Flyers' Matvei Michkov leads the latest infusion of Russian talent into the NHL
Matvei Michkov is in the NHL ahead of schedule after the Philadelphia Flyers got him out of Russia and to North America a little over a year after taking him with the seventh pick in the draft
Fears over getting Matvei Michkov out of Russia, combined with a lack of reliable scouting, led the skilled winger to slip in the 2023 NHL draft. The rebuilding Philadelphia Flyers took him with the seventh pick, willing to be patient and wait for Michkov to play out the final three seasons of his KHL contract.
Two years ahead of schedule, the Flyers got Michkov to North America, and he could make his debut in the top hockey league in the world on Friday. He could be the best prospect to come out of Russia since Alex Ovechkin and Evgeni Malkin in 2005.
The 19-year-old is just part of the league's latest infusion of Russian talent, which is flowing despite the war in Ukraine and the longstanding lack of an international transfer agreement between the NHL and KHL.
“It’s good that guys not be afraid to try here, a year of hockey, without any parents, your friends,” Winnipeg Jets prospect Nikita Chibrikov, 21, said at the NHLPA rookie showcase last month. “It’s really hard. You come to another country, for us, it feels like another world. Some guys don’t know the language. It feels like you try to live another life.”
