Are the Broad Street Bullies coming back? Flyers go big at the NHL draft

By the time the Philadelphia Flyers are legitimate contenders again a few years down the road, they could have a lineup that makes the 1970s Broad Street Bullies proud.

Six of their nine selections in the NHL draft stand 6-foot-3 or taller, including first-rounders Porter Martone and Jack Nesbitt. They overlooked smaller talent to get a hulking winger in Martone at No. 6 and traded up for Nesbitt, a 6-5 center, with the 12th pick.

“It’s a nice bonus that they’re both tall and will bring us size, as well,” general manager Daniel Briere said. “It just kind of worked out that way. It wasn’t a plan that we had in mind going into the draft that we wanted to get bigger. It just happened that way.”

Philadelphia's second-rounders were 6-6, 232-pound defenseman Carter Amico and a trio of nice-sized forwards: Jack Murtagh, Shane Vansaghi and Matthew Gard. Murtagh described himself as “a high-end workhorse.”

Their second fifth-round pick, Luke Vlooswyk, called himself “a big defensive, defenseman.” He said Gard, a teammate with the Western Hockey League's Red Deer Rebels, is “a big kid like me.”

Bulking up the prospect pool makes sense for the Flyers, who have a lot of smaller talent in the system, from budding star Matvei Michkov already on the roster to 2024 first-rounder Jett Luchanko, who played four games for them last season. They also just traded for 6-foot center Trevor Zegras and could use some size in their not-too-distant future.

After William Horcoff, whose dad Shawn spent 15 seasons in the NHL, went 24th to Pittsburgh in the first round, Day 2 of the draft was full of the sons and nephews of retired players hearing their names called.

It started with Seattle trading up to get Blake Fiddler, son of Vernon, early in the second round. Eric Nilson, son of Marcus, went a handful of picks later to Anaheim.

There were more familiar names picked in the third round: Artyom Gonchar, nephew of 2009 Stanley Cup champion Sergei Gonchar, to the New York Rangers, and Blake Vanek, son of Thomas, to Ottawa.

Same with the penultimate pick of the draft, Aidan Park, a Southern California native and nephew of Richard Park, who went on stage in a hoodie and shorts after being taken by Edmonton.

After Simon Wang became the highest-ranked China-born NHL draft pick when San Jose chose him at No. 33, Matous Jan Kucharcik made some Italian hockey history.

Taken by Buffalo 103rd, Kucharcik is a Czech national but became the fourth player born in Italy to be selected.

Seventeen birth countries were represented among the 224 picks, the most in 21 years. The 88 from Canada are the most since 2016.

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Jack Nesbitt, left, stands with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman after being drafted by the Philadelphia Flyers during the NHL hockey draft Friday, June 27, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

Porter Martone, second from right, stands next to NHL commissioner Gary Bettman after being drafted by the Philadelphia Flyers during the NHL hockey draft Friday, June 27, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

Jack Nesbitt walks to the stage after being drafted by the Philadelphia Flyers during the NHL hockey draft Friday, June 27, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

Porter Martone, second from right, puts on a jersey next to NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, right, after being drafted by the Philadelphia Flyers during the NHL hockey draft Friday, June 27, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

CHICAGO (AP) — Chicago Blackhawks forward Connor Bedard missed Monday night's 4-1 loss to Edmonton because of an illness.

The Blackhawks have been hit hard by a stomach bug going around their locker room. While Bedard was scratched against the Oilers, goaltender Spencer Knight and defenseman Louis Crevier returned to the lineup. Backup goaltender Arvid Soderblom also was available.

Teuvo Teravainen departed in the first period because of an upper-body injury. The Blackhawks are off on Tuesday, and coach Jeff Blashill said he would have an update on the forward on Wednesday.

“He could be OK. I just don’t know yet for sure. He couldn’t finish the game,” Blashill said. “We’ll go under evaluation here tomorrow and it might be something where he’s OK, might not be."

Bedard has 19 goals and a team-high 27 assists in 33 games. The 20-year-old center missed 12 games with a right shoulder injury before returning on Friday night against Washington. He had two assists in Saturday night's 3-0 victory at Nashville.

The Blackhawks also played without center Frank Nazar, who has missed 11 straight games after he was hit in the face by a puck during a 6-4 loss at Ottawa on Dec. 20.

“We’d prefer any of our great players in the lineup. But the reality is, when you don’t have them, you just come together,” captain Nick Foligno said. “It’s a game where you tighten up and do it for them, or do it for each other, or you play the right way. Today, we just allowed them to get their game right away. We didn’t make it hard on them.”

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Chicago Blackhawks center Connor Bedard warms up before an NHL hockey game against the Washington Capitals, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)