The Flyers used the first round of the 2026 NHL draft to make a bet on size, edge and upside, taking left-shot defenseman Maksim Sokolovskii at No. 27 after moving back from No. 21. The trade gave them two extra picks, and it delivered the 6-foot-7¼, 240-pound defender they had been tracking for weeks.
The reason Sokolovskii was in their range was simple: he is not the polished, flash-heavy choice some teams chase in that part of the draft. He is a raw defender from London of the Ontario Hockey League who can overwhelm people physically, and the Flyers decided that package mattered more than staying put and chasing a safer name.
That decision also explains why his name kept surfacing around the club before the draft. The Flyers had been high on him since the NHL scouting combine in early June, and multiple projections had them taking him at No. 21. Instead, they slid back, collected extra draft capital and still landed the player they wanted, one they believe has a stronger NHL frame than his game may yet show.
What sold them was not just reach, but movement. Mike Taylor said Sokolovskii skates like he’s 5-foot-8, and that combination of height and mobility is what draws attention to a defenseman who was born in Kazakhstan and grew up in Russia. Jeff Marek went further, calling him the hardest hitter in the draft class, while Danny Brière described London as one of the better organizations in the CHL and said Sokolovskii “loves to go after a guy” and “likes to disturb.”
That said, the pick comes with clear risk. Sokolovskii is not expected to jump to the NHL anytime soon, and the Flyers passed on flashier prospects at No. 21 to take a player whose appeal is still tied to projection. He is the kind of defenseman scouts can explain in tools and traits, but not yet in finished results, which is why the trade down was as much a statement about patience as it was about preference.
For now, the path is defined. Sokolovskii will head back to the Knights in September and is committed to the University of Maine for the following season. The Flyers have bought themselves more swings in the draft and, at least for this one, a long runway to see whether a huge, aggressive defender can turn physical gifts into something more reliable.
