Almost every single mock draft this year, and what every single national media member has said the Philadelphia Flyers need more of, has featured one common thing: Size. Yes, we get it. The Flyers don’t have the largest players on their roster. The key players up front are all under 6-feet tall. Jamie Drysdale and Cam York aren’t massive on the blue line, either. We get it. Whatever.
So, what if the Flyers really tried to address the need for size in the 2025 NHL Draft this weekend? Just went all-out to select the tallest, most physical players available in certain rounds. Well, we have some idea of some players that they could target if they wanted to do that.
If the Flyers are desperate for someone that is a few inches taller than Jett Luchanko to be on this team because of that fact, here are some players that they could draft in the next few days:
In first two rounds
Daniil Prokhorov, LW — 6’5″, 209 lbs
Prokhorov is the player that has been all around where the Flyers are drafting — whether that is all the way up at 22nd overall, or he’s snatched up by Philadelphia in the second round. He’s someone that is still incredibly raw and has been using his body as his best tool, being a punishing and violent forward in the Russian juniors.
Twenty goals and 27 points in 43 games is not the most eye-popping numbers but he just bulldozes his way to the net whenever he gets the chance. Prokhorov could turn out to be the most physically imposing player in the entire draft class if he is able to put all of his other tools together. His puck work is not the best, but he will be more than happy to create acres of space out there for his linemates and then clean up any of the mess around the net. That is where Prokhorov lives; never straying too far away from the opposing goaltender to get as many pucks past the goal line as possible.
That type of game can work as he makes his way up the professional ranks, but he’ll need to add a second, third, fourth tool to his arsenal to truly be an impact NHL player. But, the Flyers also don’t have anyone even remotely similar to Prokhorov in the prospect pool, so it would make sense.
Max Pšenička, D — 6’4″, 176 lbs
Pšenička is a fun player to project. He made the unorthodox route of coming from Europe to the CHL in the middle of the season. The large blueliner was bouncing in between the top division of Czech hockey, playing for HC Plzen among the best grown men in the country, and the club’s junior team. In January, he then made the jump to play for the WHL’s Portland Winterhawks instead of being dragged back and forth at different playing levels back home.
In just 24 WHL games, Pšenička scored a goal and seven points. Not the most offensive wizard, but was just getting used to the different style of play while everyone was in mid-season form. Despite the lack of production, the Czech blueliner’s calling card came through, playing a very high-pace, physically engaged, and smart style of game from the back end.
If a team wants a defenseman that doesn’t really stop thinking, scanning, anticipating play, and is just generally active in play; they should fall in love with Pšenička. And him being a very solid and projectable size — he will need to gain some mass to fill out his 6-foot-4 frame — is just another reason why he should be taken in the first 75 or so picks.
For the Flyers, they do have Spencer Gill as another tall and lanky, right-handed defenseman, but Pšenička is much more physically engaged at the CHL level than Gill was during his draft year. So, they could certainly still nab the big Czech.
Mason West, C/RW — 6’6″, 208 lbs
This is one of the biggest wild cards of the entire draft. Outside of how the top 10 picks will go down, what team selects Mason West and where he goes in the draft is the most discussed story about this weekend. In case you haven’t heard, West is a star high school quarterback in Minnesota, in addition to being a good hockey player for Edina High. He has had offers from some Division-1 schools, but none of the high-profile programs and West recently said publicly that he is committed to hockey.
But, are NHL teams willing to take that risk? West is playing another year of high school football after he gets drafted. What if he pops off? What if the Michigan Wolverines come calling? Could he reject that temptation? It’s all a hypothetical but it’s something that could happen.
Plus, with the plan for him to stay in high school for another year, suddenly his development path becomes a long one. West is slated to play for the USHL’s Fargo Force next season and then start for Michigan State in the 2026-27 season as a freshman. He could be just starting to play college hockey during the season whoever the Flyers select sixth overall is in the NHL.
But, what entices NHL teams is the package of a two-sport athlete and having a 6-foot-6 behemoth down the middle that could end up being considered a steal, because of all of this football baggage.
Philadelphia can afford to give West all the time he needs to develop, and being a very big body with no real holes in his game considering his size — maybe he could work on handling the puck slightly more — would fit in so well for their prospect pool. And, he fits the mold of a high work rate forward that wouldn’t need to be taught pro-level work ethic.
Rest of the Draft
German Suzdorf, C — 6’6″, 209 lbs
As we move into the later rounds of the 2025 NHL Draft, there are some extremely interesting players that pop up if the Flyers want to address size and maybe no one is more interesting than Russian center German Suzdorf.
Do not fear about another Russian center with the first name German, Suzdorf is a very physical and outwardly smart forward. He plays the details game of a smaller center, always looking for options with and without the puck, but also has the size where he can power through opponents without a second thought. It’s having both options that intrigues me the most about Suzdorf.
Sure, he could work on his skating and his shooting and his skating to bring it up to the level of other prospects in this class, but he has the brain and body to take him pretty far. And if he keeps rising up into the KHL, that feels like a late-round Russian steal by some team and we hope it is the Flyers.
Yes, this is about them address size with these picks, but what if you could get both?
Malte Vass, D — 6’2″, 184 lbs
We’re cheating a little bit here. The Swedish blueliner Malte Vass isn’t as towering as other players on this list but he is possibly the most physical defender of the bunch. He just loves to kill plays through delivering body-on-body contact at high speeds.
The Flyers would be addressing the need for someone to lay out the body that could actually play with a high motor and can move the puck up the ice. Vass projects as not someone who is just there to deliver hits and then block hundreds of shots like Nick Seeler, but can distribute the puck in a clean and effective manner that actually helps teams win hockey games outside of preventative measures.
As an added bonus, Vass has already played five games in the SHL and should be getting even more of an opportunity in the top Swedish division next season. He can climb the ladder to the NHL fairly quickly if he keeps on being the defensive stalwart he has been in his draft year.
Roman Bausov, D — 6’5″, 179 lbs
Do you want a defenseman with a whole lot of reach and room to grow into his frame? Well how about the Russian right-handed blueliner Roman Bausov.
Playing for MHK Dynamo St. Petersburg of the MHL (with previously mentioned Daniil Prokhorov as a teammate), Bausov has a whole lot of tools that makes him easy to project as a potential large, modern shutdown defenseman at the pro level.
“With Bausov, the appeal lies in his massive frame and solid mechanical base,” the Elite Prospects 2025 Draft Guide states. “He achieves plenty of depth throughout his stride, with his ankles and knees bending in the optimal ways. This combination gives him a lot of defensive range, as he’s capable of matching attackers’ footwork along the boards and swatting pucks away from their sticks by surprising them with his length.”
If Bausov can just build some mass, he should have an easy path to a KHL job sooner rather than later, and that only spells him making the trip overseas eventually if everything pans out. He might not have the high-impact ceiling, but as a pure shutdown defender in the bottom half of an NHL blue line? We can see the vision.
Maxim Schäfer, LW/RW — 6’4″, 187 lbs
And finally, we get to our big German fella. While other players on this list are dominating junior hockey because of their size and the questions are whether their physicality can translate, Maxim Schäfer is playing an almost full season in the DEL, the top German division, for Eisbaren Berlin.
Schäfer is incredibly strong on the forecheck and in limited minutes playing against the best adult hockey players in Germany, he managed to be productive and contribute beyond the score sheet. And just three points in 31 games is fine for someone who was 17 years old for the majority of his season — he just saved his offense for his U18 and World Juniors appearances.
Schäfer wouldn’t be someone expected to be drafted in the first five or so rounds — or he might just not get drafted at all. But, if the Flyers are taking bets on hard, physical, difficult-to-manage-for-defenders types of players with their later picks, the large German winger with pro experience feels like a ready-made bet to make.
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