Six Players Drafted by Orange and Black
Future Phantoms and Flyers to Participate in Rookie Series in September
June 27, 2026
The Philadelphia Flyers selected six players during the 2026 NHL Draft. Picks were made remotely from the team’s draft headquarters in Atlantic City, NJ, while the prospects’ names were called from KeyBank Center in Buffalo, NY.
The future Phantoms and Flyers will be eligible to play in the annual Flyers vs. Rangers Rookie Series games coming to PPL Center September 12-13, at which time they can make their official Philadelphia Flyers debuts.
Round 1 – Maksim Sokolovskii (D)
Round 2 – Brek Liske (D)
Round 2 – Martin Psohlavec (G)
Round 4 – Marek Sklenicka (G)
Round 5 – KJ Sauer (F)
Round 7 – Max Laatikainen (D)
The team selected defenseman Maksim Sokolovskii with the 27th overall pick in the first round. Sokolovskii, 17 (7/12/2008), spent the 2025-26 season with the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), where he recorded two goals, six assists, eight points and a +10 rating. He also appeared in five postseason games. In 2024-25, the 6-foot-7, 238-pound blueliner played his first season in North America with the Atlantic Coast Academy.
“The one thing that really stood out was the progression that he showed throughout the season. We saw him early in the season; we thought, ‘this could be a late pick for us,’ and then it seemed every month he just kept getting better and figuring out the game more,” said Flyers General Manager Daniel Briere.
With the 53rd overall selection, the Flyers took defenseman Brek Liske. In 2025-26, Liske, 18 (1/9/2008), completed his second full season in the Western Hockey League (WHL) with the Everett Silvertips, where he set career highs in goals (7), assists (17), and points (24). In the postseason, the 6-foot-1, 190-pound blueliner added 17 points (4g-13a) in 18 games to help Everett win the WHL Championship. The Beausejour, Manitoba native has played parts of three WHL seasons with the Silvertips, accumulating 37 points (10g-27a) in 121 games.
Liske grew up cheering for the Flyers and made trips to Philadelphia with his family.
“He has nice size, and he has some maturation and growth to come. It’s a two-way game, and he is sound on both sides of the puck. He really took a step in the second half of the season when they had an injury to a defenseman. That opened some more opportunity for him. He flourished right through to the Memorial Cup. We like the two-way game and the trend he finished the season with,” said Flyers Amateur Scout Mark Greig.
With the 62nd overall pick, the Flyers took goaltender Martin Psohlavec. The 18-year-old (5/6/2008) spent the 2025-26 season with HC Energie Karlovy Vary in Czechia’s U20 league, where he appeared in 42 games with a .928 save percentage, 1.92 goals-against average, and eight shutouts. In eight postseason games, the Ostrov, Czechia native went 5-3 with a .925 save percentage and 1.78 goals-against average. Standing at 6-foot-5 and 185-pounds, the netminder has played his last five seasons with HC Energie Karlovy Vary in Czechia’s U20, U17 and U15 tiers from 2021-26.
“Martin’s a big goaltender for a young guy. He’s very athletic for a goalie of his size, with really good feet, and we just feel the upside that he has is very high, and he has a high ceiling. We’re looking forward to seeing how he can develop over the next few years,” said Flyers Goaltender Scout Ryan Cyr.
With the 120th overall pick, Philadelphia selected goaltender Marek Sklenicka. The 17-year-old (8/27/2008) netminder played his first season in the Western Hockey League (WHL) in 2025-26, recording a 20-12-6 record, .902 save percentage, 3.21 goals-against average, and three shutouts in 42 games with the Seattle Thunderbirds. The 6-foot-3, 170-pound goaltender played three games in the 2026 IIHF World Under-18 Championship, going 2-1 to win the bronze medal. Before entering the WHL, the Litinov, Czechia native played for BK Mlada Boleslav in Czechia’s U20, U17, and U15 tiers from 2022-25.
“Marek’s a goalie who just continually got better throughout the course of the year. Physically, he started to develop, and you could see it in his game. He competes very hard. He is on an okay junior team, and he had a really good run with them to get them into the playoffs. Next year, we hope to see continued development. We hope Marek continues to take steps in his game, adds a few pieces of the technical element, and continues to develop on the curve we know he’s going toward,” said Cyr.
With the 136th overall selection, The Flyers took forward KJ Sauer. The 18-year-old (10/24/2007) spent the 2025-26 campaign with Andover High in Minnesota, where he picked up 25 points (8g-17a) in 15 games. He also appeared in five games with the Lincoln Stars of the United States Hockey League (USHL) and recorded two goals and three assists. The 6-foot-3, 202-pound forward spent four seasons (2022-26) with Andover High. The Andover, Minnesota native is committed to play in the WHL next season with the Edmonton Oil Kings.
“KJ’s a sizable center that can really skate. He didn’t play most of the year because he was out with an injury, but he came back, played some high school hockey, jumped into the USHL and had an impact. We really like the upside of this player. KJ is playing in Edmonton in the Western Hockey League next year. He is just going to have to play some games, get those games under his belt and get some touches at the junior level. He has a physical side to his game, and if we can round out a little bit more offense, we really like where his game’s going,” said Flyers Scout Shane Fukushima.
With the 213th overall pick, Philadelphia selected defenseman Max Laatikainen. In 2025-26, the 17-year-old (9/14/2008) played with various tiers of Kiekko-Espoo in Finland. He spent 22 games at the U20 level, scoring 11 points (3g-8a). He also appeared in six games with the team’s highest level in Liiga, Finland’s top professional league. The 5-foot-11, 173-pound defenseman represented Finland at the 2026 IIHF World Under-18 Championship and recorded two points (1g-1a) in five games.
“He’s an energetic, offensive guy that likes to have the puck. He moves it well. Playing with the national team, he was very effective, and we’re hoping he can maybe catch an inch still, but at the same time, he’s got lots of juice, lots of energy, and he’s a guy that Sami (Flyers European Amateur Scout Sami Sandell) had been banging on the table for, so it worked out that way, and we’ll see what happens,” said Flyers VP / Assistant General Manager Brent Flahr.
Hockey returns to PPL Center in September with the fifth annual Flyers vs. Rangers Rookie Series. The two-game series takes place on Saturday, September 12 at 7:05 p.m. and Sunday, September 13 at 5:05 p.m. Tickets are available at PPLCenter.com beginning July 1.
Opening Night for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms is Saturday, October 3. Individual game tickets will go on sale in mid-July.
