Imagine the scenario: With the fifth overall pick, the Canadiens draft gifted youngster Matvei Michkov in June, despite his three-year KHL contract and despite murmurs about his inadequate behavior.
Then imagine the reactions in Montreal following this news from Russia: Michkov scratched from the roster in the first two games of the regular season by CSKA St. Petersburg, not counting the last preseason game, with a time of starved use in the previous two exhibition meetings…
To add insult to injury, the preferred 17-year-old striker Ivan Demidov, one of the top prospects ahead of the 2024 draft, was promoted to the third line in CSKA’s second encounter.
The Anaheim Ducks, Columbus Blue Jackets, San Jose Sharks, Canadiens and Arizona Coyotes preferred not to take the risk in the draft even though Michkov was considered the most gifted forward in this class after Connor Bedard. The Philadelphia Flyers and their new general manager Daniel Brière took that risk seventh overall.
A little context. KHL teams field lineups of 23 players each game: two goalies, four lines, four defense pairs and, to give it a developmental league feel, a player under the age of 20. Michkov fights with Demidov for this last place.
“Matvei is in our roster (as the 13th striker), coach Roman Rotenberg said after the first game. He will alternate with Ivan. Demidov was involved in key moments in the opener. It’s a competition. Matvei will have to earn his place. »
The management of the CH would be accused by many of having taken an unnecessary risk by turning to Michkov, with David Reinbacher, Ryan Leonard or Dalibor Dvorsky still available.
Older people would have recalled the Andrei Kostitsyn fiasco. Endowed with exceptional individual skills, Kostitsyn was still available in tenth place in 2003, among other things because of his epilepsy problems, but also because of his association with CSKA Moscow, a club that is not very lenient towards its recruits. . Kostitsyn had also spent the winter drying out on the bench in Moscow after being drafted by the Canadian.
Good news for Michkov, he will play his first match of the season on Wednesday against Torpedo. It remains to be seen how many minutes Roman Rotenberg will give him.
The situation obviously remains worrying for the Philadelphia Flyers, who made Michkov their first choice. An organization always prefers to keep some control over the development of its young players, especially if it is one of its biggest prospects.
But communication with Russian teams is still complex compared to Canadian junior leagues, the NCAA or even European professional organizations.
The Flyers know something about it since goalkeeper Ivan Fedotov is still retained in Russia, for purposes of military service, even if he signed a contract with Philadelphia in May 2022. CSKA Moscow even ignored a suspension of the International Ice Hockey Federation for breach of contract by entrusting him with the net in the first game of the season.
What follows will be interesting in the case of Michkov. Was he confined to the press box because of his behavior or because Demidov was preferred to him? Will we continue the alternation or will we loan Michkov to a low-ranking formation like last year?
In December 2022, CSKA St. Petersburg traded their young player to the KHL’s worst club, and by far HC Sochi. He had won only five of his first 38 games.
Michkov had been used sparingly in three KHL games, but he dominated offensively in the VHL, the American League on the Russian circuit, with ten goals and four assists in twelve games. He was nevertheless criticized for a total disinterestedness in neutral and defensive zones.
The youngster had 20 points in 27 games in Sochi, but eight against Chinese club Kulun RS, the worst team after Sochi, including five in the last meeting of the season.
Several incidents were reported in North America by people around him in Sochi in the weeks before the draft: disrespectful behavior towards teammates in the locker room and on the ice, omnipotence of his father in the club environment, until to the tragic death of father, refusal to conform to the authority of coaches and game plans, etc.
Despite everything, this boy not only possesses extraordinary individual skills, but a creativity and understanding of the game that in some ways is reminiscent of Nikita Kucherov. Let’s see if he can eliminate his bad behaviors and become the expected player. This is the grace we wish Brière and the Flyers.
The Canadian’s first choice in 2023, David Reinbacher, is already in Brossard, where he has started training for the rookie tournament next weekend.
Some have made a big deal of his absence from the Upper Deck promotional event for National League rookies. The CH preferred three older players, Owen Beck, Sean Farrell and Filip Mesar.
You don’t have to read much there. This young 6-foot-3 right-handed defender has great potential, but his chances of starting the season in Montreal are almost nil, especially with eight defenders under contract.
Reinbacher could also be sent back to Laval, but there will also be William Trudeau, Logan Mailloux, Jayden Struble, Mattias Norlinder, Nicolas Beaudin and Brady Keeper, not to mention the demotion of a Justin Barron or Gustav Lindström depending on the decisions taken at camp. training, and defenders under contract with the Rocket, Tobie-Paquette-Bisson and Miguël Tourigny.
This young man is probably superior to the majority of them, even at 18, but it will probably be wiser to give him one more season with HC Kloten, in the Swiss National League, where he already has his bearings and occupies a preponderant role. He will be able to continue his learning there in complete peace of mind.
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