RW Matvei Michkov (2023, 7th, PHI) Part 4

[Sasha Orlov]

More than Ovechkin? We're talking about a player who might be the greatest goalscorer in the history of ice hockey here.

Michkov is the better prospect tbh, doesn’t mean he will be as good as OV in the NHL

 

[ponder]

The regular season is over. Time to take stock.

	GP​	PTS​	PPG​
Michkov	30 (3 for SKA)​	20 (9+11)	0.667
Tarasenko	42​	24 (13+11)	0.571
Ovechkin	53​	24 (11+13)	0.453
Panarin	20​	9 (1+8)	0.450
Malkin	34​	12 (3+9)	0.350
Kaprizov	31​	8 (4+4)	0.258
Kuznetsov	35​	8 (2+6)	0.229
Kucherov	9​	2 (0+2)	0.222

5 point night, what a way to finish the year! Wonder how long it’s been since a player his age put up 5 points in the KHL/RSL? Has to have been ages. Possibly even the first time ever?

As others have mentioned, Cherepanov would be a good add to this list, 0.63 PPG. Also, insane that Panarin went undrafted, what, 3 times? Had a great draft season, even better D+1, then took another big step in his D+2. Great offensive skillset too. Shows how overly conservative NHL teams can be about Russian players. Or Tarasenko, pretty much everyone had him as a top 3 talent in that draft, with Taylor/Tyler, but he went 16th because Russian factor.

 

[bottomofthefoodchain]

The regular season is over. Time to take stock.

	GP​	PTS​	PPG​
Michkov	30 (3 for SKA)​	20 (9+11)	0.667
Tarasenko	42​	24 (13+11)	0.571
Ovechkin	53​	24 (11+13)	0.453
Panarin	20​	9 (1+8)	0.450
Malkin	34​	12 (3+9)	0.350
Kaprizov	31​	8 (4+4)	0.258
Kuznetsov	35​	8 (2+6)	0.229
Kucherov	9​	2 (0+2)	0.222

impressive, but the KHL is also the worst it's been in years

 

[Caser]

impressive, but the KHL is also the worst it's been in years

And the most low-scoring it's been in years, so it makes it even more impressive.

 

[Fantomas]

Folks...

 

[Bonin21]

Clearly that formula does not work right for defensemen and is also overstating in general.

 

[AlexanderSemin21]

Michkov is the better prospect tbh, doesn’t mean he will be as good as OV in the NHL

Michkov is nowhere near Ovechkin as a prospect in terms of upside, let alone Kovalchuk who even was considered a much better prospect than Ovechkin. Michkov is a 5'8-160 lbs who is not really fast and those two were elite skaters at 6'3-220. If he was a better prospect than Ovi he would be the undisputed pick at #2 in every mock and no one would pick Michkov ahead of Fantilli as things stand right now. In terms of production he might be the best prospect ever coming out of Russia, in terms of upside or eye test, he is just a better version of Tarasenko but nothing "generational" about his play. He has great hockey sense, great accuracy in his shot and elite hands in tight, but he lacks speed/explosiveness, usually does not carry the puck (you wont see many zone entries from him) and he is only dangerous mostly around the net. To me he is the typical player who is not going to be as dominant as he is in the juniors, like John Tavares, who was a machine production but his upside was a bit limited as a pro.

 

[Sasha Orlov]

Michkov is nowhere near Ovechkin as a prospect in terms of upside, let alone Kovalchuk who even was considered a much better prospect than Ovechkin. Michkov is a 5'8-160 lbs who is not really fast and those two were elite skaters at 6'3-220. If he was a better prospect than Ovi he would be the undisputed pick at #2 in every mock and no one would pick Michkov ahead of Fantilli as things stand right now. In terms of production he might be the best prospect ever coming out of Russia, in terms of upside or eye test, he is just a better version of Tarasenko but nothing "generational" about his play. He has great hockey sense, great accuracy in his shot and elite hands in tight, but he lacks speed/explosiveness, usually does not carry the puck (you wont see many zone entries from him) and he is only dangerous mostly around the net. To me he is the typical player who is not going to be as dominant as he is in the juniors, like John Tavares, who was a machine production but his upside was a bit limited as a pro.

You know why Michkov is not the consensus #2 pick just as well as I do
He is statistically the better prospect

I think passing on him at #2 would be absolutely foolish

 

[HawksDub89]

and he's going to fall on draft day because GMs are stupid

I think he makes sense for Chicago. If we don’t get Bedard, Michkovs timeline matches up perfect for us.

 

[LemonSauceD]

Is it possible Michkov can opt out of his contract if he wanted to? Or have his contract terminated?

 

[Adele Dazeem]

Is it possible Michkov can opt out of his contract if he wanted to? Or have his contract terminated?

Easily. Buy-out his contract.

I'm jealous of the team that steals him.

 

[LemonSauceD]

Easily. Buy-out his contract.

I'm jealous of the team that steals him.

I guess he has to “refuse” to report to his KHL team and just come on over to NA.

I do think he stays in Russia for at least another year.

 

[Fantomas]

Michkov is nowhere near Ovechkin as a prospect in terms of upside, let alone Kovalchuk who even was considered a much better prospect than Ovechkin. Michkov is a 5'8-160 lbs who is not really fast and those two were elite skaters at 6'3-220. If he was a better prospect than Ovi he would be the undisputed pick at #2 in every mock and no one would pick Michkov ahead of Fantilli as things stand right now. In terms of production he might be the best prospect ever coming out of Russia, in terms of upside or eye test, he is just a better version of Tarasenko but nothing "generational" about his play. He has great hockey sense, great accuracy in his shot and elite hands in tight, but he lacks speed/explosiveness, usually does not carry the puck (you wont see many zone entries from him) and he is only dangerous mostly around the net. To me he is the typical player who is not going to be as dominant as he is in the juniors, like John Tavares, who was a machine production but his upside was a bit limited as a pro.

LOL, Michkov's listed height and weight are close to Crosby's and he's a winger. What, all those extra inches made Ovechkin that much better?

And although Kovalchuk was a great prospect, his D-1 results were inferior to that of Ovechkin and Michkov.

 

[LetsGoFlyers12]

Michkov is nowhere near Ovechkin as a prospect in terms of upside, let alone Kovalchuk who even was considered a much better prospect than Ovechkin. Michkov is a 5'8-160 lbs who is not really fast and those two were elite skaters at 6'3-220. If he was a better prospect than Ovi he would be the undisputed pick at #2 in every mock and no one would pick Michkov ahead of Fantilli as things stand right now. In terms of production he might be the best prospect ever coming out of Russia, in terms of upside or eye test, he is just a better version of Tarasenko but nothing "generational" about his play. He has great hockey sense, great accuracy in his shot and elite hands in tight, but he lacks speed/explosiveness, usually does not carry the puck (you wont see many zone entries from him) and he is only dangerous mostly around the net. To me he is the typical player who is not going to be as dominant as he is in the juniors, like John Tavares, who was a machine production but his upside was a bit limited as a pro.

I would agree that Kovy, Ovi and Michkov are thr 3 best Russian born prospects since 2000, at least. Kovy and Ovi are easy to project via eye test. Both could fly, handle the puck, and had world class shot arsenals. Kovalchuk was my favorite player growing up, because his talent was off the charts.

With that being said, I would choose Michkov over at least Kovy as a prospect. The hockey sense he displays, and his ability to manipulate the game, is unparalleled. Neither Kovalchuk or Ovechkin have that. It's easy to poke holes in certain physical tools, but you can only make as much of them as your brain allows. If you thunk the game at a high speed, you never look uncomfortable.

For the record, Kovalchuk was a better prospect than Kucherov and Kaprizov. Kovalchuk also had much more natural talent. However, I would argue both of them eclipsed Kovalchuk as NHL players. Just my opinion

 

[Hanji]

I guess he has to “refuse” to report to his KHL team and just come on over to NA.

I do think he stays in Russia for at least another year.

To terminate his contract he needs to reimburse SKA a fixed % of his salary. But there's a certain time frame within he must enact this; like notifying SKA a year ahead of time or something.

 

[Breakfast of Champs]

Michkov is nowhere near Ovechkin as a prospect in terms of upside, let alone Kovalchuk who even was considered a much better prospect than Ovechkin. Michkov is a 5'8-160 lbs who is not really fast and those two were elite skaters at 6'3-220. If he was a better prospect than Ovi he would be the undisputed pick at #2 in every mock and no one would pick Michkov ahead of Fantilli as things stand right now. In terms of production he might be the best prospect ever coming out of Russia, in terms of upside or eye test, he is just a better version of Tarasenko but nothing "generational" about his play. He has great hockey sense, great accuracy in his shot and elite hands in tight, but he lacks speed/explosiveness, usually does not carry the puck (you wont see many zone entries from him) and he is only dangerous mostly around the net. To me he is the typical player who is not going to be as dominant as he is in the juniors, like John Tavares, who was a machine production but his upside was a bit limited as a pro.

I think it could be debated who was a better prospect between kovy and Ovi, Kovalchuk was definitely not "much better" , Ovi was destroying the WJC and eben in NA we were getting the hype that he could compete with Crosby as the next NHL mega star. Kovalchuk was definitely a super hyped #1 in his own right and surpassed spezza who was the golden boy of the 01 draft for 3+ years , but Ovi had put himself at least on par if not ahead by his draft day.

I would have to say michkov comes in below both just in terms of his volatility, there was basically zero chance Ovi or Kovalchuk wouldn't step into the NHL right away and be stars, I think michkov has a few more question marks but he could still be that superstar talent , maybe not as quickly but within 3-4 years. I could also be totally wrong but given his contract we likely won't find out how good he will be from 19-22. Ovi and Kovalchuk were rocket winners by that time

 

[AlexanderSemin21]

I think it could be debated who was a better prospect between kovy and Ovi, Kovalchuk was definitely not "much better" , Ovi was destroying the WJC and eben in NA we were getting the hype that he could compete with Crosby as the next NHL mega star. Kovalchuk was definitely a super hyped #1 in his own right and surpassed spezza who was the golden boy of the 01 draft for 3+ years , but Ovi had put himself at least on par if not ahead by his draft day.

I would have to say michkov comes in below both just in terms of his volatility, there was basically zero chance Ovi or Kovalchuk wouldn't step into the NHL right away and be stars, I think michkov has a few more question marks but he could still be that superstar talent , maybe not as quickly but within 3-4 years. I could also be totally wrong but given his contract we likely won't find out how good he will be from 19-22. Ovi and Kovalchuk were rocket winners by that time

I was not following prospects back then because i was too young, but i always read that Kovalchuk was considered a better prospect.

 

[Breakfast of Champs]

View attachment 658130

I was not following prospects back then because i was too young, but i always read that Kovalchuk was considered a better prospect.

That's one scouts take - you could find others who said the opposite. Even that scout says Ovi was more complete, but tbh I am kind of surprised by that idea that there was a talent gap, because Ovechkin was getting more hype leading to his draft. His WJC was better, u17 and u18 was better, and he was being heralded at an even younger age. He was also playing in the top league while Kovalchuk was not. Transworld sport featured him at age 15/16 as the future of hockey for example, and I also recall an article in faceoff magazine from Nov/dec 2003 where it quoted a few scouts saying we shouldn't be too quick to look past the 2004 draft and right to Crosby and the "next one", because Ovi had the ability to compete with Crosby as the dominant force in the league for the next 15+ years.

I would say it was a tossup between the 2 at worst for Ovi, and many GMs would be taking Ovi over Kovalchuk on draft day - he was definitely more of a power forward and also produced as well or better at every stage. In fact, I would actually say it was probably the majority of scouts and GMs that would take Ovi. Kovalchuk might have had more "talent" but Ovi just plain did more, and the proof is in the results at every level before they were drafted.

 

[Deleted member 339941]

 

[GrizzGreen]

LOL, Michkov's listed height and weight are close to Crosby's and he's a winger. What, all those extra inches made Ovechkin that much better?

Yes, he's a genetic freak

It's something to consider. People sleep on Ovi's physicality for some reason when it's the dimension of his game that sets him apart even further from other wingers with great shots.

 

[ViD]

I wonder what his MHL numbers will be, it might not even be fair for his opponents there

 

[Fantomas]

Yes, he's a genetic freak

It's something to consider. People sleep on Ovi's physicality for some reason when it's the dimension of his game that sets him apart even further from other wingers with great shots.

So is Crosby. So was Martin St. Louis. Ovechkin is not a genetic freak because of his height.

 

[GrizzGreen]

So is Crosby. So was Martin St. Louis. Ovechkin is not a genetic freak because of his height.

...okay so being pointedly obtuse is your thing, got it.

 

[Fantomas]

...okay so being pointedly obtuse is your thing, got it.

Me: "What, all those extra inches made Ovechkin that much better?"

You: "Yes, he's a genetic freak"

Me: "?"

You: "Stop being obtuse"

 

[WarriorofTime]

Michkov is the better prospect tbh, doesn’t mean he will be as good as OV in the NHL

A better prospect than the unanimous number 1 pick that became the greatest goal scorer in NHL history, but said current prospect won't even go Top 5? lol, seems extreme. Every year people go a bit extreme with the hyperbole on the current wave of prospects...