With the 48th pick in the 2025 NHL draft and their first pick of Day 2, the Philadelphia Flyers have selected Shane Vansaghi from the Michigan State Spartans.
Vansaghi is a 6-foot-3, 212 pound right winger who’s a bit old for the draft year as an October 2026 birthday. He’s one of the more bruising forwards of this draft class, but he’s a really flashy offensive player as well for that player archetype. Vansaghi might be the dream player for a lot of modern hockey fans today – he’s a whole lot of the physicality that older generations prefer, combined with the play-driving and offensive puck skills that younger generations of fans usually prioritize. There’s real potential that Vansaghi has future fan-favorite written all over him.
Vansaghi just missed our Broad Street Hockey Draft Board, but he was No. 4 on our list of best players available after Round 1. He was frequently mocked to the Flyers in public mock drafts over the last couple of months, as tons of national writers made the connection to Vansaghi as a Flyers-type player. Vansaghi slotted in at No. 27 in the Elite Prospects Draft Guide, who had the following to say about the player:
“Vansaghi has some special in his game. Few are this willing to engage, this violent in their game, and one NHL team is going to be very happy to have him. It’s not just the hits. Vansaghi shows every part of the physical play chain. He lands those hits but also chases inside positioning and makes contact before arriving to loose pucks. He protects them with his frame, by extending an arm, walling off with his leg, and he pushes through checks, sometimes dragging multiple defenders with him. And he battles!”
There are some questions about Vansaghi’s overall ceiling, largely due to skating concerns. However, it’s not like the Flyers have been unable to fix this archetype in the past. It’s not a perfect comparison, but the Flyers’ work with guys like Tyson Foerster is evident of their ability to bring a flawed player’s skating skill to average, and letting the rest of the high-end skills do the work. They’ll look to do that with Vansaghi, and perhaps to an even greater extent Jack Nesbitt, so this is definitely an upside play here. If Vansaghi can improve on the skating? There is at minimum a really fun third liner here, with potential for top-six if things break the right way.
Overall, Vansaghi’s a really solid bet for the 48th overall pick, and a part of the continued trend of the Flyers beefing up in this draft.
