ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — The Flyers opened their 2026 NHL draft work Friday night by trading back in the first round and taking Maksim Sokolovskii at No. 27 overall.

They sent the 21st selection to the Sharks for pick Nos. 27, 62 and 120.

The 17-year-old Sokolovskii is a 6-foot-7, 240-pound defenseman who played for the London Knights. The lefty shot had eight points (two goals, six assists) and a plus-10 rating in 44 games this season. He had 23 shots and 49 penalty minutes.

“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,” Flyers general manager Danny Briere said from the team’s draft headquarters at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. “We see him as a big, physical force, a defenseman that’s going to be tough to face.”

The Flyers drafted two London products in 2023 with Oliver Bonk (first-rounder) and Denver Barkey (third-rounder). The Flyers have a lot of connections to the OHL club.

“They seem to be able to build winners,” Briere said. “There are a lot of guys that go through their program that end up in the NHL. … For us, it’s a no-brainer. When we have the chance to take someone from London, it feels obviously very comfortable.”

Coming off a playoff berth and series victory, the Flyers went into Friday night with their lowest first-round spot since 2020.

But good players can be found in the 20s. Claude Giroux, Simon Gagne, Travis Konecny and Tyson Foerster are some Flyers examples. With time and patience, the club will hope Sokolovskii becomes a hit.

Sokolovskii was the 22nd-best player in the draft on EliteProspects.com, but he was ranked down at No. 60 by TSN’s Craig Button. He was at No. 40 among North American skaters on NHL Central Scouting. He made a serious climb from his midterm mark of No. 132.

“Our guys really dug in on him,” Briere said to NBC Sports Philadelphia. “Every time they went back, he just kept getting better. And that was exciting. If that keeps going and the progression keeps improving, we could have a very special player on our hands in the future.”

Sokolovskii has roots in Kazakhstan and Russia. He adds an imposing frame to the Flyers’ pipeline. The club has focused on some bigger blueliners. Along with Sokolovskii, the Flyers have Bonk (6-foot-2), David Jiricek (6-foot-4), Spencer Gill (6-foot-4) and Carter Amico (6-foot-5) in their system.

By taking Sokolovskii, the Flyers went with size and the long game. He’s a project of sorts. The Flyers ended up passing on defensemen Ryan Lin, Juho Piiparinen and Tommy Bleyl. Lin and Bleyl are smaller, point-producing guys, while Piiparinen is a mature, defense-first type.

“It doesn’t mean that we’re done, that we’re not going to draft a puck-moving defenseman,” Briere said. “We’d like to have that, as well. So let’s see what tomorrow brings, hopefully we can bring you a smaller, puck-moving defenseman. After losing Emil [Andrae], obviously it’s something that we’d like to have, as well.”

The Flyers had taken just four defensemen over the last two drafts. They hadn’t taken one in the first round since 2023, when they selected Bonk with their second pick.

Sokolovskii is the first lefty-shot defenseman they’ve taken since 2022.

“We’re aware that our left side especially is a little thin, which is usually easier to find,” Flyers assistant general manager Brent Flahr said last week. “We’ll certainly have to address it at some point.”

The Flyers did so right off the bat.

They’re now slated to make five picks on Day 2 of the draft Saturday. They have two second-rounders (Nos. 53 and 62), one fourth-rounder (No. 120), one fifth-rounder (No. 136) and one seventh-rounder (No. 213).

“To be able to move back, get some draft capital and still get [Sokolovskii],” Briere said, “it feels like it was the right thing to do.”