VIDEO: What Are Matvei Michkov’s NHL Comparables?

E220 – Michkov Comparisons & Draft Choices (Ft. Jamey Baskow & Dylan Robillard)

The 2024 NHL Entry Draft is just around the corner and the Flyers are looking to build on their process of improving by taking two selections in the first round. However, the draft has been almost overshadowed with Matvei Michkov enroute to Philadelphia just two years before the anticipated end of his KHL contract with SKA St. Petersburg. This has sparked much speculation within the organization about what kind of player Michkov is and what kind of impact he will have for the Flyers in his first season in the NHL. While many of the Russia players currently impacting the league such as, Kucherov, Panarin, and Kaprizov, have come up as comparables, in reality Michkov brings a style of his own. Not only has Michkov outperformed these players in the early portion of his KHL career; he was also the youngest player in Russian league history to score a goal at 16 years old. Starting his pro career before almost all young prospects in the world. If there wasn’t so much mystery around the Russian league and a war breaking out during his draft year, he would have continued his title of the “Russian Bedard”. What he has managed to do in the Russian league, dealing with the sudden death of his father and battle with pneumonia, is quite impressive, still breaking records for the highest point per game pace in his first two KHL season of any Russian player in history.

Matvei is a player of unlimited offensive potential and with that comes the comparisons of those who did great things before him, but in reality Michkov seems to be a blend of Russian greats. While he doesnt play center, he moves with the confidence and pace of a Pavel Datsyuk. Holding the puck for long stretches and dangling the opposition as opposed to just trying to speed around them. While Datsyuk was more of a play maker than a scorer, Michkov tends to be the type of player who shoots when it is available to him. Not a selfish player on the ice, but the type of guy who knows he can beat goalies from anywhere in any which way he wants. He makes his calculations at lightning speed and never hesitates to act on them. Watching him score goals brings visions of former first overall pick, Ilya Kovalchuk. Kovalchuk was a score from anywhere type of player that could create a goal from any type of offensive situation. I see a lot of that in Michkov. While he doesn’t have Datsyuk’s defensive prowess or Kovalchuk’s size, he does have a fantastic blend of both of their skill sets. His speed is underestimated and his confidence is NHL ready. For the modern NHL era, I don’t think the Flyers could ask for a better solution to their lack of offensive punch. How he evolves over the years, will determine his destiny.

On this episode of Gettin’ Gritty Wit It, Vasili is in Las Vegas covering the draft on the ground floor, so Yariv invited Co-Founder of Flyers Nitty Gritty Jamey Baskow and popular writer Flyers Nitty Gritty writer and content creator Dylan Robillard. With the calm before the Draft swirling we revisit topics of Michkov’s arrival, NHL comparables, and NHL Draft rankings from Bob McKenzie, we dig into all of the excitement to come. Like and subscribe for more content from Flyers Nitty Gritty!