Flyers draft: Grading the Porter Martone and Jack Nesbitt picks

ATLANTIC CITY — When they sat and spoke to the media around 10 days ago, Flyers general manager Danny Brière and assistant general manager Brent Flahr said that they were going to fill their needs — i.e., a center — and pick the best player available.

In the first round, they did both. The Flyers selected winger Porter Martone at No. 6 and center Jack Nesbitt at No. 12.

Of course, some would argue that they left the best player on the board in James Hagens, who went one spot later to the Boston Bruins, but after the acquisition of super-skilled forward Trevor Zegras on Monday, prioritizing Martone over a center makes sense.

Although Brière was adamant on Friday that getting Zegras did not change the plan, they felt they could not pass up the best winger in the class.

“It gives us more options, adding Trevor Zegras, another skilled guy who can make a lot of plays,” Brière added. “It’s exciting. It didn’t change, even if we hadn’t traded for Trevor, we still would have taken Porter at that point, at six in the draft.”

» READ MORE: Five things to know about Porter Martone, who has a Flyers poster on his wall and hockey in his blood

With a smaller forward group, the Flyers needed size on the wing, and the 6-foot-3 power forward would be the tallest winger on the active roster. Martone can score, drive play, be a playmaker, and is a leader that players will follow into battle. He currently wears the “C” for Brampton of the Ontario Hockey League, but has also worn it for Canada — winning gold — which just shows how much he is trusted in that role.

Martone means business — he was consistently seen around the NHL scouting combine in a suit — and brings a high-compete level to the ice, something the Flyers love. He also has a ton of connections to Philly and the team, as noted by playing with Travis Konecny, Travis Sanheim, and Tyson Foerster at the recent Worlds; he told The Inquirer in Buffalo he played golf with Konecny and sat next to Foerster in the room.

Brière said he talked to them about Martone and received a text from the “Travii” after the pick.

Speaking on Friday, Martone thinks his game is NHL-ready after competing at Worlds. And the Flyers GM said it could be a possibility based on his game and the fact that, unlike Luchanko, he is almost 19 years old. But the issue with Martone, and Nesbitt, too, is he needs to improve his skating. The Flyers are not worried.

“When you look at the strides — and we don’t feel it’s a fatal flaw — it made me think a little bit of Tyson Foerster when we drafted him; that was the big knock on him. He can’t skate. He can’t skate. He’ll never be able to play in the NHL. He’s way too slow, blah blah,“ the GM said.

“And when you watch Tyson play now, it’s not an issue anymore; not that he’s a speedster out there, but he doesn’t stand out. His skating is not a problem. You know, it was time and strength, growing into their bodies, especially when you’re 6-3, 6-4, 6-5, and in the case of those players, it takes time, but we believe they’ll get over it.”

Another plus? Martone models his game after Corey Perry and the Tkachuk brothers, which, as seen by the Stanley Cup playoffs the last few years, is a valuable and rare type of player that teams covet.

As for Nesbitt, his comparable is Dallas Stars captain Jamie Benn. If he can come anywhere near making that type of impact, that would be an exciting proposition for Flyers fans over the next few years when the team starts making postseason runs.

The Flyers also see Nesbitt fitting right into the team’s longstanding tradition of grit and work ethic.

“The package,” Brière said of what they liked. “The combination of the size, the grit, the playmaking abilities, the goal scoring already. We saw him play the second half of the season, he took a big step on a really good Windsor team. Saw him play a few times live as well. He was very impressive.

“I think he’s a little further away on his development than Porter [Martone]. We’ll have to be maybe a little bit more patient in his case, but I think he’s going to be a pretty special player and has the chance to be maybe even as high as a top-six or second-line center. So if he hits us as a second-line center, it’s going to be a huge asset down the road for us.”

» READ MORE: Five things to know about Flyers pick Jack Nesbitt, from his Indigenous background to his impressive height

Having a 6-5 center on the second line? That’s a pretty good get. But was it worth two picks later in the first round with high-end defensemen, quality goalies, and other big forwards on the board is the question. It’s obvious the Flyers wanted him — as they kept their interest pretty quiet — but it may have been a heavy cost.

Nesbitt likes to use that big frame to drive to the net and create space. Nesbitt was the Western Conference of the OHL’s most improved player, as voted by the coaches, which is a huge plus and showcases just how driven and how high his ceiling could be.