Flyers 2026 Draft Grades

The 2026 NHL Draft is in the books. The Flyers entered Buffalo with four picks and left with six after trading one away, a direct result of Daniel Briere being traded down in the first round to add ammunition.

The Flyers draft class is heavy on defensemen and loaded at the goalie position, with one forward in the mix and a late-round puck mover stashed in Finland.

Here is a grade for every pick and a reason for each grade:

Round 1, Pick 27, Maksim Sokolovskii: B-

Briere knew who he wanted. He traded the Flyers’ 21st pick to San Jose, picked up picks 27, 62, and 120, and still landed his guy, which shows that this draft process is considerably different than previous seasons. Two goals and six assists in 44 OHL games don’t jump off the page, but that wasn’t the point. Sokolovskii is 6’7″, 240 pounds, plays with genuine nastiness, and skates better than anyone that size has any right to. He drew comparisons to Nikita Zadorov all weekend, and there is plenty of truth in that comparison. Many have called him the hardest hitter in the draft class, and if the Carolina series in the playoffs proved anything, the Flyers need to get more physical. The scouts in London saw steady development in all aspects of his game throughout the season, from a healthy scratch in October to second-pair minutes by the playoffs.

He posted 34 goals and 84 points two years ago against lesser competition, so the offensive ability exists, but it didn’t translate in the OHL this season, so it is there and with the right molding. The boom-or-bust label is accurate, but so is the floor. You can’t teach 6’7″, and you can’t teach the fire he brings.

READ MORE ON Sokolovskii:

Daniel Briere Gets His Guy and Adds Picks: ‘It was Worth the Chance’

Round 2, Pick 53, Brek Liske: B+

This is the pick the Flyers are most excited about, and the pick was acquired in the Sokolovskii trade. Liske grew up as a Flyers fan. His father owns an orange Jeep with the logo, and he wore No. 82 as a kid, the reverse of Claude Giroux‘s 28. None of that matters on the ice, but it’s the kind of story that can fire up a young player, as well as a fanbase.

What is important on the ice — 24 points in 52 regular-season games, a plus-36 rating, and then 17 points in 18 WHL playoff games that helped Everett win the championship. He played second pair behind Landon DuPont, who’s widely projected as the first overall pick in 2027. Playing second fiddle on a championship team in the WHL while posting those numbers isn’t something to be ashamed of; it’s important context.

Scouts project his ceiling as a top-four NHL defenseman. He moves the puck efficiently, which was proven by his 89% pass completion on breakouts, and when you add in his shot-blocking skills and the fact that he logs 21 minutes a night, he’s tailor-made for a Rick Tocchet team. The Flyers take that trade every time at 53rd. With DuPont leaving Everett, Liske steps into the No. 1 role next season and has every opportunity to prove that he’s closer to the ceiling than the floor.

READ MORE ON LISKE:

From a fan to a draftee, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime homecoming for Brek Liske: ‘I’ve just always been a Flyers fan’

Round 2, Pick 62, Martin Psohlavec: C

The Flyers hadn’t drafted a goalie since 2023, and they drafted two in this draft. Psohlavec went first, 62nd overall, and the stats from his season are impressive to say the least. A 1.92 GAA, .928 save percentage, and 11 shutouts in 50 combined regular season and playoff games. He backed that up with a 1.68 GAA and .926 save percentage in four games at the U18 Worlds.

His ability to read plays and technical ability are a little lower than his elite-level positioning ability, which is a real concern at 62nd overall. But goaltenders are notoriously difficult to project. With that said, the numbers are real, and the Flyers needed organizational depth at the position. Daniel Vladar and Joseph Woll are established. Psohlavec is a legitimate prospect with three years minimum before he enters the picture. The Flyers have time to find out whether the tools catch up to the numbers.

Round 4, Pick 120, Marek Sklenicka: B

Psohlavec’s backup at the U18 Worlds became the Flyers’ second goalie of the draft, this one at pick 120. NHL Central Scouting ranked Sklenicka sixth among North American goalies.

The regular-season numbers with Seattle were decent, not spectacular — a 20-12-6 record, 3.21 GAA, .902 save percentage with three shutouts in 42 games. The international numbers are considerably better. He made 21 saves in Czechia’s 4-1 bronze-medal win at the U18 Worlds and finished with a 1.91 GAA and .921 save percentage in the tournament.

At 6’4″, this is a low-cost swing on a goalie with solid size and a track record of ability under pressure. Since the Flyers have such a need for organizational depth at the position, they took their second shot at finding it on the same day and in the same pipeline.

The reason this pick gets a B and Psohlavec gets a C+ is that the gap between the two isn’t a huge difference, but the draft position is quite different. Sklenicka is a pretty solid value at pick 120.

Round 5, Pick 136, KJ Sauer: A-

This is the most interesting pick in the class.

Sauer played 20 games this season, split between his Minnesota high school and five USHL appearances with Lincoln. He battled injury most of the year, the most devastating of which was a PCL tear that cost him the majority of his season. Central Scouting had him 92nd among North American skaters. The Flyers grabbed him at 136, slightly later than the consensus, partly because of the injury cloud. His father, Kent, played professionally. Uncles Kurt and Michael both reached the NHL, so he grew up around the game at that level.

The Flyers’ track record here is specific and documented. Noah Cates. Alex Bump. Minnesota high school hockey and taking them in the fifth round. Both are now contributing at the NHL level. Shane Fukushima is the scout credited with this pick. That’s the same scout who’s produced from that state before.

Sauer is 6’3″, 202 pounds, models his game after Brady Tkachuk, and reportedly put down some of the biggest hits on draft-eligible players the USHL saw all season. This means they are potentially drafting the coveted power forward that they have been looking for, and what this team needs. Brent Flahr said he’s a sizable center who can skate with a physical side. Sauer himself said he’s not afraid of anyone. He heads to the WHL’s Edmonton Oil Kings next season. One healthy year of WHL hockey tells the story of whether the scouting was right.

A fifth-rounder with that kind of physical profile, that kind of organizational hit rate from the same scout in the same territory, plus the family background and the motor, is worth an A-minus before he plays a single game in the WHL.

Round 7, Pick 213, Max Laatikainen: C+

Laatikainen is 17 years old, 5’11”, 173 pounds, and the youngest player in the entire draft class, born one day before the eligibility cutoff. He played at three different levels in 2025-26, posting 11 points in 22 U20 games before appearing in six Liiga games. A season-ending injury in late December ended his regular season. He still showed up for Finland at the U18 Worlds and contributed a goal and an assist in five games.

Flyers European scout Sami Sandell drove this pick, at one point even slamming his fist on the table to get his point across. He heads to Sport next season, which would mean Liiga minutes at 18, which is huge. The concerns are real, however — he’s undersized, not a particularly explosive skater, with scouts flagging a low motor and transition errors in international play.

Seventh-round picks are development lottery tickets. Laatikainen has the puck skills, the composure scouts noticed at the professional level, and a father who coaches the U20 team, which means he grew up with the game in his blood. At 213th, the downside is limited. A C+ is the floor here, with room above it if the size catches up and the motor improves.

Overall Class Grade: B

The Flyers entered with four picks and exited with six after trading one away. The Sokolovskii trade was well-executed. The class addresses real organizational needs: depth on defense, hard hitters, organizational goaltending, and a long-term project or two in the late rounds. The Flyers got tougher, and that’s enough for now.

Liske is the upside bet, Sokolovskii is the headline, but Sauer may end up being the player with the earliest impact on the team. The Flyers’ success this season gave Briere a little flexibility to take some chances in this draft. Even with the patience, the team needs at least one of them to develop into a contributor.

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