Philadelphia Flyers general manager Danny Briere didn’t dance around the question. When his team used the 27th overall pick in the NHL Draft on Friday night to select defenseman Maksim Sokolovskii, Briere offered a straightforward reason.
“It’s not a secret, we don’t have a lot of defensemen,” Briere told NBC Sports Philadelphia.
The pick is a 6-foot-7 skater from Kazakhstan. Sokolovskii is raw. He’s big. And the Flyers think he fits a hole in their prospect pipeline.
Why Sokolovskii?
Briere didn’t just talk about need. He talked about the player’s style.
“It’s a guy that’s not afraid to mix it up as well,” Briere said. “Long reach. We liked his progression last year.”
Scouting reports back that up. NHL.com described Sokolovskii as “the definition of a project prospect” with the potential to turn into a heavy-hitting shutdown defenseman. Think Jamie Oleksiak or Nikita Zadorov. The kind of guy who eats 20-plus minutes a night and chips in around 20 points a season.
Sokolovskii has already committed to play at the University of Maine. That gives the Flyers time to develop him without rushing him into the NHL lineup.
Briere’s Draft Philosophy
Heading into the draft, Briere explained his first-round approach. It’s pretty simple, actually.
“Especially in the first round, I think we try to be careful, try to go with the best player,” Briere said. “Because we have a pretty decent pool of prospects coming. It’s not like we’re depleted; we still have some really good ones at almost every position.”
That last part matters. Philadelphia’s prospect pool isn’t barren. So Briere felt comfortable taking a longer-term play in the first round rather than reaching for an immediate impact guy.
A Season to Build On
The Flyers are coming off a legitimately good year. They made the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time in a while. Beat the Penguins in the first round. Then got swept by the Hurricanes. Still, it was progress.
Philadelphia finished the 2025-26 regular season with 98 points and a plus-7 goal differential. Not elite, but enough to show the rebuild is trending in the right direction.
Briere has been active this offseason too. The club traded with the Florida Panthers for draft picks. And he made it clear he’s not done looking for deals.
“Absolutely,” Briere said when asked if he’s open to more trades. “Everything’s on the table. It has to make sense. We want to make sure that it helps us for the future; not just for one season or a few months.”
So the Flyers add a giant defenseman with upside, keep building through the draft, and leave the door open for more moves. Not a bad Friday night.
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