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It’s understandable why the Blackhawks (Connor Bedard) said no to Michkov… but the Coyotes, Blue Jackets, Ducks and Sharks, like the Habs, looked elsewhere.
And right now, on the heels of Michkov’s fine start to his NHL career (he leads NHL rookies with 25 points), these teams are being questioned about their motives.
The Canadiens, for lacking forward talent and drafting David Reinbacher instead, are being criticized on the heels of the club’s start to the season.
It’s true that if Michkov had been chosen instead of Reinbacher, Martin St-Louis’ club would have more offensive reinforcements right now.
But the important thing to remember is this: if the Canadiens didn’t draft Michkov, there was a reason. Everyone knew about his talent, but many ignored it.
Of course, there’s all the locker-room stuff that goes into the discussion (and to see that John Tortorella benched his young player for off-ice reasons reinforces the idea), but one wonders if that’s the only thing.
Matvei Michkov is the talk of #HabsTwitter these days (and I’m one of them) because he produces offensively and the #CH didn’t draft him.
Just to put things in perspective a bit, word behind the scenes is that Michkov had told some clubs in advance that he.. . pic.twitter.com/jMGuKEbbPY
– Marc-Olivier Beaudoin (@MOBeaudoin1) December 9, 2024
Let me make this even clearer, Marco: the Capitals and Coyotes got the memo that the Russian didn’t want to report to their organization if he was ever drafted there.
How much of that was the Habs? I can’t say. But it’s safe to assume that this isn’t the corporate culture the Habs want to create.
It’s worth noting that the Russian said he was ready to play anywhere in an interview. But of course, we all agree that he’s not ready to say the opposite publicly, you know.
It wouldn’t look good.
Let’s not forget that the Canadiens haven’t been afraid to draft in Russia, including Ivan Demidov, in recent years. If Mishkov isn’t in Montreal, there’s a reason. And it doesn’t matter whether you think it’s valid or not.
Ivan Demidov is seen as a prospect who can make a big impact for the Habs as soon as he’s in a position to land in the National League. The Habs have clearly evaluated the possibility of getting two of their own, that’s for sure.
At the NHL Board of Gov. meetings in Palm Beach, so away from the Canadiens until Thursday. Still, ran into one executive here this morning (not from the Canadiens) who raved about Ivan Demidov, saying he’s a bona fide superstar who will arrive in MTL+immediately make an impact.
– Eric Engels (@EricEngels) December 9, 2024
Overtime
– Alex Ovechkin will be nervous before he breaks the scoring record.
Wayne Gretzky on Alex Ovechkin’s pursuit of his all-time NHL goals record:
“He’s human. He’ll get nervous near the end.”
– Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) December 9, 2024
– No talks in New York for Brady Tkachuk.
**Breaking News**
In speaking with sources, I’ told @NYRangers have had no internal , nor external conversations around the @Senators Captain Tkachuk. #NYR #GoSensGo #HockeyX pic.twitter.com/pbXd5qHsst– Kevin Weekes (@KevinWeekes) December 9, 2024
– To be continued.
I asked Radko Gudas who was hitting harder between him and Trouba.
“You’ll see tonight.
”, he replied.
– Anthony Martineau (@Antho_Martineau) December 9, 2024
– Jordan Romano in Philadelphia.[MLB Passion]
– Read more.
Sometimes, when a young player is doing well, it’s better to leave him alone and let him continue doing well. Emil Heineman being one of those young players leads the latest edition of the Canadiens weekly notebook: www.nytimes.com/athletic/598…
– Arpon Basu(@arponbasu.bsky.social) December 9, 2024 at 2:08 PM
