Flyers development camp: Alex Bump dominates, preaching patience with Porter Martone and Jack Nesbitt, and other takeaways

Jack Nesbitt capped the Flyers’ development camp Sunday with a Tiger Woods-esque twirl of his hockey stick after notching not just his second goal of the day, but the overtime game-winner as Team Brière stormed back from a 3-0 hole in the grand finale to beat Team Jones, 4-3, in the five-on-five scrimmage.

“[Jack] Murtagh made a good play on the first one, and I just put it up top after that,” he said. “But the game-winner, obviously, a nice shot, but [Owen] McLaughlin set me out there, and, no, I just saw space and went with it.”

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That entire answer sums up Nesbitt’s first rookie camp. Drafted 12th overall — after the Flyers traded away Nos. 22 and 31 to move up to take him — Nesbitt showed off his nose for the net, scoring the winning tally after he skated inside the left faceoff circle and snapped the puck over the shoulder of goalie Waylon Esche, the son of former Flyers netminder Robert Esche.

But Nesbitt, 18, also showed off his drive and competitiveness, scoring after he drove to the hard areas numerous times, showing off some good hands, and also throwing his body around and defending teammates.

“I love playing gritty. I love making hits, and I’ll fight if I have to. Once I put more weight on, that’ll even get better from there,” said the 6-foot-5, 186-pound center, who had a four-inch growth spurt around four years ago

And the Flyers agree.

“Jack is very smart, huge body. When he fills into his body, he’s going to be unstoppable,” added Wayne Simmonds, who helped coach at development camp. “I think of, to me, when I watch him play, a little bit of [Sean] Couturier.”

Nesbitt showed the fans in Voorhees how he accumulated 64 points (25 goals, 39 assists) and a plus-minus of plus-12 in 65 regular-season games for Windsor of the Ontario Hockey League last season. He had several scoring chances during the two days of competition and was often spotted making smart poke checks and defensive plays.

“He likes those dirty areas — you see him in those corner battles, he is not shying away from anyone out there,” Flyers director of player development Riley Armstrong said about Nesbitt, who will be returning to the Spitfires on Wednesday.

Skating and gaining weight are the two big things Nesbitt needs to work on this summer. He plans on doing just that with Windsor’s skating coach Kathy McLlwain and trainer Chase Ainsworth at Phoenix CrossFit Sarnia, respectively.

“Obviously, Jack’s a confident kid,” assistant general manager Brent Flahr said on Sunday. “You see the frame on him. He’s got a long way to go physically, as far as putting on weight, getting stronger, but I think in just this little blip here, you can see his hockey sense, his ability to handle the puck, his competitiveness, and the ability to play kind of in all zones.

“He’s an exciting player. One of those guys that every time you watch him play, you like more and more, and he certainly grew on our staff this year,” Flahr said.

Here’s what else we saw at Flyers development camp.

As The Inquirer has been saying since April, forget the pencil and grab the Sharpie: Alex Bump’s name will be on the Flyers’ opening-night roster. The 21-year-old left winger from Minnesota put on a show — and a clinic — during development camp.

“Bump has put himself in position, regardless of [Tyson] Foerster’s injury, where he’s going to be competing for a job,” Flahr said. “He has done everything we’ve asked him to as far as his collegiate career, his training since we’ve drafted him. And you can see the product out there for a young guy.

“He’s not coming to camp to hope to play one day; he’s coming to make the team. If he’s good enough, we’ll have to figure it out.”

» READ MORE: Flyers prospect Alex Bump has become a star at Western Michigan. The former fifth-rounder might prove to be ‘an absolute steal.’

A fifth-rounder in 2022, Bump has carried that chip on his shoulder. This past April, he helped lead Western Michigan to its first NCAA championship and at development camp picked up right where he left off.

He was consistently seen slicing through defenses, pulling his patented cut to the middle, and scoring. He bowled over Carson Bjarnason on Sunday as he crashed the net — the goalie flexed his left leg afterward but stayed in the game — and tried to be a team player by passing to Cole Knuble on a two-on-none that did not end up generating a quality scoring chance.

Bump scored the first goals of the three-on-three and five-on-five scrimmages, with both coming off the rush and up-and-over Bjarnason. On Sunday, he added another off a sweet pass from the goal line by Knuble, and on replay, it looked like he added another for the hat trick — which would have given Team Jones a 4-2 lead — but the referee said no goal and there was no review.

“I wanted to give it my all, give a good first impression to the new coaching staff,” said Bump, still sporting a shiner that probably came from a monster hit by Noah Powell on Saturday. “Obviously, it’s a fresh, clean sheet, so obviously I want to do that and give a good first impression.”

There’s a lot to like about the 6-3, 208-pound winger Porter Martone, and you can see why he was selected by the Flyers with the No. 6 draft pick.

Martone looked big and strong and was good off the puck. He has a wicked shot and made several key defensive plays — he batted down a puck at one point to break up a breakaway — and showed high hockey IQ, stopping Alex Čiernik in overtime during the five-on-five scrimmage.

» READ MORE: Top pick Porter Martone reunites with a Flyers legend at development camp, states intention of landing an NHL spot

“He’s a pretty confident kid,” Armstrong said earlier in the week. “He reminds me a lot of Tyson [Foerster] when I was coaching him with the Phantoms. So he has that little bit of swag to him, like he knows that he’s a good player, and I think that’s a good thing. I think you want a player that has that confidence within himself.”

There’s no denying that Martone, when he does hit the NHL as an everyday player, has the potential to be a star. The question is not if but when. He skated alongside guys like Travis Konecny, Travis Sanheim, and Foerster at the World Championships for Canada and didn’t look out of place. He dominated juniors this past year with Brampton of the OHL and is probably too good to go back to that level. But is he ready to make the leap to the big leagues?

“To see his maturity, he handles himself around the group and around you guys [the media], and he’s a pretty comfortable kid as far as that. So I think, once he gets with NHL players, he’s going to stand out that much more,” Flahr said. “I think he’s a player that, he’s always looking around, learning. I think the pace of his game is going to have to pick up, but you see the hands, the vision, the ability to make plays, and very few guys, even on our big team, can make. There’s a process. He’s a young guy. We’ve going to be patient, but we’ll see what he can do.”

Patience may be a virtue, especially in this case. Flahr added later in the chat with reporters that Martone “is pretty aware of where he needs to get to physically in order to play — and not just play, be a top player.”

Does Martone want to crack the NHL roster in the fall? Absolutely, but he is just 18, and, while he said he can play left wing, and did it a bunch this season, he is a right winger and the Flyers have, for now, a bunch of those.

“When you get to the NHL, things are done faster, the game is faster,” he said. “So, I think lots of things I learned this week [are] just, you know, different things we worked on in the practice, protecting pucks, picking pucks off the wall.

“I think that’s a big thing for me as a winger making plays on the wall, winning my battles on the wall. I need to work on everything as well. You know, these are NHL players we’re talking about. They’re the best at what they do. I can improve on lots of things, and that’s where this summer is big for me.”

Unlike Jett Luchanko, who signed his entry-level contract quickly after development camp, there may be a hold on inking anything for Martone. When Luchanko signed, it wasn’t possible for CHL players to head to the NCAA; that changed in November, and playing against older and more physically developed players in college hockey probably would have been good for the center. Martone has that option — and according to Flahr it’s not just the reported connection with Penn State — and a year in college hockey may amp up his game even more.

“He wants to play in the NHL, and that’s a discussion we’ll have to have with his agent,” Flahr added. “As much as we want him to play, we’ve just got to make sure we do what’s best for him.”

Selected last year in the fifth round by the Flyers, Noah Powell once again impressed at camp. Listed at 6-2, 205 pounds, he looked even bigger on the ice and was playing a big-man’s game as he continues to grow into a power forward. As mentioned, he absolutely leveled Bump during the three-on-three scrimmage and was consistently laying the body in between drives to the net. During one of the games, Powell took a stretch pass from Knuble and scored. He needs to keep working on his skating, but will play against top talent (i.e. schools like Denver and Western Michigan) as he heads to Arizona State — “A school that really, really wanted me, and they liked me for me,” he said — in the fall. …

How about them Spartans? Karsen Dorwart came ready to go as he hopes to land a spot in the Flyers’ lineup after making his NHL debut and skating in five games in April. Dorwart was flying as his jersey fluttered behind him — still looking like Mike Modano out there — and scored a bunch of goals in the three-on-three scrimmage. His buddy and former Michigan State teammate Shane Vansaghi may have just been drafted but is already built for the NHL and knows how to use that 6-3, 216-pound body. The soon-to-be sophomore was running people over all week and set the tone — the next Garnet Hathaway? — by throwing a big check on the opening shift Sunday and creating space for linemates Bump and Knuble. …

» READ MORE: Shane Vansaghi already leaving his mark on Flyers development camp — and the staff

Speaking of Knuble, he celebrated his 21st birthday on July 1 and started off his new year with a bang at development camp. A 2023 fourth-rounder, he was noticeable and was heavily involved in the scrimmage on Sunday, setting up Bump but also losing the puck a few times on grade-a scoring chances. Flahr called himself a “Cole Knuble fan,” adding about the Notre Dame player: “One, he’s such a smart player, but two, he’s got such a great motor, so competitive. He worked really hard on his body and on his skating, and I don’t think it’s average, he’s become a good skater now. And the pace that he plays at, and the ability to think the game at a high pace, make plays and strip pucks, and he plays on the inside for a smaller guy, which some of these guys aren’t willing to do.” …

There’s no denying Čiernik has the footwork and skating, but he just looked that much more comfortable and confident this week compared to last year. Maybe it’s because he’s a year removed from concussions? But he was moving well, outracing guys, and consistently making solid plays. He could go to the middle more, but his game should continue to improve, especially under the guidance of his new head coach, Sami Kapanen, in Finland this season. …

Selected by the Flyers in the 2025 draft, Max Westergård showed off his speed and skill, two key elements for anyone who is a smaller guy, while Murtagh’s name was said several times across the week — especially with his shooting and passing and as Flahr said, when “he’s not scoring, he can impact games.” …

Finally, Jack Berglund is someone Flyers fans should keep an eye on. He looked big and unafraid to drive to the net, scoring goals in both scrimmages, and setting the screen for Santeri Sulku — the best pickleball player among the prospects — on the game-tying goal with 37 seconds left on Sunday. Berglund should get another crack at Sweden’s World Junior squad in December, too.