No. 25: Brek Liske
2024-25 Primary League/Team: Everett Silvertips (WHL)
2024-25 Statistics: 7 G, 17 A in 52 G
Age as of 9/15/2026: 18 (1/9/2008)
Acquired Via: 2026 NHL Draft – Round 2, Pick 53
The first entrant in our list is Brek Liske, a brand new prospect entering the Flyers organization following the 2026 NHL Draft. Liske was an interesting selection by the Flyers with their second round pick, following up the selection of Maksim Sokolovski with a arguably more well-rounded defenseman in Liske. There’s lots to like with Liske’s game in the last 12 months, and where it could go as he progresses towards the pros.
How did Liske’s 2025-26 season go? Is his stock trending up or down from where it was entering the year?
Liske has spent the last couple of seasons with the Everett Silvertips of the WHL, and has slowly played his way into an important spot in the lineup. Over the course of those two years, Liske was primarily deployed in a second-pair to third-pair role, but when Everett’s Tarin Smith went down with an injury after the first round of the playoffs, Liske stepped up for the Silvertips. The guy who Liske was suddenly paired with at the top of the lineup? 2027 draft-eligible Landon DuPont, a player that is an early favorite to go No. 1 overall next year.
In the regular season, Liske was not the most productive defenseman on the offensive side of the puck, registering only 24 points in 52 games. This was a decent improvement from his previous season with Everett, where he only put up 11 points across 66 games. Once he was put next to DuPont in the playoffs though, Liske exploded for 17 points in 18 games. DuPont is an incredible talent and certainly lifted those numbers, but Liske was making plays with the puck in dangerous areas with more regularity than ever before. It was the most that Liske had ever played with a dynamic talent in the offensive zone before, and perhaps it was a flash of the level that Liske could reach as a complimentary piece to high-end talent. There’s a nifty set of offensive tools here, and Liske showed that with a few highlight-reel plays in the postseason. It’ll be interesting to see if Liske can build on his offensive skills with increased power play time next season.
OH THAT’S PRETTY! 😮💨#NHLDraft eligible prospect Brek Liske puts on the moves and nets his 3rd of the postseason! @WHLsilvertips | #WHLPlayoffs | #FeedingTheFuture
— Western Hockey League (@TheWHL) April 16, 2026
📺| @victoryplustv
🔗| https://t.co/ejuFny1mnK pic.twitter.com/QF9P5hG99B
On the defensive side of the puck, Liske played an essential role for Everett behind DuPont and Smith. He was the leader of the penalty kill unit, was given tough defensive matchups all season, and overall excelled at “killing” plays as they developed. He’s so smart with his positioning in the defensive zone and in defending oncoming rushes, knowing when to use the body and the stick, and quickly moving the puck out of dangerous areas. There’s such a foundation here with Liske for a good defenseman in the pros, fit perfectly to the way the modern game operates. There’s nothing too fancy about the way that Liske breaks the puck out of the zone. He’s a very simplified, straight-forward puck-mover that wants the puck on his stick for the lowest duration of time possible. It’s very translatable to the next level, and it’ll be really interesting to see if Liske can add some dynamism to his repertoire in the next couple of years. The foundation is already there, but how much skill he can add probably will determine his overall ceiling.
What are we expecting from Liske this season? What should we be looking for from him?
A .387 points per game rate is certainly not terrible (24 points in 62 games), but you’d like more out of Liske next season when he’s fully given the reins of the Everett blueline. With the departures of DuPont and Smith, Liske suddenly becomes the seasoned veteran on that Silvertips team. He’ll be given much more offensive duties, probably a consistent spot on the power play, and heavy minutes in general. If he doesn’t improve his offensive output, something probably went quite wrong. Look for Liske to get closer to the scoring he showed in the postseason than the rates he hit in the regular season, and it’ll be a massive improvement for the third-year WHLer.
Skills-wise, you’d like Liske to improve on his skating a bit. By no means is Liske a bad skater, but there are certainly times where his positioning and hockey IQ cannot make up for some skating deficiencies. He lacks an explosiveness that higher-end skaters and defenseman often have, especially when transitioning from the neutral zone into the offensive zone. If he can add a tick or two to his initial burst, Liske’s ceiling would increase a bit. He’s already shown decent puck skills, so improving the skating might be what unlocks greater upside for Liske.
How does Liske fit in the Flyers’ organization? Is it likely he’s going to be a part of the next good Flyers team?
At this far end of the list, and for a recent second rounder, the best answer is who knows if he’s going to be a part of the next great Flyers team. As we’ll get to in the next section, Liske is a really projectable defenseman that chugs along by making the smart plays. He’s never been the flashiest guy, but he’s also not so devoid of offensive skills that it’ll prevent him from making the NHL. There’s a workable archetype here that you can envision developing into a puck-moving No. 4 on the 2030s Flyers. He’ll theoretically be ready for the NHL right when Porter Mortone, Matvei Michkov, and the Flyers other young players are going to start costing a lot. If Liske can come in and be a cheap-but-effective young defenseman during those years, prospects like Liske will be quite valuable from a team-building perspective. There’s an extremely long way to go to get to that point, of course.
In the Flyers organization in general, Liske is a needed addition to the defensive depth of the prospect pool. With Sanheim, Drysdale, and York right now, the Flyers are pretty set for the next couple of years with the defensive core of the team. The Liske selection really helped to restock the cupboards on the blueline though, as most of the team’s higher-rated prospects were forwards prior to the 2026 Draft. Alongside Oliver Bonk and Maksim Sokolovski, Liske arguably rates as the third best defensive prospect in the organization.
What do we think Liske’s ultimate NHL upside is, and how likely is it that he gets to something approaching that?
Liske’s highest possible upside, funny enough, feels Cam York-ish. A cerebral, solid puck-mover that can slot in on a second-pair is exactly what York is, and probably where Liske would top out at the NHL level if all things go right. His brain is what is going to get him to the NHL, as he doesn’t have physical traits or attributes that are overwhelmingly strong. Smart blueliners that excel with their positioning in all three zones are some of the safer bets to reach their projection, but there’s always a chance that Liske’s development stagnates due to his lack of certain skills. As mentioned above, Liske’s skating is surprisingly middling for a player that moves the puck as well as he does. Maybe as he progresses, this really begins to hinder his overall play and the offensive game doesn’t translate at all. Feels unlikely though, and Liske’s archetype is a good one to bet on to make it. Overall, the Flyers have to feel good about having a safer prospect like Liske in the organization, and can feel reasonably positive that Liske might make an impact down the line.
How we voted
