Earlier this week the New York Rangers officially completed the J.T. Miller trade by surrendering the No. 12 overall pick at the 2025 NHL Draft. The Pittsburgh Penguins were originally going to make the selection, but it was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers on draft night.
The Penguins have traded the 12th overall pick in the 2025 NHL Draft to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for the 22nd and 31st overall picks. pic.twitter.com/kx6sAGzRle
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) June 28, 2025
Now that the Flyers have made their choice, fans should no longer be feeling sorry about not having the pick, they should instead be thanking Danny Briere for fumbling the bag and making such a massive reach.
The Philadelphia Flyers selected Jack Nesbitt with their pick acquired from the Penguins, and it was the first "WTF" pick of the night. Nesbitt was ranked No. 28 overall in Elite Prospects' consolidated rankings, and was ranked anywhere from No. 17 to No. 52 overall among published rankings.
Jack Nesbitt goes 12th to the Flyers. Older, giant with a slightly above average DY equivalency. These guys are rarely more than a depth support player. 3C with some time as a 2C feels like the ceiling. If he reaches Martin Hanzal status... he may have reached his ceiling.… pic.twitter.com/HXnaUukTPl
— Byron Bader (@ByronMBader) June 28, 2025
The 6'4", 183-pound forward tallied 64 points in 65 games for the Windsor Spitfires of the OHL, and that does represent some improvement from the prior year. Even with that said, the Flyers had so many better options at this point of the draft, and they paid quite a hefty price for the privilege to select this player.
If we want to be realistic and look at this a little more objectively, you could say that the Rangers moving this pick cost themselves an opportunity at drafting a top talent like Victor Eklund, someone who was No. 7 overall on Elite Prospects rankings, but at this point in time I'd rather focus on laughing at the Flyers. J.T. Miller is going to help the Rangers more now than any draft pick would, and that's my story and I will be sticking to it.
It is certainly very early in the process and Nesbitt may develop into a player who really owns the Rangers, and there's a chance that I end up looking really very stupid. Wouldn't be the first time. But right now I will just decide to inhale the copium and tell myself that the Rangers conceded their pick, Kyle Dubas felt there was no one on the board worth taking, and he ended up fleecing the Flyers just for them to take someone who likely would have continued to be available later on in the draft.
For a Flyers' centric perspective of the pick, to prove that I am not just being a hater, check this out from Broad Street Buzz.