Just outside of the top-ten on our list is one of the younger players to make an appearance here: Jack Nesbitt. We saw quite the consternation around his selection just over one year ago. With three graduations ahead of him from our previous list, Nesbitt slid up three places from his number 14 placement in the winter edition, and is making the jump to the NCAA for the 2026-27 season.<\/p>\n
No. 14: Jack Nesbitt<\/p>\n
2025-26 Primary League\/Team:\u00a0Windsor Spitfires (OHL)
2025-26 Statistics:\u00a025G 33A 58 PTS in 55 GP (7G 3A 10PTS in 13 Playoff GP)
Age as of 9\/15\/2026: 19 (1\/12\/2007)
Acquired Via: 2025 NHL Draft \u2013 Round 1, Pick 12<\/p>\n
How did Nesbitt\u2019s 2025-26 season go?<\/p>\n
Things started off on the right foot for our 6\u20195\u2033 center, as Flyers director of player development Riley Armstrong provided him a neat little trick about tying his skates<\/a> more effectively. Nesbitt chipped in most nights for Windsor, including a season-high five points in a 6-3 win over Brampton in November. He would finish third on the team in goals and sixth in overall team scoring for fifth seeded Windsor who swept their first two playoff rounds before being eliminated by Kitchener in five.<\/p>\n Nesbitt was held pointless in the final four games\u2013 his longest stretch of the season\u2013 but remained effective in the faceoff circle. On the whole, he took over 1,000 draws at a 58 percent win rate for Windsor while being really effective on the power play with 14 goals on the man-advantage. That\u2019s over half of his goals coming up a man, and while that could be cause for some concern about his even-strength effectiveness, those goals count the same on the scoreboard. The Spitfires cashed in 28.4 percent of their power plays with Nesbitt leading the goal scoring, good for the second best man advantage in the OHL.<\/p>\n Game 68 is going great \ud83c\udfa9<\/p>\n Jack Nesbitt has a hat-trick for the @SpitsHockey<\/a> as they’re looking to clinch the West Division crown.#LetsGoFlyers<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/0iKTCwBoeE<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Ontario Hockey League (@OHLHockey) March 22, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n While he wasn\u2019t invited to Hockey Canada\u2019s World Junior team over the winter, he did make the Summer Showcase roster back in Windsor, and will be vying to make the next WJC roster as one of the older players available to Canada over these next few months. Unfortunately, Nesbitt did not record a point in two games played in a bottom-of-the-lineup role, but he did win a \u201cplayer of the game\u201d award in Canada\u2019s final match against the USA. That could give him a leg-up on some of the other fringe players on Canada\u2019s shortlist to making the next junior team.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not the prolific scoring season that you might hope for from a guy drafted in the top half of the first round, but Nesbitt was always going to be a much slower developer. He matched his 2024-25 goal scoring in ten fewer games, and seems to have a knack for net-front scoring with his size. Nesbitt is still a few years away. <\/p>\n How does Nesbitt fit in the Flyers\u2019 organization?<\/p>\n The Flyers are missing their star center of the future. While it\u2019s not likely to be Nesbitt, the vision was clear with the pick: rebuild the organizational quality at center. Centers are a hot commodity around the league, now more than ever, and there\u2019s always a place for guys who play the role Nesbitt does.<\/p>\n Jack Nesbitt (2025 Flyers 1st Round Pick) snipes during Game 1 of the West Final against Kitchener. 7 goals through 9 OHL playoff games. Flyers got a stud.#IgniteTheOrange<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/WP7pP98MR5<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Jay Money (@insiderJmoney) April 25, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n If the skating improves\u2013 which the Flyers firmly believe is an issue of strength\u2013 we could see a pretty good player in Philadelphia to take over for guys like Christian Dvorak and Noah Cates. It\u2019s a long-term outlook for Nesbitt, but there\u2019s absolutely a world where he slots in as a cheap, young role player on a rising playoff team. He\u2019s one of the better prospects they have by any measure, and has decent pedigree as a former-first-rounder trade chip if Danny Briere felt the time was right to make a move. Nesbitt is a good prospect, he\u2019s just going to take a while to find his way.<\/p>\n What are we expecting from Nesbitt this season?<\/p>\n The Canadian center will make the move to the NCAA this upcoming year, committing to the University of Michigan<\/a> to play with the potential first overall pick in the 2027 NHL Draft, defenseman Landon DuPont. If that wasn\u2019t enough, there will be 16 drafted players on this Michigan roster outside of DuPont. There will be plenty of eyes on his games from all across the league and beyond, and more than enough talent to develop with on and off the ice.<\/p>\n \ud83d\udea8BREAKING\ud83d\udea8<\/p>\n The No. 27 ranked Canadian-born player in the 2007 North American Class 4.5\u2b50\ufe0f Jack Nesbitt has committed to Michigan! <\/p>\n The 6\u20195 and 185 lbs forward had 58 points in 55 games for the Windsor Spitfires this past season. <\/p>\n He was a first-round pick of the @NHLFlyers<\/a> in\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/kYd0VCYzBG<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Puck Preps (@PuckPreps) May 21, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n Like most players making the switch to the NCAA, Nesbitt will likely have to get used to playing against bigger, older players, and his numbers may not reflect his true talent level for a little while. To be fair, there aren\u2019t many players anywhere who are actually bigger than Nesbitt, he just needs to learn how to use his leverage against grown men this time. He could stand to put on a few pounds at just 185, but the height and reach are there.<\/p>\n It would be really encouraging to see him make Canada\u2019s World Junior Championship roster this winter, even if it\u2019s in a lesser role, and take that confidence back to Michigan for the rest of their season. He\u2019s likely going to be there for a couple of years, so it would be good to see him get comfortable.<\/p>\n What do we think Nesbitt\u2019s ultimate NHL upside is, and how likely is it that he gets to something approaching that?<\/p>\n We\u2019re one year post draft for Nesbitt now, who\u2019s been to two NHL development camps with the Flyers since then. Even the Flyers\u2019 most optimistic timeline for Nesbitt would\u2019ve seen him in college this season, so we\u2019re right on schedule for his overall development.<\/p>\n It doesn\u2019t seem like there\u2019s top-line, number one center material here, but with the size and the overall tools, it\u2019s easy to see why the Flyers felt it was so necessary to make the jump up and draft him (see: Roger McQueen to some extent<\/a>). We\u2019ll have a much clearer picture of his upside after this season, but in a perfect world, he\u2019s likely a middle-six guy who can be your net-front presence on the power play. Players like that will always have pretty substantial value in this league, and it\u2019s beneficial to have guys like this coming up with the growing salary cap.<\/p>\n With the skating concerns, there\u2019s definitely more bust-potential than with a guy like Heikki Ruohonen<\/a>, but Nesbitt has a higher offensive ceiling if it all goes well. He\u2019s going to have a big year in the weight room, and next summer, we could even be talking about Lehigh Valley for Nesbitt.<\/p>\n How we voted<\/p>\n \u2026at No. 11:<\/p>\n BradJack NesbittColeDavid JiricekEvanCarson BjarnasonJason MJett LuchankoKellyDavid JiricekKurtDavid JiricekMaddieJett LuchankoReadersJack NesbittRyan GNikita GrebenkinThomasJett Luchanko<\/p>\n \u2026for Jack Nesbitt<\/p>\n Brad11Cole13Evan17Jason M8Kelly9Kurt10Maddie12Readers11Ryan G10Thomas12
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