Greg WyshynskiESPNJun 28, 2023 10:45 PM ET4 Minute Read
Flyers GM: Matvei Michkov is ‘a talent we can’t afford to miss’
Flyers general manager Daniel Briere explains why Philadelphia couldn’t do without Matvei Michkov with the seventh pick.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Matvei Michkov had a wish granted when the The Philadelphia Flyers selected him seventh overall in the 2023 NHL draft on Wednesday night. But he has one other wish for his NHL career: He wants to honor his late father by winning the Stanley Cup.
Michkov’s father Andrei died in April at the age of 51. according to the Russian Hockey Union.
Matvei Michkov, an 18-year-old right winger who played for the Russia national team, thought of his late father when he first wore a Flyers shirt.
“Right now it’s important for me to achieve the goal my father set for me, which is to win the Stanley Cup,” he said through an interpreter.
Michkov owed the development of his offensive game to his father.
“I owe the credit for scoring a goal to my late father. He taught me the different ways to hide my shot. I think he would be very proud now and happy for me and all the work we’ve done together and he would be proud of where I am,” he said.
Michkov was the most intriguing player in the first round of the draft. Some scouts claimed the winger had the highest talent barrier alongside Connor Bedard, who was drafted first by the Chicago Blackhawks.
Michkov has 16 points, including 12 goals, in seven games at the 2020-21 IIHF U18 World Junior Championship. He scored 22 goals in 22 games in the Continental Hockey League’s developmental league in the 2021-22 season. Last season in the KHL, he scored 20 points in 27 games and started the season as a 17-year-old.
Michkov ranks second among European skaters behind center Leo Carlsson of Orebro HK in Sweden, according to NHL Central Scouting. Carlsson was drafted second overall by the Anaheim Ducks.
While away from the NHL Combine, Michkov has been meeting with select teams, fueling speculation that he was trying to make his way to a specific landing spot. Michkov denied telling a team not to recruit him.
“No no. I’ve spoken to every team. I never mentioned such words,” he said.
What really made Michkov a special candidate in the draft: He may not play in the NHL until the 2026-27 season as he is signed to SKA St. Petersburg of the continental hockey league for the next three seasons.
Michkov said he couldn’t say for sure when he’ll make the leap to the NHL.
“If we have to wait, we will wait,” said Flyers GM Daniel Briere of the team’s decision to sign Russian forward Matvei Michkov in 7th place overall. Michkov has signed with SKA St. Petersburg of the continental hockey league for the next three seasons.George Walker IV/AP
“I have a contract but I hope to come here as soon as I get out,” he said.
The Flyers were aware of this situation when they recruited him.
“It is what it is,” said Daniel Briere, general manager of the Flyers. “We know he has a contract for three more seasons. But after watching him play and getting to know him, we just felt like he’s a talent that we can’t afford to miss out on. If we have to wait, we will wait.”
It was predicted that Michkov would end up second overall in the draft. But he wasn’t concerned at all as he dropped to 7th place.
“Not at all, because I really wanted to be selected by the Flyers. That was my goal,” he said. “Being with the Philadelphia Flyers is a dream.”
Michkov said he met with the Flyers twice and was impressed with their organization as he felt both sides “spoke the same language”.
Briere said he could sense that Michkov also had an affinity with the Flyers organization.
In fact, the phenomenon wants to do something no one in Philadelphia has done since 1975. For the flyers. For his father.
“My biggest wish is to come to Philadelphia and help them win a Stanley Cup. I know they’ve been waiting for this for a long time,” Michkov said. “That is my goal. That’s why I come here.”