The Flyers closed out their second round with their second selection of the day, picking up goaltender Martin Psohlavec out of the Czech junior league.
🔶 WELCOME TO PHILLY! 🔶
— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) June 27, 2026
With the 62nd overall pick in the 2026 #NHLDraft, we are proud to select goaltender Martin Psohlavec. pic.twitter.com/dcSZZ9QtWm
Their first goalie drafted since 2023, Psohlavec stands out, above all, for his size. Coming in at 6’5 (but still just 185 pounds) he strikes an impressive frame, with still quite a bit of room to continue to fill out. There are some rough edges to his game, but combining that with his agility, there’s some intriguing potential upside there.
Once again, we’ll check in with the fine folks over at Elite Prospects for a longer look at his game:
“Martin Psohlavec was one of Czechia U20’s most dominant goaltenders this season.
Psohlavec’s appeal from the get-go is very simple: he’s big and athletic. The 6-foot-5 goaltender can jump into a split with strong ease. Possessing good form, he stretches his upper body into saves to further improve his range laterally. While his size affords him many advantages, Psohlavec always keeps himself square to shooters, displaying a really strong sense of spatial awareness in the crease.
He is perhaps one of the most engaged and effective puckmovers in the class, always looking for opportunities to move the puck up ice either after dump-ins or after stops. And he’s made progress in his hand placement, extending his hands further and keeping them engaged to cut off angles.
Psohlavec’s skating remains an area for improvement, as he’s a bit slow. This is very evident in his lateral movement, where he can only really rely on his athletic ability and competitive drive to make stops. At times, he lumbers in his recoveries from saves, including in his butterfly and from extensions. His post-play is also a work in progress, as he opens his seal when driving himself into the post. And when screened, he’s unable to find pucks with his glove hand; however, this can be fixed by holding his hands up higher and not draping them over his pad.
Though quick when transitioning into his butterfly, Psohlavec still drives with his right knee first, which keeps his five-hole open for a fleeting moment, and he struggles to read plays, making him too reactive at times.
Psohlavec is rather raw, but has decent flashes of athleticism and explosiveness. Coupled with his size, he’s a worthy bet at the draft. But the sheer rawness of his profile warrants a lot of uncertainty in his projection. He’s likely a late-round pick who projects closer to being organizational depth than a bona fide NHLer.”
So, in all, this pick has some potential but isn’t a slam dunk — but, of course, we’re getting into the range where those are harder to come by. The Flyers have a clear need for more organizational depth at the goaltending position — Yegor Zavragin is the only goaltender in the system playing outside of the AHL or NHL, and that’s made for a shaky lack of depth. If the Flyers can develop him into something closer to a legitimate NHL option, that would be stellar, but if he maxes out as a future AHL fixture, there’s value in that too.
