His start to the season has been adequate. No one’s going to challenge him for 1OA. Michkov could end up having a better season and could be the better prospect at the end of the season, but it won’t matter. Bedard hasn’t done anything to lose himself the 1OA spot, and Michkov’s been unable to put up an all-time draft season that maybe could cause some debate if Michkov should be considered for 1OA.
There are two things I’ve noticed that could help him stay at center eventually.
The WHL website now lists him at 5’10. He turns 18 in July, so it’s quite possible he’s still growing. Does anyone know if the teams measure the players each training camp and then report the new measurements to the league? Will he measure at the combine? That’s going to be one of the main questions surrounding his draft profile. It’d probably be stupid for him to. If he measures at like 5’8 or 5’8.5 instead of 5’10, that could hurt his draft stock, even if he’d still likely be 1OA.
His face off numbers have also improved year to year in the WHL. He’s nearly 55% this season, which is pretty good. He’s improved 3-5% each season. He doesn’t need to be 55% in the NHL. But he can’t be 35% or 40%. That he’s winning them at 55% against a league where he’s younger than the majority of players suggests he’ll probably do well enough in them in the NHL.
