RW Matvei Michkov - HC Sochi, KHL (2023 Draft) - PART 3

[Pavel Buchnevich]

I think Michkov will end up a top 10 player in the NHL at his best. All he’s ever done is dominate. Doesn’t matter the level of play. He’s the most talented player on the ice. He’s really not had any prolonged struggles for any team. I also would not rule out that his upside is the absolute best player in the NHL. His goal scoring instincts and hockey sense are going to be elite in the NHL and might be legendary. We’ll have to see how that translates to the NHL. At every level he’s played they’ve been far beyond everyone else. I’m not ready to say that will be the case in the NHL because that’s the best league in the world, but they could.

I think in a vacuum I prefer Michkov to Bedard, but I don’t think it’s insignificant that Bedard is a center and is showing this season it’s more likely he will end up an NHL center. Bedard also projects as a top 10 player in the NHL at his best.

Anyone saying it’s not close or that the political/contract stuff matters is completely wrong, as I see it. Maybe that’s enough to be a tiebreaker for a team drafting between the two, but the big gap comes after those two to the rest. You take the risk for Michkov at 2 because he’s that much better than the player at 3. I consider it an absolute joke that anyone thinks Fantilli or Carlsson are anywhere close to as good as Michkov.

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

Additionally, which Russians have not come over?

The other claim made is that Russian players sign longer contracts in Russia. Why is that a bad thing? Why should Khustnutdinov play two years in the AHL instead of two more in the KHL?

There's a long recent history where Russian forwards develop much better in the KHL than AHL/NA Juniors.

The easy answer would be to make sure that he's playing 17 minutes per night and not 7. Though I can't say that I know what he's currently playing.

 

[Kshahdoo]

The easy answer would be to make sure that he's playing 17 minutes per night and not 7. Though I can't say that I know what he's currently playing.

Khusnutdinov's toi this season is 14:43 through 27 games. It's a lot for someone who has 12 points, I'm pretty sure Michkov would have scored more with the same TOI...

 

[ViD]

Why can’t SKA loan him to one of the KHL bottom feeders so he can get top 6 minutes? Playing him 5 minutes a game is a waste

 

[Kshahdoo]

Why can’t SKA loan him to one of the KHL bottom feeders so he can get top 6 minutes? Playing him 5 minutes a game is a waste

You should ask SKA and his agent about this...

 

[NatusVincere]

Michkov is on the 3rd line. It looks like they give him at least one real game.

 

[Kshahdoo]

Michkov is on the 3rd line. It looks like they give him at least one real game.

Yeah, wanted to say the same... Or I hope they will loan him to Amur, which lost Likhachev recently, its best scorer and last season's MHLer who was loaned to them by Lokomotiv.

 

[Kshahdoo]

Played a lot in the 1st, and his line was the best on SKA. It's my first SKA game of the season, and SKA stars don't impress like at all. Matvei on the other hand didn't have a single mistake and overall looked like the smartest player on the ice. But it's just one period...

 

[Kshahdoo]

Michkov was too good for SKA in the 1st so they benched him in the 2nd and now losing 1-0. This "best KHL team" looks absolutely terrible. Maybe it's because going to Far East region is always a problem (8 or 9 hours difference with St. Petersburg) or I don't know, but Amur where last season MHLers and a career ECHLer are amongst the best players looks like a much better team.

 

[NatusVincere]

Rotenberg is screwing it up here. Less than 6 minutes against one of the worst teams in the league and for that he had to fly to the other end of the country? And Neva has also lost twice in the meantime... Michkov to CSKA, FU Rotenberg!

 

[Kshahdoo]

SKA lost 2-1 in OT, and their coach blamed tiredness, while their most young, talented and fresh player watched the game from the bench...

 

[Zine]

He should be sent to Sochi. They're a tirefire, but Michkov would receive great playing time. Same for Kirsanov.

 

[ponder]

Small sample size, but he leads the VHL in both points per game and goals per game (among players with 5+ games played). But when he plays for SKA, gets nothing but scraps minutes-wise.

I’ll never understand why KHL coaches are so against paying youngsters. When Tolvanen killed it in the KHL at 18, I’m certain it was only because he was on a Finnish team (Jokerit) with a Finnish coach, if he was on a Russian KHL team you can be sure he’d never have been given the minutes.

Michkov would have some growing pains, but I strongly believe he’d be one of SKA’s top offensive players if given the minutes/opportunity.

 

[Kshahdoo]

Small sample size, but he leads the VHL in both points per game and goals per game (among players with 5+ games played). But when he plays for SKA, gets nothing but scraps minutes-wise.

I’ll never understand why KHL coaches are so against paying youngsters. When Tolvanen killed it in the KHL at 18, I’m certain it was only because he was on a Finnish team (Jokerit) with a Finnish coach, if he was on a Russian KHL team you can be sure he’d never have been given the minutes.

Michkov would have some growing pains, but I strongly believe he’d be one of SKA’s top offensive players if given the minutes/opportunity.

A lot of kids play in the KHL right now. I mean look at the same Amur which just beat SKA. Their best scorer is Likhachev who was loaned to them by Lokomotiv and played the whole last season in the MHL. Another their top player is Nikita Grebyonkin who had an assist on OT goal, and he played the whole last season in the MHL as well.

Michkov had better PPG in the MHL last year than both of them (Likhachev had crazy scoring boost in the playoffs though, was 2PPG+), and now they play top6 roles on the KHL team that beat SKA while Michkov was watching the game from the bench.

 

[ddlennon]

Guy shoulda just never signed with ska shame he didnt just stay at lokomotiv

 

[Kshahdoo]

Guy shoulda just never signed with ska shame he didnt just stay at lokomotiv

 

[NatusVincere]

So Michkov will play today with the U20 against Kazakhstans U20 in a few hours. Later in the tournament he will play against Demidov and Russias U18.

Rothenberg was asked why Michkov did get almost no chance on SKAs roadtrip he answered with empty phrases how difficult the transition from junior hockey to men's hockey is. And how everyone in SKA gets the same opportunities and chances, regardless of the name… nevertheless he took the leading VHL PPG and GPG scorer to a roadtrip on the other side of the country and didn’t even let him play 8 f***ing minutes in 3 games. And again Neva lost both games. SKA lost all three games. Quite a lose lose situation.

People complained about how Bragin handled the young ones. But it looks like he was the best friend of Michkov and co. As many knew back then.

 

[ItWasJustified]

Not signing a contract that has him being him stuck in the KHL until 2026 would've made him a lot more money though. If I were him I would fire my agent and everyone who advised me on getting that contract.

 

[Breakfast of Champs]

Not signing a contract that has him being him stuck in the KHL until 2026 would've made him a lot more money though. If I were him I would fire my agent and everyone who advised me on getting that contract.

As others have pointed out though , a guaranteed few million dollars at what 15/16 years old ? That's hard to pass on, we have seen other prodigies fall off before. Especially if you have a family in middle class or lower (I don't know anything about his home or family situation)

In the long g run he might miss out on more , but the risk of waiting does exist in anything, and money now guaranteed is always better than the promise of money tomorrow

 

[ijuka]

As others have pointed out though , a guaranteed few million dollars at what 15/16 years old ? That's hard to pass on, we have seen other prodigies fall off before. Especially if you have a family in middle class or lower (I don't know anything about his home or family situation)

In the long g run he might miss out on more , but the risk of waiting does exist in anything, and money now guaranteed is always better than the promise of money tomorrow

You think he made a few million dollars by signing this contract at the age of 15? I'd like to see proof of that.

If he indeed is making 2-3 million then yes, it's a no brainer.

 

[Breakfast of Champs]

You think he made a few million dollars by signing this contract at the age of 15? I'd like to see proof of that.

If he indeed is making 2-3 million then yes, it's a no brainer.

I'm pretty sure it was like 5 years for a total of 2.5 million or something like that - at least that's what I remember people saying on here. Its around 500,000 usd per year which will be low when he is 18-21 but again securing his future so young was impossible to pass on

Ok so I searched and see that it was reportedly 85M rubles, which is around 1.4 million USD, still that is a large sum to be guaranteed at such a young age. If everything works out he will still make a ridiculous sum of money over the course of his career so that basically gives him a safety net without risk financially from here on out. If he were to pass up the deal, and get injured or have something happen he might not end up being in a position to sign a deal like this again.

 

[ViD]

Russia defeated Kazakhstan 6-1. Michkov with “only” one goal

 

[Kshahdoo]

Russia defeated Kazakhstan 6-1. Michkov with “only” one goal

He came to the city at 2 AM and at 4:30 PM there was a game. He overall could score or assist on a couple of more goals but Kazakhs played all out defense system. 3 of them didn't probably even cross their blue line in most cases so our kids needed a lot of chemistry to beat such a defense. Michkov played with Kuzmin he ususally plays with on Neva but the 3rd forward was Kvochko from Magnitogorsk, who wasn't even a PPG player in the MHL..

 

[NatusVincere]

He came to the city at 2 AM and at 4:30 PM there was a game. He overall could score or assist on a couple of more goals but Kazakhs played all out defense system. 3 of them didn't probably even cross their blue line in most cases so our kids needed a lot of chemistry to beat such a defense. Michkov played with Kuzmin he ususally plays with on Neva but the 3rd forward was Kvochko from Magnitogorsk, who wasn't even a PPG player in the MHL..

And after the Kazakhstan game they also played a game 3 vs 3 against Belarus in which Michkov participated too. Scored a nice backhand goal on a penalty shot after trying to stickhandle through the whole opponent’s defense.

 

[ViD]

Russia U20 won their last game 3-0 and won the tournament. Did Michkov even play ? Was surprised not to see him on the scoresheet