into an absolute monster. That said, I believe they could have landed him later in the round and used this pick on a higher-value player.
However, the team was clearly very high on him. They traded out of the Blake Fiddler pick, likely because Amico was their guy.
The only reason Amico is a B+ is that I think they could have landed him at one of the other seconds. Aside from that, I love the player.
Pick No. 40: Jack Murtagh – A+
Jack Murtagh is another guy I have been very high on, including at pick No. 31 (when the Flyers owned it). There were a handful of names I would have been thrilled about, but Murtagh was the best option, to me.
There is something about those versatile forwards with a high motor, great hockey sense, and a willingness to shoot the puck. I am convinced Murtagh has middle-six C potential in the NHL, with possible second-line upside.
Another pick that I absolutely love. To me, it was the right spot for the right player. The Flyers absolutely nailed this one.
Pick No. 48: Shane Vansaghi – A+
Another A+ for the Flyers. How Vansaghi fell to 48 is beyond me. He is such a physical beast with high offensive potential; he’s really hard not to like. I personally had him as a first-round player, and I know I was not the only one.
While I do think there were definitely more skilled players picked before and after him, his frame and physicality will almost guarantee him an NHL role at some point. Developing at Michigan State under Adam Nightengale is certainly a plus as well.
The fact that the Flyers did not even have to move up for the guy was shocking to me. It was a fantastic pick.
Pick No. 57: Matthew Gard – C
Trading back into the second round was an excellent move by the Flyers; I am not so sure about the execution of the pick.
Look, I am not against the player. I am sure he brings much more to the table in the eyes of the organization than in my eyes. To me, it looked like the Flyers were reaching based on his height, which seemed unnecessary with the Nesbitt selection.
Gard seems like he has plenty of potential, but the players on the board at that time, Ivankovic and Ryabkin specifically, make me wonder if it was the right selection.
Read More: Flyers Make Four Picks in Round 2 of the NHL Draft
Pick No. 132: Max Westgard – A
Any time you can get a point-per-game-plus player from the J20 in the fifth round, you’ve got an absolute steal.
At the moment, I wrote that I was trying to figure out what was wrong with him, as he was still available in round five. In fact, I am still looking for that reason.
He is not super small, he can clearly produce, he is super young, and looks to have an extremely high hockey IQ. I still can’t find the flaw that dropped him. For right now, the pick gets an A.
Pick No. 157: Luke Vlooswyk – B
The Flyers selected Luke Vlooswyk pretty much at his value in the draft. I won’t lie, he seems like a pretty solid pick. He projects as a shutdown defender; he is big in stature and uses his size to push opponents toward the wall, creating turnovers.
Would I have preferred a goalie, especially given this was about the last spot a worthwhile netminder would have been available? Absolutely. However, I cannot be mad about a 6’4″ shutdown defenseman.
Don’t exactly know the next step in his development, but I’d have to assume it is to remain in the WHL with Red Deer. It was a swing, but again, that’s what late-round picks are for.
Pick No. 164: Nathan Quinn – N/A
I am going to remain neutral on this one and not grade the pick. I still don’t know too much about Nathatn Quinn, but I will sooner or later.
What I can say, Nathan’s from the QJMHL turn out pretty ok.
As I mentioned after the pick, my very brief research led me to read that Quinn does the little things right, which is something coaches love. For a late-round pick in the NHL Draft, it is the perfect time to get a high-upside guy.
Overall Flyers NHL Draft Grade: A+
The 2025 NHL Draft was a job well done by the Philadelphia Flyers front office.
Read More: Flyers Round Out 2025 NHL Draft Class With Three Late Round Selections
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Hope Amico’s knees do not cause him any future problems and he develops into that pair one or two d-man.
Flags seems real confident in the medicals
TBH, was really hoping that they would have taken Fiddler when he was there with the first 2nd rounder. It seemed he had more offensive upside to his game than Amico does. At 6’4” 210 lbs, not too shabby either if the size played into it, as it seemed to have a constant theme for their entire draft. Also eliminating the knee issue for Amico.
I thought so, too, and was a little mad they passed on him, but when I saw Amico’s size and that he may have been a first rounder except for the injury, I felt better about it.
Happy with their picks obviously wthey were going after size and grit which makes me happy,but I wish they looking goalnetting too
Good moves and good picks. I love that they mostly went after big players. As usual, it’s wait and see if they develop into anything, but it was a good draft. Now they need a goalie (supposedly, NJ’s Jake Allen is the prime possibility). I would love to see Shabanov signed and a defenseman via trade or free agency.
They decided to pass on drafting a goalie……not sure this has happened often with them…but the last two drafts it has.
Plus no left-hand defenseman shooter….I suppose with Andrae, York, Ginning, McDonald Zamula and veterans Sanheim and Seeler, they felt they were stocked with them and with some youth on their side there.
Giving up two first rounders to move up a few spots was a disaster. Nesbitt would likely have been around at #22 And trading out of #36 when Blake Fiddler was there only to grab Amico two spot later was poor. Fiddler was a consensus first round pick. And reaching for Gard when Ivankovic was there…
Yet you give this draft an A???? Those three moves drop this to a C+.
I still can get over the fact that they traded two first round picks to grab someone off the board. Can you imagine what this team would have had they given up a first and second to move up??? What’s the purpose of acquiring all that draft capital if you are going to senselessly throw it away. It is beyond me how you think this is an A+. There’s something to be said for optimism, but you need your eyes examined. This was anything but a clean sweep.
Trotz said on live TV that he tried moving up to 12, but someone beat him to the punch and took his guy. Reports also surfaced saying Nesbitt would not get past Vancouver at 15, with other teams in between in play. Nesbitt was their guy, I respect the guts to go get your guy.
Amico was one of my guys in the draft, so I was pretty happy. I agree with Flahr’s assessment. Would’ve been a first round if it weren’t for the injury. 6’6” shouldn’t skate the way he does. Not to mention the physicality and offensive upside.
Gard was a head scratcher, I’ll give you that. I agree there.
The Flyers snagging great value in the late rounds is also great. Eyes are wide open.
If they traded two first rounders and landed on Hagens, sure. But Nesbitt? He’s not worth two first rounders in any world (save of Briere’s peabrain).
Value in the late rounds… What does that mean? Most players drafted beyond the second round aren’t bona fide NHLers. If we examine the five drafts from 2021 to 2017 (anything more recent doesn’t provide any data as the players are too young), you’ve got the sum total of 47 goals scored from all 24 Flyers picks selected after the second round in that five year span. If you remove Noah Cates, that figure drops to SEVEN goals. SEVEN.
Fact is that you need to hit studs in rounds one and two and jettisoning two first rounders to move up ever so slightly was dreadful. As for the later rounds, that’s merely wind (and an utterly misleading statement).
Be fair; that’s all that readers want. A+ is insane. Comes across as pandering.