Flyers' Maksim Sokolovskii Stands Out Early in Development Camp... Literally
The massive draft pick makes a strong early impression on his peers.
Video Transcript
Who's going to, you know, maybe fall from that top 10, and who is going to rise into that?
Or who, who is going to be, you know, the surprise because they're waiting longer than we expected, versus whose name is getting called earlier than they thought?
Ryan, is there anyone that you kind of have on your list that you could see maybe, you know, dropping, and then, and someone who could really rise up depending on the situation?
Yeah.
there's one player that could be both.
Uh- Okay but I'll give you two names a- anyways, but- Okay for me, the big X factor is Viggo Bjork, from Djurgarden in Sweden.
because he's only 5'9-ish, 5'10-ish- Sure those players always end up getting dinged in the first round of the draft.
It's not fair.
A lot of them turn out to be excellent NHLers.
Cole Caufield would be a perfect example.
Yes.
Yes.
but, you know, when it, when it comes to brass tacks, you know, GMs and their, their scouting directors, they seem to get cold feet when it comes to those smaller players.
Viggo Bjork's not even like Like, he's just short, as one scout told me.
Like, he's a strong kid.
Yeah.
He just happens to be short.
And- Yeah I wonder if the success of Logan Stankoven might- help push Viggo Bjork over the line at the draft this year.
Because, Viggo Bjork, you know, he played center and wing this year.
He had the fifth most face-offs, for his team.
So obviously he played some wing as well, but he did play- Sure some center at the world juniors for Sweden, and they won gold.
That helps.
And he played very well for them.
He was one of their better players, especially in that gold medal game.
if you look at Logan Stankoven, you know, short player, but strong.
you know, wanted to play center.
Played a little bit of both coming up, and then obviously, was, you know, crucial for Carolina as the center in the Stanley Cup.
Yeah.
I wonder if teams will look and say, "Okay, well, it can be done.
we like Viggo Bjork, so let's take him."
So, you know, he has the skill set where he should be taken in the top 10.
But if those old biases remain, then I could see him falling outside of the top 10.
I think I had him 11 or 12th on my list, just because I know how things have gone in the, in past drafts.
