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

[ValeriKamensky]

First they put Michkov at the same tier as Bedard. After they try to find excuses: bad linemates, lack of creativity in the defense.
Yeah, I’m rooting for opinion that this Flyers roster is one of the worst in team history. But it’s still far better than last season Blackhawks. And there was no excuses for Bedard - he played 1C and scored a lot of points, showing really mature plays.

Mich is a good player. Probably in some areas is better than I thought (puck protection for example), but he’s just not the same level as Bedard.

 

[MNRube]

First they put Michkov at the same tier as Bedard. After they try to find excuses: bad linemates, lack of creativity in the defense.
Yeah, I’m rooting for opinion that this Flyers roster is one of the worst in team history.

I actually like their forwards. Need one more 1st liner, preferably a C. But all of Foerster, Brink, Frost, Farabee, Luchanko can play and then you have the clear top 6 guys in Michkov, Konecny and Tippett. 4th line is also very effective.

Blueline is a complete disaster though. Seeler will help a bit but this team is going to take years off Torts’ life with their defensive shortcomings.

They need Bonk to be a difference maker and to add a bluechip defender in the next 12 months. I bet they move one of their many young middle 6 Fs and some futures this summer to address the glaring imbalance.

As much as I like Luchanko, I think they should’ve went after Silayev, Buium or Dickinson when they started slipping down the board.

 

[waffledave]

You mean so expensive that a pro hockey player wouldn't be able to afford a flight to the States or it would be too expensive for an NHL club to send their scouts to Russia?

It's hard to send people to Russia. American credit cards don't work there.

 

[WhiskeyYerTheDevils]

First they put Michkov at the same tier as Bedard. After they try to find excuses: bad linemates, lack of creativity in the defense.
Yeah, I’m rooting for opinion that this Flyers roster is one of the worst in team history. But it’s still far better than last season Blackhawks. And there was no excuses for Bedard - he played 1C and scored a lot of points, showing really mature plays.

Mich is a good player. Probably in some areas is better than I thought (puck protection for example), but he’s just not the same level as Bedard.

Bedard was a center in name only. He was essentially a winger who took faceoffs and then cheated for offense at every opportunity, and was usually the last forward back and first forward to fly the zone. There is no way he'd be allowed to play like that under a coach like Tortorella.

 

[Frank Drebin]

I was in Texas in 2021 when 90 percent of the crowd were NHL scouts. Sat two rows in front of Todd Harvey and his crew and they were ooohing and aaahing over Michkov the entire Czech game, and it should go without saying how rare it is for scouts at a viewing to show any emotion at all. The general mood from everyone in attendance was that Michkov-Bedard were a generational duo and media reported as such.

Then the Ukraine war happened and the narrative completely shifted.

The publisher of The Hockey News wrote a full-page op-ed that NHL teams should avoid drafting Russians. Bob McKenzie quoted scouts who said ownership ordered no Russians were to be drafted. There was a full-on anti-Michkov campaign in the media and to think it had to do with anything but the fact that he was Russian is laughable.

Russians taken by year: First round in brackets

2024 (4) - 26 total
2023 (4) - 20 total
2022 (3) - 23 total
2021 (1) - 29 total
2020 (4) - 23 total
2019 (1) - 28 total
2018 (4) - 20 total
The totals get lower the further we go back.

2018 had 4 Russians drafted in the first round and 20 Russians total. Was there an anti Russia campaign going on in 2018 as well?


Just giving a quick glance 2023 really doesn't look out of place at all. Perhaps teams in 2023 werent willing to take a chance on later draft picks on players they hadn't scouted much but with 4 first rounders coming from Russia (tied for the most in recent years) it doesn't look like the anti Russian campaign worked all that well.

 

[Fantomas]

Most minutes among Flyers forwards last night, so Torts is keeping Michkov out there, providing him with opportunities to produce. Would be nice for Michkov to have the longest leash in the world like Bedard did last year. Probably won't be as long though.

 

[Steve Kournianos]

Russians taken by year: First round in brackets

2024 (4) - 26 total
2023 (4) - 20 total
2022 (3) - 23 total
2021 (1) - 29 total
2020 (4) - 23 total
2019 (1) - 28 total
2018 (4) - 20 total
The totals get lower the further we go back.

2018 had 4 Russians drafted in the first round and 20 Russians total. Was there an anti Russia campaign going on in 2018 as well?


Just giving a quick glance 2023 really doesn't look out of place at all. Perhaps teams in 2023 werent willing to take a chance on later draft picks on players they hadn't scouted much but with 4 first rounders coming from Russia (tied for the most in recent years) it doesn't look like the anti Russian campaign worked all that well.

I’m assuming you’re counting NA imports who were already here and you’re also not incorporating the percentages per draft class size, which expanded from 211 to 217 to 224 from 2016 to 2021. I did this study in my 2022 draft report. The percentage of Russian-league prospects drafted:

2019 12.0%(26/217)
2020 11.1 % (24/217)
2021 12.9% (29/224)
Ukraine War
2022 11.1% (25/225)
2023 8.5% (19/224)

2023 — Michkov’s draft year — saw the lowest percentage of Russian-leaguers drafted since 2017. Not a coincidence.

 

[Frank Drebin]

I’m assuming you’re counting NA imports who were already here and you’re also not incorporating the percentages per draft class size, which expanded from 211 to 217 to 224 from 2016 to 2021. I did this study in my 2022 draft report. The percentage of Russian-league prospects drafted:

2019 12.0%(26/217)
2020 11.1 % (24/217)
2021 12.9% (29/224)
Ukraine War
2022 11.1% (25/225)
2023 8.5% (19/224)

2023 — Michkov’s draft year — saw the lowest percentage of Russian-leaguers drafted since 2017. Not a coincidence.

yes, the lower percentage could explain teams not taking a risk on later picks. Still 4 first round picks from Russia in 2023, as many as any recent year. Interestingly enough, Montreal, a team who passed on Michkov because of supposed Russian factor picked Russian players in round 4 and 5

Chicago picked a Russian in round 2
Arizona picked 2 Russians in Round 1
San Jose picked a Russian in Round 7

Only two teams that passed on Michkov (Anaheim and Columbus) didn't pick a Russian in the 2023 draft.

So, Im not sure I buy the Russian factor.

 

[Sombastate]

He's a point per game, has shown a bit more defensive ability than i expected (I expected less than none). Also has a little chippiness to his game.

He's pretty much just as advertised if not better. Whether he's as good as anyone else is really not something i think Flyer fans care about. Is he as good as we hoped he was? The answer is pretty much an emphatic "yes"

 

[MNRube]

He needs to find his version of Zuccarello/Kane. Both Kaprizov and Panarin found partners that could think the game at their level and it was a huge boost to their productivity. I’m not sure Frost is that guy, he seems to hold on to the puck a bit too much. Michkov moves it immediately and needs someone who can do the same IMO.

 

[Steve Kournianos]

yes, the lower percentage could explain teams not taking a risk on later picks. Still 4 first round picks from Russia in 2023, as many as any recent year. Interestingly enough, Montreal, a team who passed on Michkov because of supposed Russian factor picked Russian players in round 4 and 5

Chicago picked a Russian in round 2
Arizona picked 2 Russians in Round 1
San Jose picked a Russian in Round 7

Only two teams that passed on Michkov (Anaheim and Columbus) didn't pick a Russian in the 2023 draft.

So, Im not sure I buy the Russian factor.

Russian factor was one of several perceived roadblocks. The media assault came from multiple angles I already mentioned. Still, a collective 5% drop in just two years is massive for any league/nation.

My interpretation was Chicago wasn’t taking Michkov over Bedard, Anaheim is suspect since they have drafted fewer Russian leaguers than anyone the last two decades, Columbus took Chinakhov in 2020 but went for the bigger center, San Jose was scared since Smith wasn’t needed and he wasn’t BPA, Montreal was scared since Reinbacher was neither needed nor BPA, and Arizona went for need.

FWIW, teams who havent drafted Russians since 2022:

Anaheim
Boston
Los Angeles
NY Rangers
Ottawa
Seattle
Vancouver