Flyers double down on defense and in goal on Day 2 of the NHL draft

ATLANTIC CITY — After making a “big” splash on Day 1 by selecting 6-foot-7 London Knights defenseman Maksim Sokolovski with the 27th pick, the Flyers were back at it early Saturday with five picks.

They picked twice in the second round and once each in the fourth, fifth, and seventh, adding depth primarily on the blue line and in goal.

» READ MORE: Flyers draft grades: Philly goes back to the size well with London Knights blueliner Maksim Sokolovskii

Here’s a running list of the Flyers’ Day 2 selections:

No. 53: Brek Liske, RHD, Everett (Western Hockey League)

A teammate of Luke Vlooswyk with the Silvertips, the defenseman was paired in the playoffs with projected 2027 No. 1 pick Landon DuPont for the Memorial Cup finalists. Before Tarin Smith got hurt, Liske was paired with Vlooswyk, the Flyers’ fifth-rounder last June.

A 6-2, 190-pound right-shot defenseman from Manitoba who can play the left side, he had 24 points (seven goals, 17 assists) in 52 games but broke out in the playoffs with four goals and 17 points in 18 games as Everett won the WHL.

“He has nice size, and he has some maturation and growth to come,” said Flyers amateur scout Mark Greig, who is based out west.

“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 ... [and] he flourished right through to the Memorial Cup. We like the two-way game and the trend he finished the season with.”

According to Elite Prospects, he does have to — wait for it — work on his skating. But he is a versatile, well-rounded blueliner who projects to be a third-pair guy down the road.

This pick is not just about adding a good defensive prospect. Liske grew up a Flyers fan because his dad, Lonnie, is a fanatic Flyers fan.

“I’ve never heard him yell so loud. There was a big cheer, but I could distinctly hear my dad’s voice,” Liske said via Zoom from his draft party while wearing a Flyers jersey. “He’s wearing his Flyers jersey, very proud right now. I think he’s a little bit more in awe than I am right now.”

No. 62: Martin Psohlavec, G, Karlovy Vary (Czechia junior league)

Stop if you’ve heard this before: A 6-5 goalie from Czechia donning orange and black. No, this isn’t Dan Vladař; meet Martin Psohlavec.

The size and athleticism are surely what enticed the Flyers to make the pick, along with his performance at the U18s. Philly has a long-standing trend of taking players who have excelled at the spring tournament, and Psohlavec is no different, posting a 3-1-0 record with a 1.68 goals-against average and .926 save percentage.

That came after he went 31-11-0 with a 1.92 GAA and .928 save percentage at the Czech junior level in the regular season and won five of eight games in the playoffs with a 1.78 GAA and .925 save percentage.

But that was on a U20 team, and the expectation is he will be a bit of a project — yes, he needs to work on his skating and is a little raw, according to Elite Prospects — and that makes sense for the Flyers with Aleksei Kolosov, Carson Bjarnason, and Egor Zavragin rising in the pipeline.

The Flyers acquired this pick when they moved down in the first round.

“Martin’s a big goaltender for a young guy,” Flyers goaltender scout Ryan Cyr said. “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 high assuming. We’re looking forward to seeing how he can develop over the next few years.”

No. 120: Marek Sklenička, G, Seattle (WHL)

Assistant general manager Brent Flahr said the Flyers would, more than likely, take a goalie as it had been a few drafts since they took Bjarnason and Zavragin in 2023. He should have added an “s” to the end because in the fourth round, with another pick acquired from moving down, they took another netminder — and another from Czechia, although he’s “only” 6-4.

A teammate of Flyers’ 2025 second-rounder Matthew Gard, Sklenička went 20-12-6 with a 3.21 GAA and .902 save percentage for Seattle. His save percentage rose in the playoffs to .913, but it was at U18s, in tandem with Psohlavec for Czechia, that he shone the brightest. He had a 1.91 GAA and a .921 save percentage in three games. In the bronze-medal game, he made 21 saves in a 4-1 win against Latvia.

“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 OK junior team, and he had a really good run with them to get them into the playoffs,” Cyr said.

“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.”

No. 136: KJ Sauer, C, Andover (Minnesota HS)

The Flyers definitely have a type. Sauer is a 6-3, 203-pound center drafted out of Minnesota high school hockey in the fifth round. Alex Bump was a fifth-rounder drafted out of the State of Hockey’s high school system. Noah Cates was also plucked from Minnesota high school hockey in 2017 in the same round, although that came under the previous regime.

Sauer had 25 points in 15 games with Andover, helping lead them to the state tournament. His season started late after he tore his posterior cruciate ligament in April 2025, and didn’t play in a game until Jan. 6. He finished the season playing for Lincoln of the United States Hockey League.

“I’d say I’m a big power forward,” he said via Zoom. “I work both ways. Like to be gritty, ... like to get into greasy areas and not afraid of anyone.”

Sauer said he models his game after Brady Tkachuk’s and will be playing for Edmonton of the WHL this season. Sauer has pedigree, with his uncles Kurt and Michael having played in the NHL, and his dad Kent Sr. playing in the minors.

“KJ’s a sizable center that can really skate. ... We really like the upside of this player,” said Flyers scout Shane Fukushima, who is based in Minnesota and was given credit by Flahr for the pick. “... 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,”

No. 213: Max Laatikainen, RHD, K-Espoo Jr. (Finland-Jr.)

The youngest player in the draft, born one day shy of the cutoff for next year’s draft, the 17-year-old Laatikainen is small at 5-11, 185 pounds, but brings the skating the Flyers want to add on the blue line.

He spent the majority of the year playing juniors but did notch two assists in Liiga, Finland’s top men’s league, for Kiekko-Espoo. At U18s, he played five games and had a goal and an assist.

“He needs to get physically stronger, but he’s an energetic, offensive guy who likes to have the puck. He moves it really well,” Flahr said, giving amateur European scout Sami Sandell credit. “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 a lot of juice, lots of energy.”

Winger Blake Zielinski, who hails from Berlin, Camden County, was selected in the third round by the Los Angeles Kings. ... Berwyn native Ryan Cameron was drafted in the seventh round by the Edmonton Oilers. Last July, the then-17-year-old goaltender participated in the Flyers’ development camp. ... Victor Plante, whose father Derek played for the Flyers, was selected in the second round by the Detroit Red Wings.