Maksim Sokolovskii checked a lot of boxes for the Philadelphia Flyers, which is why the giant former Atlantic Coast Academy defenseman was the Flyers’ first-round pick in this year’s NHL Entry Draft.

“He was the next guy on our list, but he’s a big defenseman, something — especially left shots — we don’t have a lot of in the organization, so that was a plus,” Philadelphia general manager Daniel Briere said. “It was a little bit of a risk that he could have been taken, but the chance to add a couple of picks in the year where we don’t have a lot of draft capital coming into it, for us, it felt like it was worth the chance.”

Sokolovskii, who scored 34 goals for the ACA program in the 2024-25 season, was the 27th player selected in the first round of the 2026 Draft, which was held this weekend in Buffalo. The Atlantic Coast Academy program has been in existance in Berkshire County since 2022.  

The Flyers had been slotted in at No. 21 in the first round, but Briere traded the pick to San Jose for the 27th selection and additional picks at 67 and 120.

Sokolovskii, a native of Kazakhstan, spent one season with Mike Taylor’s ACA program, adding 50 assists to those 34 goals in 65 games. This past season, the 6-foot-7, 240-pound defenseman played for the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League. The OHL is part of the Canadian Hockey League, which sponsors junior teams across that country. The Western Hockey League and the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League are also part of the CHL.

According to the Elite Prospects website, the 17-year-old had two goals and six assists, to go with 49 penalty minutes. The defenseman also was listed as a plus-10 over the course of the regular season.

Briere is a former Flyers great who is in his third season as general manager. In a press conference following the first-round selection, Briere was asked about the upside for his first-round pick.

“We don’t expect him to be the next big point producer. I don’t think that would be fair to say he was drafted for that,” Briere said. “We see him as a big, physical force as a defenseman that’s going to be tough to face. There’s a lot that needs to come, obviously. The way our development has worked the last few years, we feel confident it’s going to come. We know there’s a lot of work to be done, but there’s things you can’t teach. There’s things you can’t change. He’s still going to be 6-foot-7 three years from now. The internal physicalness he has now is something you really can’t teach.”

In a response to a question about making the pick, the Flyers GM said that they had Sokolovskii in their sights as players were drafted ahead of them.

“There are a few tiers in front of us that got wiped out pretty quickly off the board,” Briere said. “At that point, we started looking. It’s more than just your ranking. You have to understand what happens on the other side with the other teams and where teams are leaning. We felt that Sokolovskii was the guy we could move back and still get.”

Sokolovskii was one of two London Knights players taken in the first round. Forward Jaxon Cover was the final selection of the first round, the No. 32 pick by the Ottawa Senators.

“It’s not a secret. They’re one of the better organizations in the CHL,” the Flyers GM said of London. “They seem to be able to build winners. There’s a lot of guys that go through their program that end up in the NHL. They have a knack of raising those players to become pros.”

After an expected second season in London, Sokolovskii will head to the University of Maine, to play college hockey for the Black Bears of Hockey East. There are five current NHL players who played at Maine, including Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman.

“The rest of his game has to round out, no doubt about it,” Briere said of his first-round pick. “The progression that we saw this season leads us to believe that he’ll be able to make it to the NHL. Now, what pairing I don’t know yet. It’s a little too early to tell. He could become a top-four defenseman if everything falls into place, absolutely. With the reach that he’s going to have, he’s going to be tough to go around.

“If he keeps improving his puck game, who knows how good he can be.”