The Philadelphia Flyers chosen defenseman Maksim Sokolovskii within the NHL Draft on Friday night, with the twenty seventh overall selection. The defenseman is a towering 6-foot-7 skater from Kazakhstan. Flyers general manager Danny Briere revealed why Philadelphia took him.
“It is not a secret, we haven’t got a whole lot of defensemen,” Briere said, per NBC Sports Philadelphia.
“It is not a secret, we haven’t got a whole lot of defensemen”
Danny Briere explains why the Flyers went with Maksim Sokolovskii in the primary round of the NHL Draft. | @CureInsurance pic.twitter.com/OeU0VjFq16
— NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) June 27, 2026
“It is a guy that is not afraid to combine it up as well,” Briere added. “Long reach. We liked his progression last 12 months.”
A scouting report of Sokolovskii says that he has upside. He had committed to play on the University of Maine.
“Sokolovskii is the definition of a project prospect. He has all of the makings of a heavy-hitting shutdown defenseman within the vein of Jamie Oleksiak or Nikita Zadorov, averaging 20-plus minutes an evening and putting up around 20 points a season,” NHL.com reported.
Heading into the 2026 Draft, Briere shared slightly bit about his overall philosophy.
“Especially in the primary round, I feel we attempt to watch out, attempt to go along with one of the best player,” Briere said, per NBC Sports Philadelphia. “Because we’ve got a reasonably decent pool of prospects coming. It is not like we’re depleted; we still have some really good ones at almost every position.”
The Flyers are coming off a improbable season, that saw them return to the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the primary time in years. Philadelphia knocked out the Pittsburgh Penguins within the postseason, before getting swept by the Carolina Hurricanes.
This offseason, Philadelphia has been busy. The club traded with the Florida Panthers for draft picks. Briere has been open about his desires to make any deal that he feels will help his team.
“Absolutely,” Briere said. “Every part’s on the table. It has to make sense. We would like to be sure that it helps us for the longer term; not only for one season or a number of months.”
Throughout the 2025-26 regular season, Philadelphia posted 98 points. The team finished +7 in goal differential.
The Philadelphia Flyers chosen defenseman Maksim Sokolovskii within the NHL Draft on Friday night, with the twenty seventh overall selection. The defenseman is a towering 6-foot-7 skater from Kazakhstan. Flyers general manager Danny Briere revealed why Philadelphia took him. “It is not a secret, we haven’t got a whole lot of defensemen,” Briere said, per NBC Sports Philadelphia.