After profiling some Phantoms defensemen the past few days, we now move to the Q, where former sixth round pick Nathan Quinn has really surprised with his offensive level. An unheralded prospect taken with pick No. 164 in 2025, Quinn improved his stock within the Flyers organization with his offensive production with the Quebec Remparts, and earned the No. 21 overall spot on our Top 25 Under 25.
No. 21: Nathan Quinn
2025-26 Primary League/Team: Québec Remparts (QMJHL)
2025-26 Statistics: 34 G, 39 A, 73 Pts
Age as of 9/15/2026: 19
Acquired Via: 2025 NHL Draft – Round 6, Pick 164
How did Quinn’s 2025-26 season go?
With Quebec, Quinn put up the best numbers of his Canadian juniors career. For the Remparts, Quinn put up 73 points in 58 games, good for 1.26 points per game. Quinn’s 1.26 points per game were good for the 17th best rate in the QMJHL overall, and sixth among 18-year-olds in the league. The guys ahead of him include players like 2025 No. 4 overall pick Caleb Desnoyers, Ivan Ryabkin, Tommy Bleyl, and Teddy Mutryn. Point being, there were players in the same age group as Quinn (specifically Mutryn) that had very similar scoring rates despite much higher draft pedigrees than the Flyers sixth rounder.
Coming out of his draft year, the scouting reports that were available on Quinn noted his path to the NHL was quite unlikely. Reality is, Quinn’s a 5-foot-11 center that doesn’t have exceptional offensive tools, and is known more for his defensive engagement. That probably hasn’t changed, as his calling card with Quebec this season remained his deployment in defensive situations. The offensive evolution was an added and relatively surprising benefit, but there’s still a difficult skillset to project to the NHL here. Take this scouting report from Elite Prospects’ Hadi Kalakeche, who notes Quinn’s simple offensive toolkit at the moment:
“…The playmaking remains fairly rudimentary — more connector than playmaker, he takes available lanes and recycles possession well, but the next step is adding layered manipulation, look-offs, and more passing tools to his belt. He remains a highly promising two-way centre with great pace and sense, even though the size and contact details make the bottom-six NHL projection difficult. He’s in the Owen Beck mold, and Beck hasn’t taken off in the NHL yet.”
Quinn may have improved on the offensive side quite a bit this past season with Quebec, whether by adding a tick or two to his skating stride, improving his puck protection skills, or finding himself with the puck more in high-danger areas, but the archetype is a really difficult one to project to the NHL. Smaller, defensively-oriented centers who do not have a single elite skill usually are not in a bottom-six, so it makes the overall picture a bit murky for Quinn in the NHL.
Nathan Quinn (2025 Flyers 6th Round Pick) currently has 3 points through 2 periods as his Quebec Remparts lead the Rimouski Oceanic 7-2. Currently on pace to finish with 30 more points than last season. #LetsGoFlyers pic.twitter.com/AD978YRWCj
— Jay Money (@insiderJmoney) February 14, 2026
What are we expecting from Quinn this season?
It’s a real bummer that Quinn is returning to the Q, the weakest of the North American junior leagues by far at this point. There is just not a whole lot going on defensively in the league, so it can be somewhat difficult to judge what a player can do when the competition is so weak. Especially for a player that will be entering his age-19 season, a third full season in the Q is probably not going to help in evaluating the player (unless he tanks). If Quinn is going to be anything moving forward, he’s going to need to at least replicate the 1.26 points per game he put up in 2025-26.
There were rumors throughout Quinn’s season that he would be headed to Northeastern in 2026-27, but that is being delayed until 2027-28 now. Again, that would have been a real opportunity to see if Quinn’s offensive improvements would continue against tougher competition. If Quinn had gone to the NCAA and put up respectable scoring numbers at 19-years-old, we might be thinking about Quinn in a more positive light come next summer. We’ll see what happens this season with Quebec, but look for him to score at the same rate or better.
How does Quinn fit in the Flyers’ organization?
In a lot of ways, Quinn is still what he was to the Flyers organization as when they drafted him – a dart throw at the center position. Smaller centers who are known for their defensive reliability and are showing more offensive skills than expected will always be dart throws and long shots to make the NHL, but they are really necessary for organizational depth. Quinn may top out as nothing more than an AHL-NHL tweener, but that is a perfectly good outcome for a sixth round pick. He’s clearly behind guys like Jett Luchanko, Jack Berglund, and Jack Nesbitt on the center depth chart. Quinn is probably in the same tier as a guy like Heikki Ruohonen, but Quinn has a less clear path to a bottom-six role than Ruohonen does. All in all, we’d take the bet that Quinn is not going to factor into the Flyers long-term, but he’s an interesting long-shot chance that has the potential to take further leaps forward in offensive skills over the next few years.
What do we think Quinn’s ultimate NHL upside is?
The Owen Beck comparison mentioned previously might be a pretty good example of what Quinn will be in the pros. Beck is the classic swing guy between the NHL and the AHL. He’s put up .63 points per game in the AHL, while scoring a grand total of two points in 27 NHL games with Montreal. Beck’s fit in that lineup has always been murky, and he fits a similar archetype that Quinn does: a smaller center with no eye-popping skill. Right now, we might be looking at a similar overall upside to Quinn – a guy who gets into some NHL games but never makes a really high impact.
Or, if Quinn adds further levels to his offensive game, maybe you’re looking at a player that can play third-line for an NHL team. The odds that Quinn improves his offense that much are not high, but it is certainly possible and worth the flier on a sixth round pick. He’s already got lots of the defensive details and the hockey IQ down for a bottom-six role, but in order for an NHL team to justify putting a smaller center in that spot, Quinn’s going to need to continue his upward trajectory with his puck skills.
How we voted
… At No. 21
| Brad | Cole | Evan | Jason M | Kelly | Kurt | Maddie | Readers | Ryan G | Thomas |
| Cole Knuble | Nathan Quinn | Brek Liske | Spencer Gill | Ilya Pautov | Carson Bjarnason | Maksim Sokolovskii | Hunter McDonald | Matthew Gard | Maksim Sokolovskii |
For Nathan Quinn:
| Brad | Cole | Evan | Jason M | Kelly | Kurt | Maddie | Readers | Ryan G | Thomas |
| 18 | 21 | 19 | N/A | N/A | 14 | 22 | N/A | N/A | 17 |
