Things got crackin’ bright and early Wednesday morning as the Flyers opened their 2025 development camp at the training facility in Voorhees. The pace was high and the competition was fierce as the Flyers prospects took to the ice. These players are here to take their best shot at becoming part of the future of the Flyers organization.
The Flyers brass looked on from above as fans got a first hand look at several players who were recently drafted by the Club.
2025 Draft
At the top of the class were Porter Martone 6′-3″ drafted at #6, and Jack Nesbitt 6′-5″ picked at #12 overall in the 1st round.
The Flyers added a lot of size to their squad with the recent additions. In the 2nd round the club picked Jack Murtagh 6′-1″ at #40. Shane Vansaghi 6′-3″ #48. Matthew Gard 6′-5″ #57. Max Westergard 5′-11 #132. Luke Vlooswyk 6′-5″ #157. Nathan Quinn 5′-11″ drafted at #164.
Familiar Faces
Some prospects are already well known to the Flyers faithful. Jett Luchanko, Denver Barkey, and Oliver Bonk are on the roster but were not on the ice today due to maintenance. Alex Bump, Karsen Dorwart, Cole Knuble and goaltender Carson Bjarnason are back in town and were on the ice for today’s sessions. Goaltender Waylon Esche is a camp invite and the son of former Flyers netminder Robert Esche.
Standouts
The players you’d expect to stand out did just that. They come into camp with a bit more confidence which definitely goes a long way. A perfect example is Karsen Dorwart. Karsen played five games with the “big club” at the end of last season. Watching him today you can see why he was given that shot. The confidence was jumping off him as he plowed through the tasks at hand.
The recently drafted players also came in with a similar shine. That shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone, they have every reason to be riding high right now. That being said you can see some players who are struggling a bit to keep up with the competition.
There’s so much nervous excitement in getting a chance like this. These young athletes are attempting to break into the most elite hockey league on the planet. The skill level is high in this group to say the least. Some players are just further along than others and that is to be expected. Just to have made it this far is something most players will only dream of.
Skating
Skating is always a focus on the first day of development camp and today was no exception. Cara Morey was on hand again to run the show. Cara is the head coach of Princeton’s women’s ice hockey team. She always keeps these guys on their toes hitting them with difficult challenges while they are doing their best to put their best foot forward.
Morey has not just a distinguished coaching career to her credit but is also an accomplished player as well. She achieved All Ivy and All America honors as a member of Brown University’s women’s ice hockey team. She won a gold medal with Canada’s under-22 team at the 2000 Nations Cup. She also played with Montreal and Brampton in the original NWHL.
There was another familiar and very welcomed face on the coaching squad today. There was a buzz among the healthy turnout of Flyers Fans as former Flyer Wayne Simmonds took to the ice. Simmonds has long been a fan favorite and he’s just the type of guy you want to see helping set the foundation of the young prospects.
Camp Schedule
Development Camp will resume Thursday morning. There are no on ice sessions scheduled Friday as it is the Forth of July holiday. There will be another full day of camp on Saturday leading up to a two squad scrimmage on Sunday evening. All sessions are free and open to the public.
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