Even with sixth overall 2025 Draft pick Porter Martone leaving the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) for NCAA college hockey at Michigan State in 2025-26, the Flyers have a half dozen prospects in the three Canadian Hockey League (CHL) circuits. The following is a list of current Flyers draftees in the OHL, the Western Hockey League (WHL) and the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL).

2025 Draft

Jack Nesbitt (C, Windsor Spitfires, OHL): The Flyers moved up to the 12th overall pick in the first round of the 2025 Entry Draft specifically to take Nesbitt. Otherwise, the player would have been off the board at 13th (the Nashivlle Predators were set to trade up to that spot) or no later than 15th to the Vancouver Canucks. Consequently, the Flyers were willing to trade a pair of first-round picks (22nd and 31st overall) to get their targeted player 12th.

Nesbitt emerged last season as a pivotal player for the Spitfires, logging massive ice time down the stretch and in the OHL playoffs. The Flyers expect Nesbitt’s game to take a similar quantum leap in his draft-plus-one and draft-plus-two junior seasons to the comparative improvements he showed from his first to second seasons with Windsor.

The Flyers do not expect a fast-track development course to the NHL for the 6-foot-4 pivot. He still needs to fill out and add some explosiveness and refinement to his skating. That’s going to take a few years. However, the organization believes the finished product will be worth the wait.

Flyers general manager Daniel Briere and assistant general manager Brent Flahr have both said that they see a bonafide middle-six NHL forward down the line: potentially on the higher end of that ceiling. The center brings both nascent all-around skills plus a highly competitive streak.

The heavy ice time Nesbitt logged last season may have contributed to him slowing down a bit at the end. He had a so-so Under-18 World Championship for Team Canada. The Flyers secretly hoped the player might drop to the Draft range where he’d be available with the 22nd overall pick.

However, the Flyers realized by Draft Day that moving up 10 spots was the only way to get Nesbitt. Other teams were not thrown off his trail solely because he had a somewhat disappointing U18 tourney.

Meanwhile, there was a run on centers — eight in all — taken among the first 11 picks, Having taken winger Martone with the sixth pick, the Flyers made Nesbitt the ninth center (or center/wing swingman) chosen with the top dozen picks of the 2025 Draft.

Matthew Gard (C, Red Deer Rebels, WHL): The Flyers made four picks in the second round of the 2025 Draft. The organization chose Winnipeg native Gard with the 57th overall selection.

The 6-foot-5 Gard plays a physical and aggressive style of hockey. He works hard to be responsible without the puck on his stick. He is also willing to pay the price to battle down low or venture into the high-traffic areas. Gard could eventually play left wing if not center in the professional game.

The very early projection on Gard is that of an effective bottom six forward. However, there is some untapped offensive potential that has shown when he’s near the net. As he gains experience and more ice time in offensive situations, a scoring uptick may come, too. Gard has a good head for the game and is considered a very coachable player.

Luke Vlooswyk (D, Red Deer Rebels, WHL): The Flyers selected the 6-foot-5, 200-pound blueliner in the fifth round of this year’s Draft (157th overall). The Calgary native is a raw talent but has three traits that make him a player worth watching over the next few seasons: 1) the combination of being a rangy skater with a large frame, 2) being a right-handed shooting defenseman, and 3) the competitive moxie to be willing either to take a hit to protect the puck or to dish one out himself.

Nathan Quinn (C, Quebec Remparts, QMJHL): Born August 29, 2007, Quinn is one of the youngest members of the 2025 NHL Draft class. He made it under the wire of the September 15, 2027, birthday cutoff for eligibility. Quinn is a clever passer with a deceptive shot release. He has room to fill out his frame (5-foot-11 and currently listed at 173 pounds). He won’t be rushed.

2024 Draft

Jett Luchanko (C, Guelph Storm, OHL): The question with Luchanko is whether he will play in the Ontario League or the NHL in 2025-26. The 2024 first-round pick made the Flyers’ opening night roster last season and spent four games with the big team before he returned to Guelph. After his OHL season, Luchanko held his own (sometimes even more than that) in nine stretch drive games and seven Calder Cup playoff games with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.

Luchanko was unable to play during Development Camp or the 2025 Word Junior Summer Showcase due to a nagging but minor lower body issue. He’s expected to be fine for the 2025-26 season. A well above-average skater, clever playmaker and two-way player, Luchanko’s hockey maturity makes people forget that he only turned 19 on August 21.

Luchanko is not eligible for exemption to the CHL/AHL age rule. The revised Collective Bargaining Agreement rule that allows NHL teams to make one 19-year-old player exempt each year does not take effect until the 2026-27 season. Consequently, the Flyers have two choices for the player’s destination at the end of training camp: NHL opening night roster or back to Guelph. He can’t rejoin the Phantoms until his OHL season is finished.

Spencer Gill (D, Rimouski Oceanic, QMJHL): The Flyers were pleased with the progress the 2024 second-round pick (59th overall) made during the 2024-25 season. His combination of size (6-foot-4, 195 pounds as of last year’s Draft) and mobility got him drafted in the first place. This past year, Gill honed his game with and without the puck to enjoy a strong season (35 points in 51 regular season games, plus-20) in the Q.

Unfortunately, an ankle injury sidelined Gill during the QMJHL stretch run and the playoffs. The Remparts earned a spot in the Memorial Cup tournament but GIll remained unable to play. On the positive side, he is now fully healed. He’s added about 15 pounds of muscle since last season. Additionally, he earned a spot on Team Canada’s roster at the 2025 World Junior Summer Showcase.

Gill is a Team Canada candidate for the 2025-26 WJC. However, he faces stiff competition and will have a tough fight in upcoming months to play his way onto the national team. He turned 19 on August 17.