Several factors come into play before any team officially submits their pick at the Draft. Various club personnel try to align many pieces of the puzzle regarding what type of player they’re getting — sometimes there’s even an x-factor that can increase their confidence: knowing the prospect personally. For Los Angeles, they may know this potential pick better than most teams, considering the closeness of one of their top prospects.
Jack Nesbitt
Vitals
Date of Birth: January 12, 2007
Height: 6-foot-4
Weight: 183 lbs
Shoots: Left
Position: Forward
2024-25 Season
Nesbitt spent the 2024-25 season playing for the Ontario Hockey League’s Windsor Spitfires. In 65 games, he has 64 points (25 G, 39 A).
Best of Six
The native of Sarnia is part of a small subset of players within the 2025 draft class: he has strong indigenous ties. Only six players from this class can claim as much, and in Nesbitt’s case, he is from the Wiikwemkoong Unceded Territory.
Spit Partners
As mentioned in our introduction, Los Angeles has a top prospect who knows this player much more intimately than others. Liam Greentree, who the Kings picked in 2024, is Nesbitt’s captain. They also often played on the same line.
Making them Count
In Team Canada’s journey to win gold at the U-18 World Championship, Nesbitt only tallied five points. However, his production amped up in relation to the stakes, as he scored three of those points (2 G, 1 A) in the semi-finals and gold medal game.
Rankings by Independent Scouting Services
Ranked No. 17 by Sportsnet’s Top 64 Rankings: “Nesbitt has grown tall in his youth and has loads of room to add more weight and strength to his frame. It’s impossible to teach size, and Nesbitt has it in spades. He approaches the game with a combination of power and skill. He finished the regular season on a high note. In his last 10-game segment he produced 7G-8A while averaging over 20 minutes per game of ice time and being deployed in all situations. Nesbitt is a name to keep an eye on. It wouldn’t surprise me if a team stepped up on him before this draft slot.”
Ranked No. 32 by Scott Wheeler’s March Rankings. “Nesbitt was one of the most improved players in the OHL this season, emerging to play significant all-situations minutes for the Spitfires. He’s a big, tall, strong center who looks like a man and yet still has room to get stronger. He’s also strong in the faceoff circle, reliable on and off the puck, with some of the complementary skills you look for in a bigger pivot, including good hands in tight and on tips and a willingness to battle, go to the net and then release into the corners to get pucks back and go to work on the cycle. He’s competitive. He’s got some secondary vision/sense on the puck and reads and anticipates well on and off the puck. He’s physical and will drop the gloves. He works to track back. There’s a lot to like. He needs to get a little quicker and doesn’t pop as a one-on-one player but if he continues to make the progress he has this season he’ll have a long career in the NHL. He’s going to be a first-rounder in June.”
Ranked No. 23 by Bob McKenzie’s mid-season rankings. While there are no direct quotes describing his play, it’s important to note this is based on a sample and feedback of 10 individual scouts. The consensus puts him in the range of where Los Angeles is picking.
See For Yourself
Here is a video of Jack Nesbitt playing against the Barrie Colts:
Final Comments
Two pieces of data stand out with Greentree’s teammate: 6-foot-4 and 183 lbs. This is a tall kid with a lot of room to fill out on his frame, which would be more conducive to how he plays. Nesbitt has a long reach, and he loves to get the inside position on the opposition. He doesn’t go out of his way to hit someone hard, so there may not be a “true” power forward in the making. Yet, Kings captain Anze Kopitar made a career out of playing to endure rather than playing to punish.
However, a mean streak is still there at times. He had four fights during the regular season and one in the playoffs. There were also multiple four-minute double minors. The rough stuff isn’t always there, though, and when challenged with the puck, he will sometimes engage in passive play like dumping the puck or passing it to someone too soon. Inconsistent behaviors are completely normal for young players, though, so this isn’t an indictment against the big kid.
Nesbitt thrives on being a supporter of the play rather than a driver. He uses his hockey sense to move to open space and become a pass option or to intercept his opponent’s attempts. Combining his intelligence with his reach means he can disrupt a lot of ice.
As far as hockey fundamentals (shooting, skating, passing), there’s nothing specifically which stands out or is elite. The lanky forward creates more chances through finding others rather than shooting the puck himself. Missing a top-end skillset isn’t a disqualifier to being a top-six forward. It may just take some time to find his identity, which will also ftake form with improving consistency.
In the end, Nesbitt plays a 200-foot game. The coaches count on him in the penalty kill, yet he often will cheat with a zone exit – or he will wait at the opponent’s blueline in transition. Experience should hopefully hone his decision making. When the right choices are made, though, he uses his size and skills to make safe, smart plays. There’s an NHLer here. The question is how much the consistency improves to determine where in the lineup he’d stay in.
Chat with David: You can find him on Twitter @Davidenkness to talk more hockey.
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