Player Discussion Most disappointing Hughes Acquisition (All Michkov draft talk here)

[BLONG7]

So teams passed up on Michkov because he's an asshole and there's something fishy with him, but they passed up on Demidov to address needs even though he's the perfect player and teammate.

The story goes, they passed on Michkov because they needed a big RHD.

The story goes Chicago passed on Demidov, because of their need on D.

I would never draft based on need, but I am not a GM in the NHL.

 

[montreal]

There was a lot of info on Mickhov in a post that got deleted (not by me) that explains what happened at the draft,

I know that the people who need to be right will give yet more excuses, but he wanted Philly.

How the Flyers pursued and landed Matvei Michkov a year ago, after a nail-biting draft week

Drafting Michkov involved a stroke of luck that could alter the face of the organization for years to come.

www.nytimes.com

But then, in June, Michkov’s agent, Maxim Moliver, reached out to the Flyers organization. As it turned out, Michkov was spending some downtime ahead of the draft in New York City, and he wanted to meet with the Flyers before the draft at the end of that month. The Flyers, of course, were receptive. They were the only team that Michkov offered to meet with before arriving in Nashville (although that may have been partly influenced by Philadelphia’s proximity to Manhattan).


Michkov travelled via train to meet with a small group of Flyers executives at their training facility in Voorhees, N.J, including Briere. They showed him the upstairs offices, the training facilities, the various displays in the hallways and, of course, the dressing room.

Why Matvei Michkov was Available for Flyers to Draft

The Philadelphia Flyers’ selection of Matvei Michkov was the NHL Draft’s most suspenseful moment. After the Blackhawks picked Connor Bedard, five other teams passed on Michkov. There was some surprise when Anaheim selected Leo Carlsson at No. 2, instead of Adam Fantilli. Columbus was thrilled to...

phillyhockeynow.com

McCauley said the Flyers did their homework. They met with Michkov in Russia. Michkov visited the Flyers Training Center in Voorhees. By the time draft night rolled around, general manager Daniel Briere was ready to draft Michkov.

“It was a blast,” Briere said after the day after the draft.

“We met in a small group with him. When he left, we were blown away by how much he wanted to be a Flyer.”

Matvei Michkov Wanted to be a Flyer - Flyers Nation

Keith Jones and Daniel Brière have been undoing the misery and turmoil that Chuck Fletcher laid about during his almost-5 year tenure as President and General Manager of the Philadelphia Flyers. It was truly a desolate landscape that was filled with overpaid contracts, somewhat empty draft...

www.flyersnation.com

However, let’s all just soak in that after all the smokescreens that were being thrown around for nearly 2 months, Matvei Michkov – who wanted to be a Philadelphia Flyer – had his wish come true as he was selected 7th overall and should be donning the new burnt orange jerseys at some point in the distant future.

 

[montreal]

So what really sticks out from those links,

They were the only team that Michkov offered to meet with before arriving in Nashville

 

[schwang26]

Why wouldn't the same apply to Demidov if that's the case? If Demidov was actually good, why would other teams after San Jose pass up on him? Are we going to pretend that a top-end talent can't fall?

I’m just speculating of course. The guy has been a healthy scratch and was recently fined for a stick swinging incident. When you look at the team character that Hughes has helped build, it’s just interesting that they passed on Michkov’s talent. Maybe they felt he wouldn’t fit in? Maybe they simply drafted for need? Who knows. As for Demidov, maybe a couple other teams were just dumb? Or drafted by need?

 

[Kennerback]

It might be Reinbacher. We drafted by rare RD need IMO. Hope he turns out well but it was another KK pick (center need type pick). I don't care about Michkov. It's R Leonard we missed out on.

Newhook is another but it was what? Late 1st and early 2nd? Still a fan of Newhook but don't think he will be part of our team in the long run. I guess it's nice to have him in case of injuries at center. Good to have those winger/center guys as insurance.



This is probably why we didn't take Michkov. Talent galore but attitude and consistency issues. Problem is we should have taken R Leonard and not draft by RD need.

You draft for need but you take guys who have high potential. KK and Reinbacher picks are reaches because of the need IMO. Wings taking Danielson 9th in 2023 is also another center blunder and they took him because he had size. Beck has similar numbers to Danielson in the AHL this season and was taken much later

Both KK and Reinbacher were late movers close to the draft. I wonder how often that works out? Worked for Yzerman with Sieder but I do wonder the percentages.

This is based entirely on speculation…

When you draft that high you might draft the face of your franchise. At the time of the draft, there’s a proxy war between the West and Russia, so drafting a Russian is more touchy than usual. Add to that he doesn’t speak a line of English. Add to that he oozes as much charisma as Phil Kessel.

But if you add to all that, that the potential face of the franchise has character issues it might be a bridge too far.

 

[Habs Halifax]

What we’ve heard from Habs on why they passed on Michkov is need based. They needed a big RD and recently they said they didn’t want another small forward. If it’s character, that info has never leaked. It also might be touchy to publicly say a 19 year kid is a douchebag.

I don't think we passed on Michkov based on us searching for need only. I think they didn't like Michkov's self centered attitude and it's very possible they were considering Reinbacher or Leonard. They might have felt both were close so they went with RD need.

I don't know about you but there was some character talk on our boards towards Michkov. Was this a real thing with actual NHL GM's and scouts. Not sure but my gut tells me it was. Hard to know for sure.

This is a quote right from Ray Whitney who talked about comments made from one of Michkov's teammate... "I heard that. Listens to nothing... coaches, veterans trying to talk to him, just tells them, 'F**k off.' A guy he played with this year just said, 'This kid, as much as I'm trying to give him a shot is just a piece of shit.'"

This is based entirely on speculation…

When you draft that high you might draft the face of your franchise. At the time of the draft, there’s a proxy war between the West and Russia, so drafting a Russian is more touchy than usual. Add to that he doesn’t speak a line of English. Add to that he oozes as much charisma as Phil Kessel.

But if you add to all that, that the potential face of the franchise has character issues it might be a bridge too far.

Google "Michkov attitude or character issues" and you will see the smoke. So no, not entirely based on speculation. I also added to the post after you replied. See quote from R Whitney

 

[Jack Spider]

Only one person from the habs watched Demidov LIVE in his draft year. Bobrov. That means some teams might not even have scouts in Russia. That's probably all it is, forget the character issue, Bobrov didin't recommend Michkov. There is bound to be some steals in this shit. We also got Konyushkov in 2023, IDK much of him other than he's a dman who was captain of a khl team at like 20 years old I think that's pretty impressive.

 

[Kennerback]

I don't think we passed on Michkov based on us searching for need only. I think they didn't like Michkov's self centered attitude and it's very possible they were considering Reinbacher or Leonard. They might have felt both were close so they went with RD need.

I don't know about you but there was some character talk on our boards towards Michkov. Was this a real thing with actual NHL GM's and scouts. Not sure but my gut tells me it was. Hard to know for sure.

This is a quote right from Ray Whitney who talked about comments made from one of Michkov's teammate... "I heard that. Listens to nothing... coaches, veterans trying to talk to him, just tells them, 'F**k off.' A guy he played with this year just said, 'This kid, as much as I'm trying to give him a shot is just a piece of shit.'"



Google "Michkov attitude or character issues" and you will see the smoke. So no, not entirely based on speculation. I also added to the post after you replied. See quote from R Whitney

My issue at the time of the 2023 draft is we haven’t had a PPG in years, and a 100 point player in decades, might as well say forever. And to me having only on-ice play in consideration with no other factors, Michkov was and is the BPA.

With that said, I read absolutely everything that I could find on his character. I translated a lot of Russian sources, he legit has character issues. I maybe have a higher threshold of tolerance than most to accept character issues. For me, they weren’t bad enough to pass on such an elite offensive talent. Remember we still don’t have Laine and Demidov yet. And I never heard the Habs passed on him for character.

 

[Habs Halifax]

My issue at the time of the 2023 draft is we haven’t had a PPG in years, and a 100 point player in decades, might as well say forever. And to me having only on-ice play in consideration with no other factors, Michkov was and is the BPA.

With that said, I read absolutely everything that I could find on his character. I translated a lot of Russian sources, he legit has character issues. I maybe have a higher threshold of tolerance than most to accept character issues. For me, they weren’t bad enough to pass on such an elite offensive talent. Remember we still don’t have Laine and Demidov. And I never heard the Habs passed on him for character.

Hey, I was high on Michkov too (points generator) but in hindsight, it was a good decision to pass on him. My issues are we should have taken R Leonard instead. Don't hate Reinbacher but he was a late mover as a RD and it reeked of the KK late movement as a center to me. I will admit when the Reinbacher pick was made... I was like WTF.

I would love to have another 100 pts player but I'm not desperate for it. I value a strong and deep hockey team more.

 

[Kennerback]

Hey, I was high on Michkov too (points generator) but in hindsight, it was a good decision to pass on him. My issues are we should have taken R Leonard instead. Don't hate Reinbacher but he was a late mover as a RD and it reeked of the KK late movement as a center to me. I will admit when the Reinbacher pick was made... I was like WTF.

I would love to have another 100 pts player but I'm not desperate for it. I value a strong and deep hockey team more.

At the time I was fine for them picking Reinbacher over Leonard. Leonard plays a power forward role in lower leagues, but in the NHL facing Ds that are more often than not 6’2 to 6´5 not 5’9 to 6’0 anymore, he’ll need to play the role of a pest not a power forward.

 

[Habs Halifax]

At the time I was fine for them picking Reinbacher over Leonard. Leonard plays a power forward role in lower leagues, but in the NHL facing Ds that are more often than not 6’2 to 6´5 not 5’9 to 6’0 anymore, he’ll need to play the role of a pest not a power forward.

Like always, you wonder how they turn out and you could be wrong or right. But I was high on Leonard pre draft and even higher on him now. I really do hope Reinbacher turns out well. I'm not going against this kid but I find that pick was a reach.

 

[JIMVINNY]

My issue at the time of the 2023 draft is we haven’t had a PPG in years, and a 100 point player in decades, might as well say forever. And to me having only on-ice play in consideration with no other factors, Michkov was and is the BPA.

With that said, I read absolutely everything that I could find on his character. I translated a lot of Russian sources, he legit has character issues. I maybe have a higher threshold of tolerance than most to accept character issues. For me, they weren’t bad enough to pass on such an elite offensive talent. Remember we still don’t have Laine and Demidov yet. And I never heard the Habs passed on him for character.

I don't typically get high on players. I generally wait until i found out who we drafted and then go look them up. (Demidov was the exception. I had convinced myself we had no chance at him, but he was definitely my favorite.) So when we selected RB over Michkov (I'd heard about him, like most had), I was taken aback, but prepared to give RB a chance. I heard a few stories about Michkov after the fact, including the one media personality who witnessed Michkov come absolutely unglued at an unfortunate sales rep at a Foot Locker, simply because Michkov couldn't speak english, and the associate couldn't understand him.

If character issues had ANYTHING to do with the Habs passing on him, we'll never know. The organization is far too classy for that. But if any organization would have had additional insight into his character, it would be Montreal. Bobrov's connections and presence in Russia probably gave them access that most teams wouldn't have, so I'm prepared to give them the benefit of the doubt for passing on him that I wouldn't be so ready to give in other circumstances.

 

[morhilane]

So teams passed up on Michkov because he's an asshole and there's something fishy with him, but they passed up on Demidov to address needs even though he's the perfect player and teammate.

Chicago picked the RHD they watched playing all season in the NCAA who was ranked 2-3 on most list for most of the year.

Anaheim have drafted like 2 Russians playing in Russia in the last 10 years and both were round 5+ selections. I don't think it is need that made them pass on Demidov...

Columbus wanted a center.

 

[Big Lurk]

You say fear as if I hope that he doesn’t turn it around. I obviously want him to be a 2C.

Your fear is to become the poster known as Le Poulet Voyageur muhahahah

Come on let's have this friendly wager already

 

[JIMVINNY]

Chicago picked the RHD they watched playing all season in the NCAA who was ranked 2-3 on most list for most of the year.

Anaheim have drafted like 2 Russians playing in Russia in the last 10 years and both were round 5+ selections. I don't think it is need that made them pass on Demidov...

Columbus wanted a center.

It wouldn't surprise me to learn that both Demidov and Michkov used the interview process to try to control where they ended up. Michkov could have told only the Flyers that he could get out of his contract early, whereas Demidov could have implied he was re-signing to everyone BUT the Habs. It's harder for NA players to use this as leverage, but it's quite simple for Russian players who have the KHL as a legitimate option.

 

[salbutera]

Chicago picked the RHD they watched playing all season in the NCAA who was ranked 2-3 on most list for most of the year.

Anaheim have drafted like 2 Russians playing in Russia in the last 10 years and both were round 5+ selections. I don't think it is need that made them pass on Demidov...

Columbus wanted a center.

Verbeek was on 32Thoughts in Oct or Nov and went deep into the reasoning of why they selected Sennecke - simply put he fits the big, heavy team philosophy Ana is building vs Demigod

 

[jackeymoon]

Honestly couldn't care less about not taking Michkov, think the kid will never be as impactful as Demidov/there's a ton of red flags. I was very upset they took Reinbacher over Leonard. Big mistake, Leonard is going to be a big time playoff guy, big time goal scorer.

That's the biggest miss followed by the Newhook deal. Didn't like it then, hate it now. Dach has been injury prone but the gamble was worth it and I'm happy with Carrier.

Chicago picked the RHD they watched playing all season in the NCAA who was ranked 2-3 on most list for most of the year.

Anaheim have drafted like 2 Russians playing in Russia in the last 10 years and both were round 5+ selections. I don't think it is need that made them pass on Demidov...

Columbus wanted a center.

It's kinda nuts that anyone wanted Lindstrom considering how bad his injury was.

 

[morhilane]

It's kinda nuts that anyone wanted Lindstrom considering how bad his injury was.

Me and like two others kept saying he should be a no-draft. But lots of posters just kept bringing up his agent saying "nothing bad to see here".

 

[ReHabs]

Verbeek was on 32Thoughts in Oct or Nov and went deep into the reasoning of why they selected Sennecke - simply put he fits the big, heavy team philosophy Ana is building vs Demigod

I was really big on Sennecke at the very last min. Wasn’t surprised to see him go top5. He’s a perfect looking prospect for the modern NHL.

Me and like two others kept saying he should be a no-draft. But lots of posters just kept bringing up his agent saying "nothing bad to see here".

Many posters here just follow whatever Grant McCagg says even though they won’t admit it

 

[FerrisRox]

The story goes, they passed on Michkov because they needed a big RHD.

I can't provide a source for this, so the Mods can delete this if they think it's necessary, but the Canadiens did not pass on Michkov because they wanted a right handed D.

They were not taking Michkov under any circumstances.

 

[ReHabs]

So what really sticks out from those links,

Michkov met with plenty of teams including the Habs. If a team wanted him more than the Flyers they could’ve made efforts to see him like the Flyers did — not sure why it’s a one way street.

If the Habs didn’t draft him because they felt he wasn’t being cute enough for them, that’s as much of a problem for Michkov as it is for the team of grown professionals who couldn’t see straight and make the right high upside decision.

This is why I refuse to believe the Habs preferred Michkov but resorted to Reinbacher due to off-ice reasons. It makes the Habs look amateurish.

I think the simple and clear answer is the Habs genuinely preferred Reinbacher.

 

[BLONG7]

I can't provide a source for this, so the Mods can delete this if they think it's necessary, but the Canadiens did not pass on Michkov because they wanted a right handed D.

They were not taking Michkov under any circumstances.

Could be.........the party line was they wanted the big RHD due to their needs.
There were many stories about Bobrov and the connection to inside info on Michkov.

I wanted a forward that draft........Michkov was the easy choice, but Ryan Leonard at 5 could have worked also.....The other story was, Michkov made it known he wanted Philly......

 

[ReHabs]

I can't provide a source for this, so the Mods can delete this if they think it's necessary, but the Canadiens did not pass on Michkov because they wanted a right handed D.

They were not taking Michkov under any circumstances.

You can’t provide the source or you don’t have a source and you’re going with your gut.

If it’s the former, please elaborate a bit and shed some light.

I have a source too, albeit on the Russian side, and I said plenty of times what I was told by them — they didn’t like Michkov too much for his speed, strength, and physical/defensive effort. I think that report went to the Habs and the Habs felt the same way. I don’t think Michkov was a DND for any personality reasons — this phenomenon is extremely rare. NHL teams gave that racist kid Miller TWO chances, another NHL team drafted Logan Mailloux in the first round… teams go for talent and upside above all.

 

[FerrisRox]

There were many stories about Bobrov and the connection to inside info on Michkov.

Bingo.

You can’t provide the source or you don’t have a source and you’re going with your gut.

The rules of HFBoards require you to prove how you have particular information and that's not something I'm going to do, which is why I said the mods could delete the comment if they needed too.

I will say this: What I have been told is the exact opposite of what you said. They had no issues, at all, with him in terms of ability. (They did have legitimate concerns about his size. They didn't think it was feasible to have a top six with Caufield and Michkov in it.) The reason he was passed over had nothing to do with his ability or his potential.

 

[Goldthorpe]

1) I'm so tired hearing about Bitchkov again and again, he's not The One That Went Away, he's the trap pick we wisely stayed away from during our rebuilt. I wish the guy all the success of the world, but nothing about his game and his demeanours and the things we hear from Philly let me believe he would have been a good fit in Montreal. I just don't see it.

2) If we want to argue who we should have picked instead of Rein, then I also agree that Leonard would have been very nice (he was my choice back then). Personally, a player like Leonard would fit better long time in our top 6 than Laine, who is kinda redundant with Caufield - but at least he's big, contrarily to Mitchy.