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Yesterday, my colleague Vincent Larue published a piece on Sean Couturier's comments about Matvei Michkov.
Basically, the Flyers captain mentioned that his young teammate needed to be able to play on 200 feet to become a dominant player in the NHL.
That's pretty clear.
Clearly, the Canadiens knew what they were doing when they didn't select Matvei Michkov with their fifth overall pick in the 2023 draft.
The red flags were clearly visible for the man whose father had just passed away under unclear circumstances, just before the draft.
Recap… Michkov:
– called out by vet captain
– yelled at veteran coach on the bench
– showed up out of shape
– got in some accident in Dubai where the details are shady
– he cheats for offense doesn't and back check
– question marks in his draft year, had issues with coaches..– Mitch Gallo (@MitchyGallo) November 10, 2025
The way I see it, the Canadiens were placed in the same position in 2023 and 2024. The Habs had the fifth overall pick and could draft a crazy-talented Russian from SKA.
In 2023, he passed. And in 2024, they managed to draft a certain Ivan Demidov.
Demidov, who loves hockey and practices instead of getting into trouble, has a great attitude. And Nick Bobrov probably knew that because his father was involved with SKA when Demidov was a draft prospect.
And if the father could talk about Demidov, he could also talk about Mishkov.
Of course, passing on Mishkov may be a good decision to avoid bringing a bad apple into the dressing room. But it still may not be THE perfect decision.
Why not? Because we're wondering more and more whether, in a strong draft at the top of the pyramid, the Habs drafted the wrong player in David Reinbacher.
2023 NHL Entry Draft top 10 is looking like one of the best top 10's in a long time: Bedard, Carlsson, Fantilli, Smith, Michkov, Leonard, even Dvorsky has scored in 2 straight games. Habs might have the miss here tho… Not sure about this Danielson kid Detroit took.
– NHL Watcher (@NHL_Watcher) November 10, 2025
I had Reinbacher as a pick in 2023, but it's clear that his health is the main concern right now. Can he really become the player Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton had in mind?
Because yes, the mistake at No. 5 may have been passing up a Brady Tkachuk 2.0 to draft a little too much on an as-needed basis. #RyanLeonard
“I wasn't surprised the Canadiens didn't select Michkov, I was surprised they didn't select Ryan Leonard, with the information I had at the time.” – Pierre Dorion #LRAML
– Martin Lemay (@MartinLemay) November 4, 2025
overtime
– Oh…
That would be a tough one for Blue Jays fans. https://t.co/yyk2lnUqz0
– Passion MLB (@passion_mlb) November 10, 2025
– Read more.
Team Canada
Olympic bubble watch: What we're hearing about Suzuki, Celebrini, Bedard, more roster hopefuls. With@reporterchrisfor@TheAthletic
https://t.co/wj1Z0SMWaT
– Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) November 10, 2025
– Donald Trump booed at Commanders game. [JdeM]
– The Habs prospect was animated, on this.
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