Matvei Michkov vs. Ivan Demidov; who will be better?

[ReimanSum1908]

Michkov, and it won't be particularly close. Demidov will be a 70 point top line forward; Michkov will be in the race for the Hart trophy year in and year out.

I hate that this is a thing.

Get used to it, because it will dominate the narrative of both their careers, I bet.

 

[Kairi Zaide]

jordan Weal scored 77pts in 66 khl games

Just because it’s more rare doesn’t mean it’s more impressive

I mentionned scoring levels and cultures for reasons like this, and should have added style. Age is also a very important factor. Michkov is outdoing, at the same time, what players like OV, Panarin, Kaprizov, Malkin, Kucherov were doing at the same age (not exactly the KHL for OV and Geno though, and league quality has gone down a little in the past few years). That's not a guarantee he'll be better than any one of them, but saying it's not impressive is incredibly dishonest.

 

[KevSkillz4]

MHL is in the same tier of USHL. Demidov at 17 years old put 2 pts per game, Jack Hughes at 17 years old in USHL, put 2 pts per game, but... play with Boldy, Zegras and Caufield.

That's impressive.

 

[Rafafouille]

Voted Demidov, on pure talent Michkov but until he comes to the NHL and proves his red flags were just hearsay there's too much risk that he busts. Will be interesting to see him with Philly.

 

[HeadLiceHatty]

MHL is in the same tier of USHL. Demidov at 17 years old put 2 pts per game, Jack Hughes at 17 years old in USHL, put 2 pts per game, but... play with Boldy, Zegras and Caufield.

That's impressive.

View attachment 890012

You've posted this in like 15 places, are you okay? To the poll, Michkov, absolute landslide. Although, Demidov is very talented.

 

[NiagaraKraken]

Ivan Demidov. Gonna be a star in mtl.

 

[Felidae]

Michkov, and it won't be particularly close. Demidov will be a 70 point top line forward; Michkov will be in the race for the Hart trophy year in and year out.


Get used to it, because it will dominate the narrative of both their careers, I bet.

I picked Michkov here but I think Demidov topping out as a 70 point forward would be a bit disappointing..we're talking about a player who produced similarly to Kucherov at the same age.

 

[Sam de Mtl]

I choose Demidov, but not necessarily on talent only. Then the nod would go to Michkov. I have seen bad attitude from him to his teammates going all the way back to the U18s when he was only 16. I think this guy is a bad apple and will not put in the effort to reach his massive potential. Or to be a 200 foot player that will really help his team in more ways than just offensively.

Maybe I will be wrong. We will see.

 

[Arthur Morgan]

who cares whos better. shouldnt have this big thing between these players just because Habs passed on Michkov. reality is Demidov has nothing to do with Michkov
Habs fans and Philly fans should just be happy they both got incredibly talented prospects who will both be in the NHL before u know it

 

[Tanknation]

Demidov seems to have more of the "it" factor. Better 2 way player, and bigger. Both I think will be great though.

 

[Arthur Morgan]

Voted Demidov, on pure talent Michkov but until he comes to the NHL and proves his red flags were just hearsay there's too much risk that he busts. Will be interesting to see him with Philly.

he will be in the NHL next season

 

[zizbuka]

Poll needs a 'Both will be great' option. Voted Michkov, but Demidov will be fun to watch too.

A lot depends on whether the Flyers can ruin Michkov..........

 

[KevSkillz4]

Considering the hype of Matvei Mickov, I'm happy to see people really like Ivan Demidov aswell.

 

[HabzSauce]

Homer pick but I love everything I see and hear about Demidov. Sounds like he has Kobe mentality too. I'm going Demidov overall but they will both be elite

 

[A Loyal Demidog]

Both are going to be amazing players. Different strengths. You can't go wrong picking either. Super stoked!

 

[Zine]

jordan Weal scored 77pts in 66 khl games

Just because it’s more rare doesn’t mean it’s more impressive

And Bedard was outscored at the WC by hockey greats Yasin Ehliz, Leo Pfoderl and Wojciech Stachowiak.

In fact Bedard’s play away from the puck became such a liability his role on Canada diminished greatly as the tourney progressed.


Comparing different player’s productivity between different leagues can be massively faulty considering circumstanes, cultures, roles, etc. are different.
Bedard’s experience at the WC is festiment to this.
You need to rely on the eye test.

 

[Kshahdoo]

You can always discuss who's better, Kucherov or Kaprizov, but any NHL team will gladly take any of them. The same about Michkov and Demidov.

The only interesting thing to talk about here is Montreal could have had both of them. What an epic duo it could be, heh...

 

[Zine]

You can always discuss who's better, Kucherov or Kaprizov, but any NHL team will gladly take any of them. The same about Michkov and Demidov.

The only interesting thing to talk about here is Montreal could have had both of them. What an epic duo it could be, heh...

Montreal passing on Michkov is lunacy. Pure lunacy.
Watching Michov and Demidov on the same line during KHL preseason was a treat….. especially considering how young they were/are. Then they couldve traded for Gritsyuk too.

 

[Kudo Shinichi]

Not making any statement here, but comparing PPGs like that between the two leagues - which have vastly different scoring levels and cultures - isn't really a good argument.

There were over 30 PPG players in the NHL, vs 7 in the KHL. Bedard played nearly 20 minutes a game vs 17 for Michkov.

The reasons the two were compared is because Michkov was doing stuff basically never seen before in Russia for his age.

And Bedard was outscored at the WC by hockey greats Yasin Ehliz, Leo Pfoderl and Wojciech Stachowiak.

In fact Bedard’s play away from the puck became such a liability his role on Canada diminished greatly as the tourney progressed.


Comparing different player’s productivity between different leagues can be massively faulty considering circumstanes, cultures, roles, etc. are different.
Bedard’s experience at the WC is festiment to this.
You need to rely on the eye test.

WC was a small sample size, and you can't compare two players if they didn't have a similar role. Bedard averaged less than 13 min per game, whereas the players you named averaged a lot more than that.

Bedard and Michkov had similar roles on their respective teams. There is no reason to believe that if Bedard scored at a .90 ppg in the NHL he wouldn't score a lot more in a similar role playing in a far inferior league.

 

[danisonfire]

Michkov is a stronger goal scoring threat and Demidov is a better facilitator of the puck. I would put them both on par for value.

 

[bert]

Michkov's skillset is far more translatable based on actual game play. I have no doubt that Demidov is talented but the way he was scoring in the MHL will not work in the NHL. There will be a transition time period where he will have to learn different ways to attack. Will he adapt? I dunno, Michkov's offensive hockey iq is so high its very translatable. Less about beating playeres one on one than Demidov.

 

[Rich Nixon]

This poll is essentially "how many Habs fans are there on HFBoards."

 

[KevSkillz4]

This poll is essentially "how many Habs fans are there on HFBoards."

I think you underrated the talent and potential of Ivan Demidov.

Michkov is a better goalscorer for sure.

But Demidov is better at playmaking, two-way and better hands too.

 

[Rich Nixon]

I think you underrated the talent and potential of Ivan Demidov.

I don't, he's an extremely talented prospect, but votes in these polls are public.

 

[Sasha Orlov]

This poll is essentially "how many Habs fans are there on HFBoards."

Habs fan here, voted for Michkov