Matvei Michkov’s second-half stint in the KHL was arguably the best any draft-eligible prospect has played in a top European pro league over the past 5-6 years, at least from a data perspective.
More charts are featured in David’s video below. #2023NHLDraft https://t.co/Tdv0w8y6PK pic.twitter.com/LyTVnHgP0j
– Lassi Alanen (@lassialanen) May 15, 2023
![Matvei Michkov: his second half of the KHL season was perfect](https://cdn.buminteractif.com/2023/05/matvei-michkov-Russie-U25.jpg)
In fact, it was the best second half of any European league prospect’s season in the last 5-6 years, as reported by Elite Prospects’ Director of European Recruiting, Lassi Alanen.
Alanen compared Mishkov’s game with all the forwards available in the draft who have played in the SHL (Sweden’s premier league) in recent years, and the results speak for themselves.
Michkov excels in every aspect of the game except defense. However, he makes up for it with his puck retrieval, which looks pretty good. David St-Louis of Elite Prospects also explains that, even if Michkov isn’t physically imposing, he’s not afraid to go into the corners and serve up good checks to retrieve the puck.
Offensively, he’s simply perfect. He scored just over a goal every 60 minutes of play. He has officially scored 9 goals in 27 games. For a young player already playing professionally, that’s excellent.
He also collected more than two assists for every 60 minutes played (11 assists in 27 games). That gives him a total of 20 points in 27 KHL games at the age of 18. That’s excellent. For comparison’s sake, Alexander Ovechkin had just 23 points in 53 KHL games the year he was drafted. It’s safe to say that Mishkov is impressive at his age.
The future looks bright for Matvei Michkov, but the general managers will now have to decide whether he’s worth selecting with all the problems surrounding him. His game should be enough to convince at least one of them.
In brief
– Everyone wants to stay in the Leafs’ dressing room.
Will the Leafs’ leadership group remain intact? If not, who will leave? JDM https://t.co/LeTS4Cvy3v
– Jonathan Bernier (@JBernierJDM) May 15, 2023
– Good news for CH fans.
Canadiens prospect Sean Farrell scores and the U.S. winshttps://t.co/JpTtdSBl43
– RDS (@RDSca) May 15, 2023
– Latvia cause a surprise.
Surprising Latvian victory over the Czech Republichttps://t.co/wQb9i1o1FL
– RDS (@RDSca) May 15, 2023
– Reinforcement for the Hurricanes.
Hurricanes forward Teuvo Teravainen nears a return to action https://t.co/wuzH6s9xtq
– La Presse Sports (@LaPresse_Sports) May 15, 2023
– Hopefully he can replace those who left.
– TVA Sports (@TVASports) May 15, 2023