NHL fans believe that “Philadelphia” committed “theft of the century”, choosing the Russian Matvey Michkov under the seventh number in the draft. Many see the potential in this young talent to become the next Alexander Ovechkin.
The IIHF tried to cancel Michkov but failed The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) has been trying hard to cancel Russian hockey in recent weeks. At first, they decided not to notice the victory of Ivan Barbashev in the Stanley Cup in the “Vegas” by not placing his photo on a greeting card on social networks. And then they ignored one of the main talents of the generation, Matvey Michkov. There is not a word about the Russian in the material on the IIHF website, although all experts predicted that he would be selected in the draft in the top 10.
Even the head of the IIHF, Luke Tardif, had to apologize for such behavior, who promised that the article would be corrected, and a description of Matvey's skills will appear in it. Tardif kept his word, the material was really updated with the addition of a couple of paragraphs about Michkov, but the unpleasant aftertaste, of course, remained.
In general, the draft for a young talent was unpredictable. In all respects and skills, Matvey had to go at the level of the Canadian Connor Bedard, who was eventually chosen at number one. A couple of years ago, in all the ratings of Canadian experts, Michkov was his main competitor, but then Russian hockey was suspended, and Matvey's prospects became more vague. Although in any case, few doubted that he would be chosen highly.
“Make him a captain” There was even an option that he would be in Alexander Ovechkin’s “Washington”, but in the end, Philadelphia chose the Russian under the seventh number. Despite the fact that Michkov will have a contract with SKA in the KHL for another three years, the club's fans and just neutral fans are delighted that such a hockey player will come to the NHL. And they are already comparing him to Ovechkin himself.
- «The Flyers staged the theft of the century by taking Michkov,» wrote Joshua.
- «This guy knows how to do business,» said Don.
- «Oh, but the Michkov-Ovechkin duo was so close,» Bradley lamented.
- «Philadelphia won this draft,» said Phil on Finance.
- «The Flyers just took the best player on 2023 draft,» BradTheHKYFan said.
- Philadelphia didn't deserve such a great hockey player,» wrote C.
- «Call the police, there's been a theft,» said The Real Brad T.
- «Make him captain,» evil gritty wished.
- «Thank you for not letting him go to Washington. They already have one Ovechkin, otherwise there would be a second,» said Oliver Wahlstrom Stan.
< li class="article__list-item">«In many years, this seventh pick will be considered the best in history,» said Canucks Tanks.
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«Michkov and Bedard were supposed to leave with the top two picks in the draft. His rating has fallen in recent years due to the fact that there was a risk that he would not come to the NHL. Therefore, scouts followed him not so closely, but his numbers in the KHL are amazing. He will be like Ovechkin,” said Bruce Murphy.
Philadelphia immediately joined the rave reviews of the fans and said they were ready to wait for Michkov for three years. The Flyers can take a cue from the Minnesota, who didn't panic over the long wait for Kirill Kaprizov and then got an NHL superstar into their ranks. There is a good chance that the same thing will happen to Matvey.