Maksim Sokolovskii is already showing off and proving some doubters wrong. When the Philadelphia Flyers selected the 6-foot-8 defenseman out of the London Knights at 27th overall a couple months ago, eyes were rolling from all over the fan base. It appeared that the Flyers just went back to their well of getting the biggest guy in the draft class to try and make the next Chris Pronger or just get all mean and physical again instead of trying to get a better team to win more hockey games.

Especially when people hurried to Elite Prospects to then see that Sokolovskii scored a total of eight points in the OHL, it was natural to become disheartened and not really feel great about the pick. Flashbacks of Jay O’Brien and German Rubtsov and Samuel Morin and whoever else turned into a pretty big Draft Day mistake, buried themselves deep into our eye sockets and would not leave our head no matter how badly we wanted to claw them out.

But now just a short two months later, it turns out that maybe the Flyers scouting staff were up to something and didn’t just go “He tall. He Flyer.”

It started with his appearance at development camp the week following the 2026 NHL Draft. He was dancing on the blue line, showing off his high-end skating and made it seem like the possibility of having a unicorn was actually true. No defenseman that large should be able to move like that, but Sokolovskii is a tremendous skater and watching him go through some on-ice drills, and even do some work with the puck made us think that perhaps he really could be something good in a few years.

And now, he’s giving us that same feeling but in more of a game situation.

Sokolovskii shines in OHL preseason with London

Hockey is really in the air. We’re not watching decade-old highlights from games we have engrained in our memories to just get some semblance of sports joy back in our life. Actual live hockey is being played.

The OHL has started its preseason this weekend and Sokolovskii is taking part as his Knights hosted the Erie Otters on Friday night. And while it’s not as competitive as the regular season and the full rosters might not be on the ice, the 18-year-old blueliner decided to show off some of his skill in the very first instance of us being able to watch him play a hockey game as a member of the Flyers.

Maksim Solokovskii (Flyers 2026 1st Round Pick) with an unbelievable assist in his 1st Preseason Game of the season.

He’s a 6’8” 240 lbs defenseman doing this. pic.twitter.com/Euk4g1nCJR

— Jay Money (@insiderJmoney) August 28, 2026

Just gorgeous. Sokolovskii takes this puck from his own blue line, skates through an open neutral zone and the Otters defender gives him ample space to cut through and go to his off-side. Then, with that body that is just bigger than everyone else’s on the ice, he protects the puck, drives to the net and sets up his teammate for an easy goal with a backhand pass to the netfront.

It’s such a showcase of the offensive tools that never really showed up elsewhere last season for the Knights. His skating, puckhandling, and actual offensive awareness were all on display.

He wasn’t even done putting up points. He added a second assist to his night.

This one is less exciting, but possibly just as interesting. Sokolovskii shows off some of his quick footwork and agility walking the blue line, maybe a little deception (that could be quicker, if we were to make one note), and being able to shoot from the point fairly accurately. Accurate enough to get a deflection and earn his second point of the night. Just like that, a quarter of what he earned in 44 appearances last year, in one little preseason game.

Of course, this is preseason and it’s not like we should expect Sokolovskii to score two points a game and have players maybe giving him that amount of space in more competitive scenarios, but the skill is clearly there and it could mean so much more for him this upcoming season.

What this season can mean for Sokolovskii

Almost every single NHL prospect needs to have a productive Draft+1 season, but for Sokolovskii, he’s in a more unique situation. Last season, he barely got playing time and when he did, he had the direct motive to be as violent as possible while in the playoffs. Which, obviously, he can do.

That wasn’t a great opportunity to show off some of his potential as an offensive creator. He was out there to inflict pain in hopes to be a difference-maker in that sense, rather than maybe scoring some goals and helping his team score more goals than the other team.

There is an expectation that Sokolovskii will be in London’s top four and play more in all situations. Since the Flyers have such a good relationship with the Knights and we just saw how Denver Barkey and Oliver Bonk develop into good professional hockey players, we assume that the entire development staff will be working closely with the Hunter family over there in Ontario once again. To do what is best for Sokolovskii’s own development. That should mean a larger role where he could display more of his offense and scoring potential.

If he doesn’t get that, or finishes the season with under 20 points, for example, it would be a disappointment. It would show some level of stagnation from him and that’s not what you want at all for your player, even if he was drafted late in the first round. Considering that this will be Sokolovskii’s final year in junior before he heads to the University of Maine for the 2027-28 season, they should make the most of having this giant on their roster and he might even be able to lead the Knights’ blue line.

There is also a world where he suddenly is scoring around a point per game and we’re all as hyped as ever that he got his chance and ran with it. Sokolovskii would quickly establish himself as a very good prospect and maybe someone who could one day show at least a little bit of that offense at the NHL level.

The Flyers prospect’s preseason continues on Saturday as the Knights head to Erie to face the Otters once again. Then, their exhibition wraps up with a trip out to Victoria as London does a “Clash of the Kingdoms” showcase next Friday and Saturday in a cross-league preseason series, and a home-and-home with the Sarnia Sting back in Ontario. All of that before they open the regular season on September 18 as they host the rival Windsor Spitfires.

Sokolovskii should be in attendance during Flyers Rookie Camp, which starts on September 11, before he eventually returns to London to start the season a week later. We’ll get even more highlights of him skating during drills and us going “but how does someone that big move that well”?