Maksim Sokolovskii – 2026 NHL Draft Prospect Profile

Maksim Sokolovskii

2025–26 Team: London Knights (OHL)
Date of Birth: Jul. 12, 2008
Place of Birth: Petropavlovsk, Kazakhstan
Height: 6-foot-8, Weight: 238 pounds
Shoots: Left
Position: Defence
NHL Draft Eligibility: 2026 first-year eligible

Rankings

• NHL Central Scouting Final Rankings: 40^th (among NA skaters)
• Jason Bukala (Sportsnet): 38^th

A lot can change after a player is drafted. Most of the prospects are just 18 years old and still growing, which can greatly impact their abilities on the ice. The draft is inherently risky, and to lower some of that risk, NHL teams look for players who are already big. After all, you can’t teach size.

Enter Maksim Sokolovskii, a Kazakh-born Russian defenceman playing for the London Knights in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). His stats don’t jump off the page; in 44 games this season, he scored just two goals and put up eight points, and failed to register any points in five playoff games before the Knights were eliminated. But, at 6-foot-8, he is one of the tallest players up for the 2026 NHL Draft, which has earned him a few fans across the scouting community.

Sokolovskii isn’t shy about using his size to his advantage. He’s a punishing bodychecker and loves the opportunity to haul someone down to the ice or pin them to the boards with no chance of escape. He also has a massive reach thanks to his long reach and even longer stick, which he uses well to sweep the area in front and around him, forcing turnovers. His ability to completely overwhelm opponents led to a bit of a feud between him and Soo Greyhounds captain Brady Martin in the playoffs this season. “He can do it all game long. I don’t care,” Martin said after Game Two. “He can’t play the game of hockey, so if he’s on me, that means someone else is open. That’s okay with me.”

Martin wasn’t shy about taking shots at Sokolovskii, but the reason he was so frustrating was that he’s quite a good hockey player. Unlike many bigger players, the Knights’ massive defender is a decent skater, moving smoothly across the ice and using his strides efficiently to cover long distances. He also doesn’t make a lot of mistakes while defending, playing a calm, patient game that helped London finish top-10 for the fewest goals allowed in the OHL.

But just because Sokolovskii is big doesn’t mean he isn’t a risky pick. He may have NHL-ready size, but his hockey sense has a long way to go before it catches up with his frame. When defending, he tends to focus on shutting down one player, chasing them around the corners and behind the net, which, as Martin said, leaves someone else open, and he doesn’t have the mobility to quickly get back into his position. He’s also not a great stickhandler, and if he’s able to create a turnover, he’ll either let a teammate pick it up or move it away from himself as quickly as possible.

However, less than a year ago, Sokolovskii was an offensive wizard, finishing second on the AAA U16 Atlantic Coast Academy team with 84 points in 65 games, while his 34 goals ranked fourth. It’s a big jump from AAA to the OHL, and it’s easy to forget the 6-foot-8 Russian is still a rookie and adjusting to the pace of Major Junior hockey. By the end of this season, he was getting more comfortable with the puck and making smart breakout passes, showing his growth with the puck. He still has a long way to go before he’s an impact defenceman, but a lot can change in a year.

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Maksim Sokolovskii – NHL Draft Projection

Bigger players frequently go higher than projected. 6-foot-6 Mason West, 6-foot-7 Dean Letourneau, and 6-foot-7 Maveric Lamoureaux were top-30 picks after being projected as second-rounders. Sokolovskii could very much follow in their footsteps, as he is currently projected as a late second-round pick, but with a month left to the Draft, a few outlets are calling for him to be taken in the first. Don’t be surprised if a team looking to beef up their defence reaches for him in the 20-30 range.

Quotables

“Maksim is a large, hard-hitting defender. He steps up to stop rushes and he delivers big hits, always finishing his checks. He started the game off with a fight which he very quickly won. He can also make some plays with the puck too, using hip fakes to buy himself time and space. He makes simple plays to move the puck up ice.” Neutral Zone

“Sokolovskii is a massive and highly athletic defenseman. He’s a strong, mobile player who’s very physical and projects to make a ton of stops. The debate on Sokolovskii will come down to his puck play. He can certainly fight the puck at times, although he showed progress as the season went on. The hope is that he can make basic outlets and retrievals because if so, an NHL coach will play him a lot.” Corey Pronman, The Athletic (from ‘2026 NHL Draft prospects: Chase Reid, Alberts Smits and Keaton Verhoeff top Pronman’s ranking,’ The Athletic – 13/05/2026)

Strengths

• Defensive presence
• Strength and physicality
• Reach

Under Construction – Improvements to Make

• Ability to move and play the puck effectively
• Mobility
• Hockey sense

NHL Potential

Sokolovskii is the definition of a project prospect. He has all the makings of a heavy-hitting shutdown defenceman in the vein of Jamie Oleksiak or Nikita Zadorov, averaging 20-plus minutes a night and putting up around 20 points a season. It’s going to take a long time for him to get there, though; defencemen already take longer than forwards, and players above 6-foot-3 take twice as long as those in the average height range. For a team willing to work with him in his development, though, he could be a very useful addition to their defence corps.

Risk-Reward Analysis

Risk – 2/5, Reward – 3/5

Fantasy Hockey Potential

Offence – 3/10, Defence – 7/10

Awards/Achievements

• 2024-25 U16 First All-Star Team

Interviews/Links

• Towering Maksim Sokolovskii adds edge to London Knights’ blue line (London Free Press)
  

Maksim Sokolovskii Stats

Videos