Matvei Michkov is one of the more intriguing names available to teams at the 2023 NHL Entry Draft. We all know that Michkov's talent is good enough for him to be a top-three pick, but several factors are likely to drop him to the 5-10 range.
Recently, Michkov's agent Sergei Fedotov made a statement regarding his client and his NHL future. Fedotov said that Michkov WILL attend the 2023 NHL Entry Draft in Nashville next month, but will return to SKA St. Petersburg for the next three seasons until his contract is up in 2026.
Its been known for quite a while now that Michkov was expected to see out his contract in the KHL before coming over to North America, but with the recent news that Capitals prospect Ivan Miroshnichenko terminated his contract in Russia and signed his ELC with Washington, many had hoped Michkov would have done the same in the months following the draft.
Drafting Michkov is certainly a risk-reward situation and it's entirely possible that he could drop from 5th to even 10th or a few spots below that. As mentioned, the skill level is there and he has potential to become an NHL superstar, but there's also the risk and fear that he might not ever come over to North America.
While it's pretty unlikely, if he's available at 11 for Patrik Allvin, the Canucks should absolutely select Matvei Michkov. The Canucks have had recent success with Russian players, including Andrei Kuzmenko who had a fantastic rookie campaign in the NHL. If somehow Michkov drops to 11th and the Canucks can take him, this could be the market that the 18-year-old can thrive in and its been proven that Russian players can succeed in Vancouver.
