<\/p>\n
The Philadelphia Flyers did it. They made the biggest trade of the draft, selecting Russian Matvei Michkov with the No. 7 overall pick in the NHL Draft on Wednesday night in Nashville.<\/p>\n
General manager Daniel Briere calmly stood on stage in Nashville and announced the selection of Michkov, arguably the second most talented player in the draft behind Connor Bedard.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe looked like he was having a great time [when Michkov met with the Flyers]Briere said.<\/p>\n
“We actually met him a couple of times. You could tell he loved the Flyers for some reason.<\/p>\n
“He wanted to be part of the Flyers. We saw it on stage, his reaction was incredible.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe basically convinced us in the meeting that he wanted to be there and that he wanted to be a Flyer, so our whole staff felt really, really good about selecting him.<\/p>\n
“We know he’s under contract for three more seasons, but for us we felt after watching him play and after meeting him we felt that he’s just a talent that we can’t pass up.”<\/p>\n
The selection is considered risky due to Michkov’s uncertain playing status. He is under contract in Russia until 2026. The future of Russian players coming to North America is uncertain.<\/p>\n
Michkov is a 5-foot-10, 172-pound dynamo on the ice. The Elite Prospects NHL Draft Guide said of Michkov: \u201cThe rare triple-threat winger, Michkov is a constant threat to find the back of the net.<\/p>\n
\u201cHis puck skills are near the top of the draft, due to immense creativity, hip pocket handling, deft hands and a never-say-die attitude.<\/p>\n
“You might think you have it, but most of the time, you really don’t. His problem-solving ability to get out of defensive pressure is on a level of his own. Michkov makes plays on the ice that we can’t even fathom with the benefit of a bird’s eye view.”<\/p>\n
The draft broke the Flyers’ way. No one traded to land Michkov, as the Capitals could have done. When Arizona took defenseman Dmitry Simashev at age 6, the Flyers had a choice between Michkov or Ryan Leonard, described as a prototypical Flyer.<\/p>\n
Here’s previous coverage of Michkov from Philly Hockey Now:<\/p>\n
Flyers risk drafting Michkov: <\/p>\n
Opinion: Flyers want Michkov and will trade to get him: <\/p>\n
Here are Michkov’s rankings:<\/p>\n
classified #4 by CONSOLIDATED RANKING <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n classified #4 by ELITEPROSPECTS.COM <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n classified #3 by FCHOCKEY <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n classified #4 by FLOHOCKEY\/CHRIS PETERS <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n classified #3 of DAILY FACEOFF <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n classified #4 of THE HOCKEY NEWS <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n classified #5 by TSN\/BOB McKenzie <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n classified #5 of MCKEEN’S HOCKEY <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n classified #4 by TSN\/CRAIG BUTTON <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n classified #2 by NHL CENTRAL SCOUTING (EU Skaters) <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n classified #5 for SPORTSNET <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n classified #4 by HPR\/SHANE MALLOY <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n classified #5 of RECRUIT SCOUTING <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n classified #3 of DOBBERPROSPECTS <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n classified #3 of HOCKEY DRAFT PROSPECTS <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n