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

[Kshahdoo]

I mean look at top teams. SKA has clearly become stronger and added points. CSKA hasn't lost any crucial players and has about the same points. Metallurg, Avangard and Ak Bars though at the very least keep the quality of their rosters intact but have lost a lot of points compared to previous season "in the stronger league".

It's become way tougher to get points for them, the quality of teams gets better overall. The only teams that have obviously become weaker because of their top players left are Traktor and Salavat.

 

[SoundAndFury]

Yes, top teams skim all the cream from the top, it's the same story for decades. Just because they managed to mitigate most of the damage doesn't mean that's not at the expense of weak teams and the league wasn't impacted. Once again, like it always was. But now the weak teams have fewer and fewer tools to compensate for it.

SKA became stronger because they added Zhafyarov and Khairullin. And who were their replacements for Torpedo and Neftekhimik? Torpedo struck gold with Kovalenko who was stuck in the teams that prefer just skimming the cream rather than giving youngsters longer leash but Neftekhimik just got Leshchenko, with a predictable outcome.

Just like NatusVincere wrote in the previous page. Sure, as long as you only look at the top teams, KHL is very strong and much better than SHL and all that. And then Sochi has 3 wins.

 

[Canadienna]

Has he ever spoken about his future and the NHL?

I feel like some kind of statement from him where he confirms that he plans to go to the NHL after his current contract would help his draft position.

For all the angry Russians in here reminding us how good he is, I don't think many doubt that. His draft position is likely tied to world politics and it's unfortunate but makes sense.

As a Habs fan, I'd love for the Habs to draft him with a pick outside the top3, but I'd be concerned if it was a top3 pick. Not because he isn't insanely good but because there's some % chance that he never leaves Russia.

 

[SoundAndFury]

Has he ever spoken about his future and the NHL?

Probably he is going to do it closer to the draft. For the time being, signing that 5 years contract with SKA was statement enough.

 

[Sasha Orlov]

Has he ever spoken about his future and the NHL?

I feel like some kind of statement from him where he confirms that he plans to go to the NHL after his current contract would help his draft position.

For all the angry Russians in here reminding us how good he is, I don't think many doubt that. His draft position is likely tied to world politics and it's unfortunate but makes sense.

As a Habs fan, I'd love for the Habs to draft him with a pick outside the top3, but I'd be concerned if it was a top3 pick. Not because he isn't insanely good but because there's some % chance that he never leaves Russia.

This is just not realistic

There’s some % chance Bedard retires before the October, should he not go top 3???

 

[mistaclick]

I have him ranked as the #2 for this draft. But I agree that depending on the team he won’t go until 4/5 probably. If a team “wins” the lottery and slides up to 2 or 3 from the 10-15 range it would be a pretty smart move to grab this kid and wait it out.

 

[ViD]

Has he ever spoken about his future and the NHL?

Yes, he actually stated he wants to be selected first overall (that was prior to Ukraine stuff though)

 

[SoundAndFury]

Yes, he actually stated he wants to be selected first overall (that was prior to Ukraine stuff though)

He also signed a contract that made this "wish" impossible so I don't know how much he really wanted it.

 

[Kshahdoo]

He also signed a contract that made this "wish" impossible so I don't know how much he really wanted it.

He probably doesn't know how the things work in the NHL.

 

[Kshahdoo]

Hehe another concerned amateur scout. Of course it was written before his loan to Sochi...

The Conundrum of Matvei Michkov

Making sense of the confusion that is the Russian prodigy.

sammcgilligan.substack.com

 

[Vasilevskiy]

Hehe another concerned amateur scout. Of course it was written before his loan to Sochi...

The Conundrum of Matvei Michkov

Making sense of the confusion that is the Russian prodigy.

sammcgilligan.substack.com

Bet he has Gulyayev ranked very low as well.
Some guys...

 

[WeThreeKings]

This is just not realistic

There’s some % chance Bedard retires before the October, should he not go top 3???

Come on.. we know there's a f***ing world of difference here.

 

[Sasha Orlov]

Come on.. we know there's a f***ing world of difference here.

There is literally no basis for saying Michkov might stay in Russia other than him being Russian lol

 

[NatusVincere]

Just as information, in case not everyone noticed, Russia ≠ Soviet Union.

And because the other thread discusses Button's current prospect list, a wise man once said:

"I remember sitting there and asking, 'Who is the best player?' and everyone would say Jagr, but no one would take him because he was Czech," "So Pittsburgh drafts him fifth. He comes over right away, begins winning all these scoring titles and becomes one of the greatest NHL players of our time. The moral of the story is not taking a player because of where he plays is the dumbest thing going."

- Craig Button

 

[Czechboy]

Just as information, in case not everyone noticed, Russia ≠ Soviet Union.

And because the other thread discusses Button's current prospect list, a wise man once said:

"I remember sitting there and asking, 'Who is the best player?' and everyone would say Jagr, but no one would take him because he was Czech," "So Pittsburgh drafts him fifth. He comes over right away, begins winning all these scoring titles and becomes one of the greatest NHL players of our time. The moral of the story is not taking a player because of where he plays is the dumbest thing going."

- Craig Button

So you're using a early 90's example. In this case, the year before the Jagr Draft the Czechs were still Czechosolovakia and under soviet rule and you had to get players 'out'. Eg. Svoboda, Stastny's or Nedved all had to hide and disappear and it was all Cloak and Dagger shit!

Jagr happened to be drafted in the year that communism dropped and he could just fly over. That was a massive change from the previous 40 years.

So yeah, drafting a Czechoslovakian in 1990 is a littler different then drafting one in 1989 or earlier. I'm sure you noticed a massive increase in Euro's (including Russians) after 1990 as they ALL came over and it was a big Euro inversion (that made hockey a lot better!). Ironically, that would be a soviet factor. Not a Czech one.

Put another way, it would've been stupid to draft Fetisov or Hlinka with a 1OV pick in 1970s when they were teenagers in communist countries. Regardless of how good they were. Salming on the other hand would've been smart or Kurri.

 

[SoundAndFury]

If you think Russia, as a state, doesn't have invested interest in Michkov playing there and won't make it difficult for him to leave to some degree I have some land in Florida for you to sell.

Especially after situations with Panarin, Fedotov, Kaprizov, Marchenko and Morozov, etc.

 

[Caser]

If you think Russia, as a state, doesn't have invested interest in Michkov playing there and won't make it difficult for him to leave to some degree I have some land in Florida for you to sell.

Especially after situations with Panarin, Fedotov, Kaprizov, Marchenko and Morozov, etc.

And then there were situations with Gavrikov and Gusev, who on the opposite were kind of helped to be able to leave faster by the same SKA management, but who needs to remember those. I don't doubt though that if Michkov will be as good as we expect it all the money in the world will be thrown at him, I think they'll even try to make some official exception in the KHL salary cap for him.

 

[rt]

Will Scouch doesn’t like him. He’s got him ranked 19th and had this to say about it:

Michkov has been underwhelming in my viewings where I am not at all convinced he's a top 5 or even a top 10 option considering the performances of the players in the tier above to this point.

He's highly skilled and has great awareness to fill space in the offensive zone to generate his chances, but he's often a very poor puck distributor, with some soft passing into careless space that can be easily picked off. He skates into pressure constantly and tries to challenge players one on one with predictable skill moves and simply will not chip the puck if he can't get his way through the pressure.

I've seen countless transitions get wasted through overhandling, overconfidence, and errant passing combined with a relatively low pace of play that has simply flipped the script on him. In my view, he was high on my board for a while because, while I had concerns before the year, he scores so much that he deserved a high slot.

Now, many other players have shown better in my view, and Michkov in the VHL has been a major mixed bag in my tracking at 5v5 in terms of projecting to the NHL.

Now that he's headed to a young team in Sochi that likely will give him a strong KHL role, I have all the time in the world for him to prove that he's the elite scorer he's reputed to be at a higher level with other high pace and unrefined young players, but for now, I see a very skilled winger with a strong mind for earning scoring chances off-puck, with significant issues both on and off the puck that could limit his outlook to a more conservative role in the NHL, at least at even strength.

Scouching's Preliminary 2023 NHL Draft Rankings

Here we are, all together again for the holiday season. I've been hard at work since late August watching and tracking hundreds of players around the world, and my first preliminary list is now ready...

www.scouching.ca

Scouch is one of the more “unique” video/social media/indie “scouts” out there. But he’s got a pretty big following and makes interesting content, regardless of how much stock you put into his opinions.

 

[Kshahdoo]

Will Scouch doesn’t like him. He’s got him ranked 19th and had this to say about it:

Scouching's Preliminary 2023 NHL Draft Rankings

Here we are, all together again for the holiday season. I've been hard at work since late August watching and tracking hundreds of players around the world, and my first preliminary list is now ready...

www.scouching.ca

Scouch is one of the more “unique” video/social media/indie “scouts” out there. But he’s got a pretty big following and makes interesting content, regardless of how much stock you put into his opinions.

Yeah, he's really unique...

 

[rt]

Yeah, he's really unique...

I don’t out much stock into his opinions or the outcomes of his analysis but I do appreciate his content. The deep dives, video analysis, his own statistical metrics and some of the points he makes using them. I guess I should say I like Scouch, I follow Scouch, but he doesn’t really sway my own opinions at all.

 

[kp61c]

Will Scouch doesn’t like him. He’s got him ranked 19th and had this to say about it:

wasn't he in love with Brad Lambert last year?

 

[rt]

wasn't he in love with Brad Lambert last year?

Yes. And I think Lysell before that.

 

[GlassesJacketShirt]

McGilligan and Scouch love fast transition players, and their bias towards such players helps them overrate certain prospects.

The rest of the critiques I've read above are meh arguments to me (and Sam really needs to improve his prose), but I cannot deny that if I had one element I didn't love about Michkov, it's his current pace of play. Five on five, on smaller rinks against NHL calibre talent, I am not convinced he'd successfully transition to the NHL if he went next year, perhaps even the year after that.

Also why the three year wait is not a problem for me, he has otherworldly skills to work with so I'm not concerned in the long run.

 

[ViD]

That’s fine, these outrageous opinions get clicks and reads which is his goal, I guess

 

[Kshahdoo]

McGilligan and Scouch love fast transition players, and their bias towards such players helps them overrate certain prospects.

The rest of the critiques I've read above are meh arguments to me (and Sam really needs to improve his prose), but I cannot deny that if I had one element I didn't love about Michkov, it's his current pace of play. Five on five, on smaller rinks against NHL calibre talent, I am not convinced he'd successfully transition to the NHL if he went next year, perhaps even the year after that.

Also why the three year wait is not a problem for me, he has otherworldly skills to work with so I'm not concerned in the long run.

Speed (or rather lack of it) is his main problem but it doesn't mean that much. His agility, edge work and stickhandling are elite which is way more helpful in the offensive zone than speed. Players need speed in transition, zone entries or breakaways. And even then you can mask your problems with smart plays, and Michkov's IQ is superb.

People used to doubt about Kaprizov's skating because of lack of speed and explosiveness, now he's considered an elite skater and he's still not that fast.