Flyers draft: Will Maddox Dagenais’ team connections earn him a first-round selection by Philly?

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.”

Flyers draft coverage

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• Brent Flahr on the Flyers’ draft strategy at 21 and more
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• Four defensemen to keep an eye on at No. 21

 

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.”

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.”