Author: Jackie Spiegel

BUFFALO, N.Y. — The excitement on the other end of the phone from Nathan Quinn was unmistakable.

But this conversation, for the most part, wasn’t focused on Quinn, the Flyers’ sixth-rounder in 2025, who had a tremendous season for Québec of the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League. It was about his linemate, road-trip roommate, and buddy Maddox Dagenais, who is on the verge of being drafted into the NHL.

What if it were the Flyers snagging Dagenais at No. 21?

“Oh, it’ll be awesome,” Quinn said emphatically. “Just being at the [development] camp a couple of days after together, it’s another step to your life, too. If you want to make it to the pro level, being with someone that you know, you may be more comfortable [with], and of course, one of my best friends, so it would be an incredible thing.”

Ready to Start

Dagenais moved around a lot as a kid. It’s what happens when your dad is chasing his own hockey dreams. Pierre Dagenais was drafted twice by the New Jersey Devils, in 1996 and then two years later. The first time it was in the second round, 47th overall, and yes, Maddox and his dad have a little competition going to see which Dagenais is selected higher.

Pierre played 142 games in the NHL, mostly for the Montreal Canadiens, while also spending time in the American Hockey League and in Europe. The shuffling around didn’t stop the younger Dagenais from working on his own game.

“Every house had a net to shoot on,” he told The Inquirer, recalling some were in the basement, some in the garage, and others were outside, like the one he has today.

“Every night, just a couple of 100 pucks, even a thousand pucks … become natural with me to just go out there and shoot pucks with my dad or myself.”

And that work paid off as his shot is considered his biggest strength, with draft analysts like FloHockey draft and prospect analyst Chris Peters liking his release, and The Athletic’s senior NHL prospects writer Corey Pronman calling it one of the better shots in the draft.

Following a tough first season in the QMJHL as a 16-year-old, where he potted only 12 goals in 43 games, Dagenais stayed in Quebec City that summer to train. The potential was always there, but he learned that he needed to compete.

And at the end of this past season, Dagenais had notched 30 goals, making him one of 22 players out of the 521 to skate in at least one game in the QMJHL to hit the mark, while chipping in 32 assists across 62 games. He added another three goals and six points in 11 playoff games.

“He probably has the best shot I’ve ever seen, to be honest with you,” said Quinn, who finished with 73 points in 58 games. “When you give him the puck in the slot, or on his one-timers, it’s a goal almost every time. So it’s fun to play with a guy that can create space, but also put the puck in the back of the net.”

When he was drafted with the No. 1 pick into the “Q” by the Remparts in 2024 — the Dagenais’ are the first father-son duo to go first overall — he was a center. He is also listed as a center by Central Scouting, and did win 51.3% of the 545 faceoffs he took this past season.

However, the left-handed Dagenais actually spent the majority of the time as Quinn’s right winger. For one thing, Flyers general manager Danny Brière will like the versatility as Dagenais is being projected to play on the wing in the NHL.

So how did this happen? As the Remparts’ general manager explained it, centers look to pass the puck, and wingers look to shoot. He feels Dagenais is the latter, having put the fourth-most shots on goal in the league with his shoot-first mentality. And this GM knows a thing or two about scoring goals himself: Simon Gagné scored the 10th-most in Flyers history (264).

“[Whichever] team is going to pick him, he’s going to score goals for them. … The sky is really high for Maddox. … He’s a type of player that I’m sure the fans will love to have on their team, and I’m sure [the Flyers] organization as well,” Gagné told The Inquirer during a recent phone interview.

“When you look at your player like that, to where the ceiling is at, and for Maddox, I think he’s just starting … but the ceiling is really high for him. And he’s a kid that loves to come to the rink, loves to want to learn, and wants to get better. He’s a geek for that, so that’s always a good thing to see that from a player.”

‘Ring the bells’

When Drew Bannister first saw the 6-foot-3¾, 198-pound Dagenais on video, he wasn’t too sure of his game. The former NHL player and coach, who was figuring out his roster for Canada’s U18 team, thought he was being opportunistic and hung back a little behind the play.

Dagenais learned what he needed to do to gain Bannister’s trust. He changed his game and was one of the players who surprised the coach by the end of the U18 World Championship this past spring. Although he only scored once in five games, it wasn’t for lack of opportunity. “Just didn’t have any puck luck,” Bannister said.

Known to use his size and physicality to create space, he brought his reverse hits to the international stage with one scout telling Daily Faceoff after a big-time hit during the U18 tournament, “It’s kind of his thing. He’s terrifying.”

“Oh, it’s impressive,” exclaimed Quinn when asked about the reverse hits Dagenais can lay. “I remember one time in Moncton, I think the guy was like maybe 6-6 or 6-7 and like 230 and [he hit him] like the guy was like 140 and like 5-7.”

The two players, who play video games like Fortnite together and are always talking strategy, plays, and small details, usually stay on the ice after practice to work on things, but rarely is it the reverse hit; Dagenais said he is “not trying to hurt my teammates.”

Although it is a good tool to have in the toolbox as the reverse hit creates time and space on the ice for himself and his teammates, usually because the guy he hit fell, and now the Remparts have a five-on-four advantage for a few seconds at least.

“He’s a big kid. He’s starting to use his physique at his advantage now. … That reverse hit, that some Flyers fans remember with Peter Forsberg doing it, Maddox started to do that a couple times last year, and it kind of reminded me of … Peter Forsberg when I played with him,” Gagné said.

Dagenais knows he is a big body, and he focuses on using it to be physical and to create offense. He considers his comparables to be Buffalo Sabres forward Tage Thompson and Canadiens forward Juraj Slafkovský. He is a solid puck protector and can use his skating to his advantage.

However, while there are some small concerns about his attention to detail, one major issue that consistently pops up in conversations is that while he is physical and competitive, it’s only when he wants to be.

It’s something that will have to be buttoned up as his career progresses, because while there are some concerns about how impactful he will be, the consensus is that he will be an NHLer.

Now the only question is, where will Dagenais be drafted? Will he go earlier than the consensus expects, as Peters thinks? Will it be by the Flyers, who have kept tabs on the right winger this season? And if that does happen, who will be more excited, Quinn or Dagenais?

“He’s texting me every day about it,” Dagenais said at the combine in early June. “It would be nice if I were drafted with him.”

It’s that time of year.

The next generation of NHL stars will find out their destinations on Friday and Saturday at the 2026 NHL draft as teams work to fill the cupboards and holes in their depth charts.

As of Wednesday, the Flyers have four picks — one in each of the first, second, sixth and seventh rounds. The biggest question: Who will they grab at No. 21 in Friday’s first round?

Ahead of the draft, FloHockey draft and prospect analyst Chris Peters joined The Inquirer on the latest episode of Flyers Gameday Central to dissect the draft class, which players fit the Flyers, and what could happen in the next few days.

You can watch the full Flyers Gameday Central episode with Chris Peters below.

Q: Is there anything we’ve learned from the past couple of drafts with the Flyers that could suggest the route they’re going to go [at pick no. 21]?

A: Teams definitely have types, they have guys they like, they have the kinds of players they go after. I think when you’re drafting at 21 in the first round, you’ve got to be really diligent about your list and really stick to it, I feel like, because you’re just hoping to get an NHL player. … I think there’s a ton of intrigue about really from [picks in] the teens on down, where things can go, and at that point you’re going to see a wide variance in ranges of players on lists. And so you’re just trying to see whoever the Flyers have as the best pick, they might be really high on somebody else’s list, or might not be on somebody else’s list at all.

Q: Is there anyone in this draft class who fits the Flyers system at center?

A: I think it would be hard to pinpoint that. I do think that you look at guys that are centers that could potentially be wings, like Maddox Dagenais, a guy who’s all over the map in terms of draft ranges. He could be gone in the early teens, he could be gone in the mid-20s, but he is a center naturally, plays a lot on the wing though, and so I think a lot of people are thinking that he is more of a winger. … Jack Hextall, he’s a good two-way guy, high-energy player, had a really good strong season in the USHL this year. … A guy to really keep a close eye on, probably in that range, I think he could be available, there is Ilia Morozov, who plays at Miami [Ohio}. He’s a 6-foot-4 center; obviously the Flyers have not been afraid to draft some Russians, and he’s been a Russian who’s played in North America for at least three years and he’s been playing at a pretty high level, and had a great season in Miami. And the upside on him is just tremendous. So I could easily see a player with that size, skill combo being a really good fit for the Flyers.

Q: Maksim Sokolovskii is a name I heard in Buffalo as someone who the Flyers have a lot of interest in. There’s the London [of the OHL] connection, and he’s a giant at over 6-7. Is he someone they could reach on at 21 or is that too high?

A: They could, I wouldn’t. I think that would be Sam Morin part two. So I wouldn’t do that. I like [Sokolovskii] a lot, and I watched him in the playoffs a lot, and that’s where I think a lot of this late buzz is coming from, is that he was a really good shutdown guy for London in the postseason. And he was playing a physical mean brand of hockey, the kind of hockey that helps you win in the playoffs. I think that there is so little offense there … he’s too one dimensional defensively. The skating, it isn’t good enough for me to say, like it’s good for his size but like it’s not good enough, I don’t think. So, he has boom-bust potential too, because he’s got this massive frame, he has incredible reach. I think he thinks the game decently well, like I think he thinks the game defensively pretty solidly. I think he’s got good enough mobility defensively. And so I think he’s going to play [in the NHL]. The question is where does he go?

Q: Who’s the one player people aren’t talking enough about?

A: I would say people probably aren’t talking enough about Tommy Bleyl. It’s coming up more now, but the season that he had was historic. … And you talk to teams like, “Hey, I didn’t have him on my radar as a guy for us,” and there were some guys like, “Yeah, I had him as a pick, but no way was he a first.” And his postseason put him right in the mix as a first [round pick], and potentially even a mid-first round pick, and that’s a pretty significant jump from where he was at the start of this season. So, he’s a guy that I think is incredibly fascinating. The skating ability is about as good as anybody’s. I just think there’s a lot to unlock with that player yet, and I’m excited to see who takes him.

Q: The player you enjoyed watching the most this year?

A: One of the players I had the most fun watching this year was probably Nikita Klepov, even in the games where he was a little bit frustrating and a little bit out of it. I just think that there’s a real skill level to him. Another guy that just frustrates the heck out of scouts that I enjoyed watching was Egor Shilov from Victoriaville. Just the patience that kid has on the puck is really out of this world. The way he extends plays and finds the right read. He’s not quite competitive enough for guys, and I think that’s going to potentially knock him out of the first round. I did list him in the second round myself, but he’s a really intriguing player, too. I think the hockey sense is high-end in terms of the offensive game.

Q: Who is the best defensive defenseman?

A: William Håkansson is pretty darn good [at] defending. I think he’s a stopper. Sokolovskii is a stopper. … But like I look at Håkansson, I think he’s probably one of the most mature overall defenders. And then also at the end of that top 10, top 11, Malte Gustafsson is another guy where I just think the defending is outstanding. He’s such a complete player, and I’m really impressed by him more and more.

Q: The Flyers love high-compete and great motors. Who do you think is in that range of high compete, great motor kind of guy?

A: Yeah, I think Alexander Command is probably No. 1. Viggo Björck is up there too, but I think Alexander Command has the physicality, the doggedness in pursuit of the puck. Just the absolute annoyingness of just getting under your skin, and I think that there’s a lot to like about that player. The comp that I had for him was Brayden Schenn and I think he probably has a higher motor, even there. Brayden Schenn was physical and mean, and he could score, and that’s what I think Command can do, too.

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Before we delve into his story, let’s set the record straight right away.

Yes, Jack Hextall is a distant cousin of former Flyers general manager and goalie Ron Hextall. No, according to Jack, they have never met. So while some may either embrace or bristle at the thought of another Hextall donning orange and black, their only connection is a shared last name.

For now. Because at the 2026 NHL draft, the center Jack Hextall may join the goalie Ron Hextall as a player drafted by the Flyers.

Beginnings

Jack Hextall grew up in the small northwest Chicago suburb of Rolling Meadows, Illinois, when his dad Cory — a native of Saskatchewan and Ron’s cousin — settled there after playing hockey at the University of Illinois-Chicago.

The father and son would shoot pucks together at a net in the garage. “We got to put some plywood up behind the net, because, actually, my dad shot a puck through the garage,” Jack said with a laugh, adding that the pair thought it was funny. His mom, Jennifer, however, did not agree.

But now that her son is about to be drafted into the NHL, and has a chance of eclipsing his uncle, Donevan Hextall, who was drafted 33rd overall in the second round of the 1991 NHL draft by the New Jersey Devils, maybe she’ll be OK with it. After all, it was all those pucks that have led to this point.

Jack is days away from hearing his name called.

“This opportunity is so exciting, and it’s a really cool opportunity,” Hextall told The Inquirer. “It only happens once, so just trying to do the best I can and enjoy it.”

Hextall interviewed with 25 teams at the NHL scouting combine, including the Flyers, before finishing in the top-25 of five fitness tests — including the right and left-handed grip tests, which have become a staple for Flyers draft picks of late. It’s a hefty number of teams for Hextall, but it makes sense as the 6-foot-½ inch, 195-pound right-shot centerman has built his game into that of a late first or early second-round pick.

And while they do have centers in the prospect pool, the Flyers do not shy away from drafting them. Flyers general manager Danny Brière has said: “I don’t feel like you can have too many centers, because it’s much easier to move a center to the wing.” But unlike some other centers in this draft class, and while he has played center and wing, Hextall’s ceiling is as a middle-six center at the NHL level.

“Just reliable in that 200-foot game,” he said, when asked what he brings down the middle. “Not every center is 200-foot, and takes pride in the defensive side of the puck, and it’s something I’ve always done. I think high hockey IQ as well, not a lot of people have that high hockey IQ, and I think I bring that, and I think that’s special.”

Hextall thinks he reads the game well and pays attention to the little details, which has caught others’ eye.

“I think he’s one of the guys that you look at and you think that’s a center in terms of the details,” The Athletic’s NHL draft and prospects reporter Scott Wheeler told The Inquirer. “His bread and butter is how well-rounded he is. The details off the puck, up-and-under sticks, retrievals, board battles, he’s got pro habits.

“If you talk to the guys in Youngstown [where Hextall played for the Phantoms of the United States Hockey League], the first thing they say about him is that he’s a pro; this isn’t a junior hockey player, like a lot of these kids are. [He] does everything the right way, no selfishness to his game and he doesn’t cheat for offense.”

Although he said it would be funny to go from the Youngstown Phantoms of the USHL to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms of the American Hockey League — as a pit stop to the NHL, of course — he is off to Michigan State this fall. Yes, it’s the same school Porter Martone attended, and the one Brière has continually, and perhaps notably, praised. Hextall’s pro days will have to wait.

But it is what he did this past year that has eyes on him right now.

Feelin’ Stronger Every Day

Ryan Ward has known Hextall since he was 13 years old. The two met when the now Youngstown coach was on the bench for the Windy City Storm, a program that has developed several NHLers, including fellow Illinois native and Flyers assistant coach Todd Reirden.

Skating for the Storm’s 13U AAA team, a Tier I program, Hextall notched 39 goals and 103 points in 58 games.

“I could have told you back then, and I think I’ve told him and his family this, but I could see right away when he played for me, I was like, this kid’s special,” Ward told The Inquirer.

“He was very serious; he wanted to know why we do things, he wanted to learn, he wanted to understand systems, he wanted to watch video, and a lot of 13-year-olds, they’re not interested in that, they play the game or whatever, and then they go home and eat McDonald’s,” Ward added.

“But Jack, he was always interested in watching his shifts with me, or watching film. You couldn’t give him enough, and he’s the same way now, like after every game we sit down and we watch clips, and that’s just who he is.”

It was a no-brainer for Ward when the option came to snag Hextall for the USHL. In his first season as a 16-year-old in a league that has an age range of 16-20, Hextall dropped eight goals and 34 points in 53 games. This past season, across 59 games, he more than doubled his goals (20) with 38 assists.

That came after he finished with seven points in five games, including three in the championship game against Sweden, for the gold-medal-winning U.S. side at the 2025 Hlinka Gretzky Cup. It was the first time the U.S. won the tournament since 2003.

“He’s a super smart player. He’s obviously a 200-foot center [which is] pretty hard to find nowadays,” said his linemate, Blake Zielinski, a Berlin, N.J., native who is expected to be drafted on Saturday.

“He just played the game so smart and so dynamically, and I think we just worked well together, being that I can shoot the puck, he can pass the puck. He sees the ice very well, and I think I see the guys pretty well, and so we connected a lot.”

Although some believe Hextall’s pace and speed need work — Martone did improve this at Michigan State — to drive plays and forecheck, he is considered a good skater. A self-proclaimed “railroad skater” when he was younger, he has worked on bringing his legs more underneath him, spending time each week in Youngstown with a power skating coach. It is that growth and development that pops for Ward, who sees a player who not only wants to get better and better but is getting better and better.

The Athletic’s senior NHL prospects writer Corey Pronman told The Inquirer that Hextall was one of the best players in the USHL this season and was arguably USA Hockey’s best forward at the Hlinka. He likes his competitiveness, his attention to detail, and his ability to win battles and make plays. Ward calls him a blue-collar player and likes that his “brain is off the charts.”

Guess who else likes these attributes in a player? The Flyers.

“Every time, if his team would lose a small area game, like, he’d be screaming at me that I was cheating for the other team,” said Ward. “He’s just so competitive, he hates to lose. … He’s a leader the moment he steps in the room. He’s going to do his thing, and he’s going to work hard, and he’s going to push people to get better, and that’s ultimately like you’re talking about the Philadelphia Flyers. That’s the type of person you want in the locker room.”

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Alexander Command sees a lot of parallels between himself, the city of Philadelphia, the Flyers, and their fans.

“I’ve heard that it’s where the communities, like the people, are pretty hard-working. They do right by themselves, take no [stuff], kind of like me,” the Swede said with a grin and a twinkle in his eye.

Called one of the most competitive players in this draft class by Elite Prospects, the just-under 6-foot-1, 187-pound center commands — pun slightly intended — attention whether he has the puck on his stick or not.

A confident player with a big personality, the recently turned 18-year-old is a self-described hard-working two-way center with a high hockey IQ and compete level who is not afraid to get to the dirty areas. Although other pivots in the draft class are not projected to play the position at the NHL level, no one doubts that Command will play down the middle in the middle-six.

And yes, the Flyers, who met with Command at the NHL scouting combine — he said they mentioned how much they liked how he plays the game — have drafted eight centers — not including Denver Barkey, who played some center this past season — in the last three drafts.

But Flyers general manager Danny Brière has said repeatedly he doesn’t think you can have too many centers in the system.

The only problem for the Flyers, a team he feels a close connection with, is that middle-six centers seldom linger on draft day. And with the consensus that every team has him high on their list, the chances of Command being there at 21 don’t look promising.

Preparatory commands

Christian and Joanna Command first got Alexander on skates at the age of 3 or 4 in the northern Stockholm suburb of Danderyd, Sweden. They brought him to a public ice rink not far from their home because “they thought it was common knowledge to learn how to skate on ice,” Alexander told The Inquirer at the scouting combine.

“I found it very fun, but when I started playing hockey, I loved it even more.”

It didn’t hurt that his friends were also playing in a municipality that has produced four NHL players, with Edmonton Oilers center Mattias Janmark and retired goalie Jonas Gustavsson having played the most.

At first, Command was a small, skilled player who relied on his skating. But as his NHL dreams began to percolate, he was getting a little anxious about whether he was going to hit the imaginary bar that teams set when it comes to height.

That worry didn’t last too long because in the past two years, he hit a growth spurt. He added almost eight inches and more than 48 pounds right as he was moving two hours west of home to play hockey in Örebro.

“I was like, all the other guys that are moving [to play hockey] are like 10 centimeters [approximately 4 inches] taller. How am I going to manage? But once it came [and I got bigger], I was really happy,” he said, noting he was still the same player but was able to use his body more to his advantage and that, with the growth spurt, he still needs to work on his skating.

“I never went to the gym and ate so much food as I did in that period of time when I started noticing that I can build muscle.”

Command worked out with his uncle Christophe, who has been a personal trainer for 20 years, and as he grew, he started adding weight training. “It was a big difference,” he said, “and I think it’s from there that I gained so much muscle, because I trained the right way, ate all the right stuff, had my good night’s sleep every day, and had my mom’s home-cooked meals.”

He likes his mom’s stuvade makaroner, a recipe that calls for macaroni boiled in milk before it is eaten with sausage and ketchup, and the tacos she makes with chicken and mango. He used to struggle to finish two tacos, but in the last few years he’ll easily chow down on three.

Commands of execution

All the work has built an inner belief that Command can succeed as he continues to take steps in his career. It shines through with his big personality, which is a little uncommon in reserved Sweden, and has given him the mentality that he can compete no matter who he is facing.

It’s why Karl Kling, his coach for Örebro’s U20 squad, which plays in Nationell, Sweden’s top junior league, called his biggest strength his mindset.

“He always wants to go to the next level, so he’s always like hunting that next thing in his career, or in his game,” Kling told The Inquirer during a recent phone interview.

“It’s his mentality, because a lot of kids can shoot and pass a puck, but he’s very competitive, and he believes in himself. So, I think it’s his biggest strength.”

This past season, Command led his junior team with 44 points (17 goals, 27 assists) and 61 penalty minutes despite playing in 30 of the team’s 36 regular-season games. Kling said he was among the league’s best in the faceoff circle, that he plays with an edge and is intense, and that he was one of his most important players on the power play. Command added he likes to get under his opponent’s skin.

The then-17-year-old added another 13 points in 14 playoff games before the Vipers lost in the semifinals to Flyers prospect Max Westergård and Frölunda; they’d lose in the final.

During the season, Command, who says his comp is Patrice Bergeron, a former Boston Bruins center and six-time Selke Trophy winner, as the NHL’s top defensive forward, earned a six-game promotion to Örebro’s SHL squad in Sweden’s top league. He did not register a point.

However, he scored a bunch when he helped Sweden win gold at the Under-18 Men’s World Championship, notching seven points in seven games — the same numbers for another gold medalist, Jett Luchanko, in his draft year — while centering the top line.

“I think people were impressed by how he played at the U18s, in part because he had these two really skilled one-way wingers on his line, and he kind of had to do all the hard work — that would be [Elton] Hermansson and [Marcus] Nordmark, who are highly ranked players in this year’s draft,“ The Athletic’s senior NHL prospects writer Corey Pronman told The Inquirer in Western New York.

“That line had a lot of success, in part due to how Command played at both ends of the ice.”

In May, Command signed a two-year extension with Örebro that will carry him through 2027-28. The expectation is that he will play in the SHL, but Kling would welcome him back to the U20 team if he needs more ice time to work on finding a balance with his game.

Or maybe the next stop is the NHL? And could that be in orange and black?

“I’ve gotten to know their organization good, and we stand for the same things,” he said.

He added with a smile: “My cockiness and maybe a bit of my personality I think fits the Flyers organization and the people.”