The Philadelphia Flyers picked a whole lot later than we are used to and they utilized this 27th overall pick — after a trade down from pick No. 21 with the San Jose Sharks — to select London Knights defenseman Maksim Sokolovskii. He’s a big boy as the 6-foot-7 blueliner was taken off the pile of young prospects and taken by the Flyers to add to their increasingly large pile of players whose main characteristic is that they have size.
Sokolovskii is simply going for someone who is bigger than most other players and that can move fairly well for his size, but there wasn’t a whole lot of production to really grab onto. For the Knights last season, Sokolovskii scored two goals and eight points in 44 games. In the playoffs, he played five games and registered zero points.
It doesn’t give you a very nice picture of a first-round caliber defenseman. But with Sokolovskii, it’s more about the details. Which is why we have to turn to the experts who watched multiple games of his this past season to get their read on the player and projection into the NHL.
Scouting reports of Maskim Sokolovskii paint a certain picture
First, we turn to the scouting service that easily had the highest viewpoint of Sokolovskii: Elite Prospects. They ranked the large defenseman from Kazakhstan at No. 22 and think of him as someone who has some of the best skating among blueliners in the draft class, and obviously has an elite physical game, but with some average puck skills.
Elite Prospects
“With a shockingly deep skating stance, four-way mobility, and open-ice speed, Sokolovskii has about as large a defensive range as possible. Plus, he fully embraces the physical side of the game, constantly leveraging his frame and mobility. He hunts down opponents to slam them to the ice, set picks, and line them up for crushing hits. His skating allows him to quickly change directions and adjust to ensure the opponent walks straight into his shoulder. Reverse hits, heavy crosschecks, subtle pick plays, and locking up opponents on retrievals – he has it all,” the Elite Prospects 2026 Draft Guide reads.
“Increasingly, Sokolovskii is becoming a detailed defender, too. He holsters his stick to his hip, only to surprise the attacker with his reach when they get close. He angles opponents, rotates defending the cycle, and never lets opponents beat him to the net. Unlike other towering defenders, he’s quick to react and change course down low, often singlehandedly diffusing the cycle.
“There’s still work to do developing his finer defensive skills, particularly in tight. Quick opponents can get under his centre of gravity and knock him off balance. He’s occasionally late to recognize threats, and his aggressiveness does lead to some memorable misses.”
That read of Sokolovskii is fairly positive. When you consider he’s fairly young for his draft year, with a July birthday, there is some sense of a ceiling here that is a solid top-four defenseman. They compare him to someone like Nikita Zadorov, who is an everyday NHL defenseman in some sense.
They are honest with what he needs to improve on — which feels like just being better at anticipating in a high-pace environment. Basically a crusher that can line someone up and ruin the game for an opposing team, but there are some holes.
Daily Faceoff
Moving on to Daily Faceoff’s Steven Ellis in his rundown of his top-100 ranking, he also is honest and does not pull any punches.
“At 6-foot-8, Sokolovskii is absolutely massive. Nobody will mistake Sokolovskii for an offensive demon – he had eight points between 49 regular-season and playoff games. But he’s truly a terrifying human being when it comes to 1-on-1 situations – he makes it his life mission to kill you. I loved his play against the Soo Greyhounds because he repeatedly had to go up against top forward Brady Martin and succeeded for the most part. I really like Sokolovskii as a shutdown option. His lack of offense won’t make him attractive to every team, but the fact that he, as a defenseman, makes it his goal to stop guys at any cost should allow him to get to the NHL,” Steven Ellis wrote.
The important note is that Sokolovskii’s presence in London’s playoff series against the Soo Greyhounds is most likely where he tormented top prospect Brady Martin and completely nullified him. The newest Flyers prospect literally laughed in his face at one point after a post-whistle scrum.
McKeen’s Hockey
And finally, over at McKeen’s Hockey, they paint a picture of someone that you kind of want on your team. And if Sokolovskii was a second-round pick — even in the upper half of the second round — it wouldn’t be considered as far of a reach by some fans. But there is just something you love to see when a scout talks about just how he can deal with an opposing attacker so well and close him out, and then send the puck up the ice.
While, also noting that there are drawbacks and we shouldn’t be expecting him to suddenly break out and lead an odd-man rush up the ice.
“Sokolovskii has to be considered one of the draft’s premier physical players; simply put…he is suffocating. He can shut down the transition game with his four way mobility; he’s nearly impossible to get around with gap control that improved greatly over the year. However, he’s also so effective along the wall with his size and physical approach. Once he has you pinned, you’re not escaping his clutch. The very threat of his physicality influences the game as opposing players rush decisions rather than face the prospect of Sokolovskii run through them,” McKenn’s Hockey’s Brock Otten wrote.
“There are current limitations to his game and impact. His shot is not a weapon at all. He can still struggle with making clean passes or skilled plays in both the neutral and offensive zones. His understanding of zone coverage and when to be aggressive versus patient is still evolving. These things could point to limited two-way upside. However, there are also flashes of greater offensive impact. He can lead the charge in transition or escape pressure in the offensive zone. His skating and size combination can make him really difficult to stop. Additionally, you have to trust London’s ability to develop NHL blueliners. NHL teams are going to have the belief that the Hunters and Rick Steadman can really work with Sokolovskii to improve all facets of his game.
“At the very least, Sokolovskii has the upside to be an extremely effective NHL shutdown defender. He could be the kind of guy on the ice protecting a lead with a minute to go or a penalty killing anchor. However, there’s that glimmer of hope that his two-way game could keep evolving as he becomes more confident and comfortable.”
That’s the ceiling, basically.
In the end, we are left hoping that the Knights can churn out another quality NHL player and this time it’s Sokolovskii developing a little bit more of his offense while also keeping that shutdown role and killing plays all over the ice. That’s the hope that we have to hang our hat on. Just that he’s not a complete bust a la Sam Morin and becomes the butt of a joke given the Flyers’ track record with these picks.
