BSH 2023 Community Draft Board, No. 3: Matvei Michkov

Matvei Michkov is the most interesting player in the draft and it’s not really close. Not for what he does on the ice – although that is freakishly tantalizing as well – but for the entire situation following him around like a dark cloud, affecting every conversation about him and where he could fall in the first round of the 2023 NHL Entry Draft.

Tied to a contract with the KHL’s SKA St. Petersburg that runs through the 2025-26 season, many teams are more hesitant to draft the powerful winger because there is no possibility of seeing him play within that team’s system (or in North America) until the 2026-27 season. We know hockey teams can barely think six or 12 or 18 months from the present, so expecting them to see Michkov’s talent but know that he will not be on your team for 28 months after you make the selection, could prevent him from going where his skill has earned him to be.

Plus, there’s the whole Russia thing and the uncertainty of playing over there right now and coming over. We know all too well about how that can happen, like it did for Philadelphia Flyers goaltender prospect Ivan Fedotov.

So all that questionable off-ice context is going to potentially lead to a team swiping Michkov up a couple (or several) picks later than where he was projected to go just earlier this season. But what is that team going to be getting?

Pre-Draft Rankings

No. 2 (European skaters) by NHL Central Scouting
No. 4 by TSN/Bob McKenzie (mid-season)
No. 4 by EliteProspects
No. 3 by The Athletic/Corey Pronman
No. 3 by FCHockey

Statistics

Michkov has been a star since junior hockey. At the age of 15 years old, he scored 38 goals in the MHL (the Russian junior league), leading the entire league and scoring more than his much older peers. He just kept on conitnuing to dominate through the COVID-affected seasons and made his KHL debut at just 16, and didn’t look out of place scoring five points in 13 games.

He is simply able to provce wherever he plays. It is unreal. Just last season, he didn’t find a real home in the KHL lineup on SKA St. Petersburg, and he was clearly too good to waste away in the VHL (the Russian version of the AHL), so he was loaned out to the terrible HK Sochi team and led the team in points per game by a fair margin.

There isn’t much else to say besides “he’s very, very good” and “one of the best Russian prospects we have seen on-paper since Alex Ovechkin.” And honestly, there isn’t much comparable to Michkov because it is so rare for a teenager to come out of the KHL. The last top-5 picks selected that played a full regular season in the KHL was back in 2004 when Ovechkin and Evgeni Malkin were drafted with the first two selections.

Michkov didn’t have the unruly production that those two had in their draft years, but he also had nearly no help in Sochi and had some development stunted by COVID. We’re not saying that he should be considered right up there with the Russian superstars, but he is a unique and special player regardless.

What’s there to like?

Offense. Offense. Michkov is so aware offensively that he is able to pull off plays not many others can. Even something that just looks so simple and ends up being a goal, it’s because Michkov has the acute awareness to be in the right place at the right time around his teammates and either distribute the puck or rocket it into the back of the net.

There is not really an area of his offensive game that doesn’t cause trouble for any opponent. It is typically said with so much hyperbole that a player can “do what he wants” on the ice during his draft year, but with Michkov there is limited exaggeration. His skating supports his ability to be mobile and protect the puck using his excellent stickhandling that in turn, lets him get into the right areas of the ice to make plays. Everything is connected and appears seamless.

It might be selfish and lazy of me to just say “go look up some highlights” but with Michkov, you kind of get his whole deal with how damn long his highlight videos are and how insane he looks.

What’s not to like?

As with any gifted winger that produces points like they are nothing, the defensive side of the game has been something Michkov doesn’t pay attention to at times. This isn’t even to say that it is a bad thing – he’s good enough offensively to warrant some lackluster efforts when his team doesn’t have the puck – but it is something scouts and NHL teams will knock him for.

It’s not what he will be drafted for and that can come later in his game, but the overall 200-foot game and some part of his ability to enter the zone cleanly has hurt him in some scouting circles. But, that’s no fun when we can just watch him scoring dozens and dozens of goals.

How would he fit in the Flyers’ system?

The Flyers need just any top-end talent and Michkov fits that. He might not be the all-situations all-star center that teams drool over, but he is someone that can carry a team’s offense on his back and just make everyone around him so much better.

For the Flyers more specifically, Michkov would be the cream of the crop and players like Cutter Gauthier, Cam York, and Tyson Foerster, would create this solid foundation of future pieces that could be playing their best hockey together. We would see this new trio of young NHLers (and others) get to be what they are destined to be in Philadelphia, and Michkov would swoop in a couple years from now and raise everyone up, being a top-line winger and elite power-play presence.

It now just depends on if he will be available, now.

Can the Flyers actually get him?

Philadelphia has the seventh overall pick this June. Michkov was always destined to be at least a top-four selection but has now been slipping while others (like Will Smith and Zach Benson) are on the rise and seen as more concrete options with those pressure-burdened picks.

Some team that can wait a bit for a player to come over and has multiple picks in the first round (like the Arizona Coyotes, for instance) might be more willing to take the supposed risk in drafting a player like Michkov.

For me, personally, the Flyers should do it but in the real world it all depends on a couple things:

• The Flyers getting another top-60 pick. As of right now, Philadelphia has the seventh overall, and then nothing until the New York Rangers’ and Florida Panthers’ third-round picks. It could be seen as a whole lot of risk to take Michkov with their only early-round pick, so the argument to not pick him could be made there. Unless they get a couple more picks in some trades that involve current Flyers, and then the “risk” would be theoretically lower.
• Other players don’t fall. If someone like Benson or Smith are there at seven, along with Michkov, then it would be a miracle. But, you could easily argue that either of those players could be just as good and you would have more control over their development.

Truthfully, the whole notion of teams not wanting to wait for Michkov is a little silly. If you select any player out of the CHL, they could finish their junior career (two more years) and then play a season in the AHL. Just look at Foerster and now the Flyers are probably getting him when he is 21 years old. If Michkov comes to the NHL in 2026, he will also be 21 years old and turning 22 just later that year. It isn’t too much longer.

It feels a little stupid to think about him being available to the Flyers, but crazier things have happened on the first night of the NHL Entry Draft.

What Scouts Are Saying

Michkov is one of the very best first-year draft eligibles I’ve ever seen from inside the offensive blue line. He has truly special offensive skill and hockey sense. His mind operates differently from other players in how he sees the play develop and always seems to find ways to figure into scoring chances despite not being the biggest or fastest. His mind is special, but he’s freakishly skilled with the puck too, and can make elite stickhandling plays seem routine. He can make plays at a high level, but Michkov is a finisher who will score a lot of goals as a pro. His skating is more elusive than fast and I wouldn’t call him a high-compete type either. – Corey Pronman, The Athletic

Much like Bedard and Fantilli, Michkov entered his draft season with sky-high, almost unfair, expectations of him. And just like those players ahead of him, Michkov shattered those expectations with impressive play in the KHL, one of the best leagues in the world outside of the NHL. Michkov had a record-setting draft year in the KHL with 9 goals and 11 assists in 30 games, although in three of those games he played only a minute or two with SKA St. Petersburg and did not find the scoresheet. Still, the 0.67 points per game pace was the best per game mark for a draft-eligible player in league history. Michkov’s season took off after a mid-season loan to HK Sochi where he consistently played big minutes for the team. Michkov’s intensity and compete level reached new heights after being questioned earlier in the year in the VHL. His skating has also improved from his D-1 season and now looks to grade out as slightly above the NHL average. Finally, Michkov’s transition game, playmaking, and shooting all translated seamlessly to the KHL and he was able to consistently get to high-danger areas to shoot, while setting teammates up for grade-A opportunities as well. If this was any other draft, Michkov would easily be at the top of our draft board. – Jordan Harris, Dobber Prospects

What makes Michkov so compelling is his offensive toolkit. There isn’t a skill you want in an offensive player that Michkov doesn’t have. He has a great shot and release, he has the ability to make defenders look absolutely silly, and outstanding vision and playmaking ability. He’s one of the smarter players on the ice in this draft class. He just has an innate ability to create offence. He not only sees the game at a higher level but he has the physical tools and skills to execute what his mind sees. Sometimes he tries to make plays that are too challenging when there are more effective plays available. As he moves up levels, he will learn what the limits of his abilities are. He doesn’t have high-end speed but he has plenty of quickness and is considered to be a very good skater. – Jared Book, Eyes on the Prize

We’ll make one addition to the poll today. It’s Dalibor Dvorsky!

“Dvorsky is quite dangerous inside the offensive zone. He has excellent puck skills in small areas and can make checkers miss routinely in open ice. He can make tough plays and find seams. He excels as a goal scorer, though, with a wrist shot and one-timer that he can often finish from range. Dvorsky’s compete is good, he wins puck battles and he isn’t shy from using his body. Like a lot of shooters he can stay too much on the perimeter instead of taking it to the net, but I never watch his games and think he lacks effort. His footspeed is going to be an issue for higher levels. I think with his offensive talent, his work ethic and strong and consistent track record of scoring he finds a way to become a very important part of an NHL lineup, but I’m less sure of whether he sticks down the middle or has to be a winger due to his skating.” – Corey Pronman, The Athletic

Who should be No. 4 on the 2023 Community Draft Board?

Previously on the 2023 Community Draft Board…

1. Connor Bedard
2. Adam Fantilli
3. Matvei Michkov
4. ???