If you’ve been following the Calgary Flames and their prospects, you’ve probably noticed two general trends. First, they’ve drafted a slew of promising young players from the Western Hockey League and Ontario Hockey League. Second, they lack high-end centres in their prospect mix.

On draft weekend, one player that fits nicely in the overlap on the Venn diagram between “WHL/OHL prospects” and “centre” is Windsor Spitfires pivot Jack Nesbitt, who boasts size and skill… and could be available late in the first round.

Scouting report

A product of Sarnia, Ontario, Nesbitt is a January 2007 birthday. He’s a left shot centre listed at 6’4″ and 183 pounds.

After working his way up through local hockey, Nesbitt was selected by the Spitfires in the first round of the 2023 OHL Priority Draft. He became a full-time OHLer the following season. The 2024-25 campaign was his second full season in the OHL with Windsor.

Over at Dobber Prospects, in their November rankings – Nesbitt was 23rd – Kareem Ramadan described why Nesbitt was an exciting player:

If you haven’t heard of Jack Nesbitt yet, it’s time to take notice. The hulking centre’s emergence has been one of the big storylines in the early part of the OHL season and a major reason for Windsor’s rise as one of the best teams in the CHL. Nesbitt is an impressive puck handler with the offensive instincts to match his hands. Concerns over Nesbitt’s skating are overblown; his mechanics are fluid, and once he reaches top speed, he is a lot to handle at his size. Nesbitt thrives below the dots, using his size to protect the puck and attack the middle of the ice. He shows advanced patience and playmaking instincts, waiting for teammates to attack open pockets before threading a pass. His excellent combination of size, skills, and willingness to compete in the hard areas of the ice are why we have ranked Nesbitt as aggressively as we have, and he could very well climb even higher in our midterm rankings if his play continues.

In April, Daily Faceoff’s Steven Ellis had this summary of Nesbitt’s game in his draft rankings:

The Spitfires have a strong case to go the distance this year, which is great for people who want to see more of Nesbitt. He’s been playing some great hockey recently, aggressive but effective. He’s also shooting a lot, too, averaging five shots a game over his past five outings. He’s often been one of Windsor’s better shot generators, and while he isn’t putting up Liam Greentree numbers, he’s still going to finish at close to a point per game. He’s a big, 6-foot-4 center – teams typically like that. I wish he had more top speed, but I think Nesbitt has a solid ceiling.

Nesbitt might not be the world’s greatest skater, but he’s got size and skill. A lot of NHL teams will want that when they make selections at the draft.

The numbers

Nesbitt had 25 goals and 39 assists for 64 points over 65 games – agonizingly close to a point-per-game pace.

Among first-time 2025 draft eligible players, Nesbitt was sixth in points (behind Michael Misa, Porter Martone, Jack O’Brien, Malcolm Spence and Brady Martin) and seventh in goals (behind Misa, Martone, Martin, O’Brien, Spence and Kashawn Aitcheson).

Nesbitt was also one of just eight first-time draft eligible forwards to take 1,000 or more face-offs. He won 51.4% of his draws, slightly more than Michael Misa did by percentage. That’s pretty good company to keep.

Availability and fit

On public draft rankings, Nesbitt has generally appeared late in the first round or early in the second. He’s 30th on FC Hockey’s spring rankings and 30th on Daily Faceoff’s April rankings. Some rankings have him as high as 15th, but generally he seems like a decent bet to be available late in the first round, potentially when the Flames select with Florida’s pick.

In terms of hit: he’s almost the ideal late-first Flames pick. He’s a centre! (Check.) He’s big! (Check.) He’s from the OHL, one of the two places the Flames to really have success drafting from! (Check.) There may be centres with higher offensive ceilings available in the late first for the Flames, but don’t overlook Nesbitt: he’s quite good and could really provide some value.