If an NHL team wants to have sustained success in the modern era, hitting on draft picks is naturally key. However, with clubs getting better and better at unearthing NHL level talent in the early rounds, finding hidden gems later in the draft can be the separator between a contender and an also-ran.

Which brings us to 2025 fifth round pick Max Westergård.

The Flyers have struggled at times over the last 20 years to find such players. Since the 2009 draft (16 years ago), only Oskar Lindblom, Noah Cates and Samuel Ersson were taken by the club after Pick No. 80 and went on to be full-time NHL players.

Westergård could break that mold.

It was actually a shock for many that the Tampere, Finland native fell all the way to pick No. 132, as pre-draft public rankings placed him as high as inside the late second round. It’s easy to see why — 50 points in 41 games in the top Swedish junior league (the J20) was 20th best all-time in points and 40th best all-time in points-per-game for a player under the age of 18. The majority of players with such gaudy stats in their draft year at worst play some games in the NHL one day.

Furthermore, Westergård showed he could compete at the pro level, working his way into Frölunda’s SHL lineup in the playoffs and more than holding his own. Then at the U18 World Juniors, he was Finland’s top scorer with six points across five games. And that’s all despite Westergård being less than two weeks off from being eligible for the 2026 draft.

So why did he fall to the fifth round? Mostly, because he is 5’11 and 168 pounds right now. However, if he continues to develop physically, he will have a good chance to play in the NHL one day. PHLY caught up with Max last week to talk about his path so far, and what the future might hold.

---

PHLY: How old were you when you started playing hockey and what made you fall in love with the game?

Max Westergård: I was maybe five or six years old. Maybe winning with the boys, playing hockey with my friends, was so much fun that I was in love with it.

PHLY: Did you have a favorite NHL team growing up, if so which team?

Westergård: It was the New York Rangers! Me and my Dad, we both loved the Rangers.

PHLY: Which players were your favorite players growing up?

Westergård: I think it was (Alex) Ovechkin; he was always a guy that I loved when I was younger.

PHLY: Which current NHL players would you say you model your game on or are most similar to? The guys who you watch and try to learn from the most.

Westergård: Hmm, maybe a bit like Kasperi Kapanen. He’s a Finn, and a strong skating forward with a good hockey IQ I think, so maybe him.

PHLY: That is an interesting answer! A lot of players usually answer with “star” 80-90 point guys. And his Dad Sami, of course, has a long-standing relationship with the Flyers.

Westergård: Yeah, I heard that!

PHLY: At 16 years old, you moved from Rauma to Göteborg and Frölunda… how did you and your family come to that decision?

Westergård: I had been talking with my agent, and he said that hockey in Sweden would maybe be better for me, so then we started looking for some teams who would be interested in me. There were a couple of teams, and I think Frölunda was the best of them.

It was really, really hard to make that decision. I had so many good years in Finland with Lukko, in Rauma, so it was so difficult, but I took the chance, and I think it was really, really good for me that I came here.

PHLY: What were the most difficult parts of leaving Finland at that age, and did your family come with you?

Westergård: Dad came with me at the start, for the first couple of months, but after that I lived alone. That was a little bit tough, so maybe that was the most difficult thing. Leaving my whole family and all my friends – everything – in Finland.

PHLY: Your mother is Kenyan, how often do you visit Kenya, and do you speak any Swahili?

Westergård: No! I don’t speak any Swahili, but my Mum speaks Swahili pretty well. But I didn’t ever learn. It was a long time ago when I was last there, maybe five years, so we need to go. Mum is always asking when we are going there next! So I think we need to visit again soon!

PHLY: I believe when you were there last, you skated with the Kenya Lions national team. What was it like playing hockey in Kenya?

Westergård: It was fun with those guys there. They didn’t all know the finer details (of) hockey, but it was really fun.

PHLY: I am not sure if you knew as well that the only ever NHLer of Kenyan original played for the Flyers as well? Johnny Oduya.

Westergård: Yeah, I heard that! That is really fun also.

PHLY: If you were speaking to someone who never watched you play, what attributes would you tell them are your best?

Westergård: I would say my skating, of course. I think I am a fast, fast guy. And I would also say my hockey IQ. I find the right spots on ice and see good passes.

PHLY: And what areas of your game do you feel you need to improve to make the NHL?

Westergård: I need to be stronger. Stronger in the gym, and then stronger with the puck on ice also. I think that will be really important, to improve my physical attributes to make it in the NHL.

PHLY: You were arguably Finland’s best player in the U18 World Juniors and also played very well in the SHL playoffs against men. You seem to be able to step up in the most important moments. What do you put that down to? Is it just the buzz around bigger games?

Westergård: Maybe something like that! I don’t know… I remember that first game I played (in the SHL), I was so, so nervous, but all the guys on the team, the older guys helped us younger guys and really took us into the team. So it was easy to come in and play your own game, with the older guys there supporting us, being such good guys.

PHLY: What did the jump from J20 to SHL feel like, and what were the biggest differences between the levels?

Westergård: It was faster, with bigger, stronger guys. But maybe the biggest difference is that you don’t have as much time. When you get the puck, there is always someone pressing you, so you need to make quicker decisions. Everything is just going faster.

PHLY: Did you know the Flyers were interested in you before the draft?

Westergård: Yeah, I had a small idea! But you never know before you get drafted. So I didn’t know they would draft me, but I had a couple of talks with them before.

PHLY: Where were you when you got drafted, and what did it feel like?

Westergård: I was home with my family in Finland. It was really fun. My mum started crying and my dad was also really happy. So it was really fun to watch it with my parents.

PHLY: You were drafted into the OHL, by the Kingston Frontenacs, in the CHL import draft. Is the plan for next year to stay at Frölunda and play in the SHL?

Westergård: Yeah, the plan is to stay with Frölunda.

PHLY: You were recently at development camp. Was that your first time in Philadelphia, and what was it like?

Westergård: It was my first time in Philadelphia, and it was really, really nice, a cool city. It was fun.

PHLY: Did you get much of a chance to go out and see the city?

Westergård: We didn’t have so much time, but we did a bus tour around the city. I didn’t see too much, but from what I saw I really liked the city.

PHLY: Are there any fellow Flyers prospects you felt chemistry with at the camp, or anyone you already became good friends with?

Westergård: Maybe Jack Berglund, I was playing with him a bit. He is a really great guy. And the Finnish guys, Heikki Ruohonen and Santeri Sulku. And also a U.S. kid! Jack Murtagh, I played with him a bit and he is a really good guy.

PHLY: You play a “power forward” type game despite not being the biggest player, going to the net hard, being physical. Have you always played like that?

Westergård: Yeah, I would say so! I have always been one of the smaller guys on the ice. So you have to try and be a little bit tough sometimes. So yeah, I have always been like that.

PHLY: Your skating is one of your standout attributes, but it seems to have just kept improving a lot in the last year or two. Has it been a focus area?

Westergård: Yeah, when I was younger, I worked a lot on my skating. It is something I have always had a big focus on.

PHLY: In terms of who you are off the ice, what are your favorite things to do in your spare time when you are not playing hockey?

Westergård: In the summer now, I play some golf with my friends, it’s fun. And with my dad I sometimes play tennis as well.

PHLY: What are your goals for next season?

Westergård: The first thing is to make the (SHL) team in Frölunda, try to play in the SHL as much as possible, and secondly is to make the U20 World Juniors team for Finland.