Are the Montreal Canadiens about to make the worst mistake of their decade?
PUBLICATION
Elias Adaime
May 20, 2023 (9:49)
Now that the NHL lottery is a thing of the past, the management of the Canadiens will have their work cut out for them until the draft session scheduled for the end of June in Nashville.
With the fifth overall selection, most experts expect that Kent Hughes will be able to draft a quality player but for the past few days, the Matvei Michkov case has been generating a lot of buzz in the hockey world.
While some people believe the Canadiens should not touch him with a ten-foot pole, there are others who claim that the organization absolutely must not let the young Russian prospect slip through their fingers, regardless of his situation.
This is the case, among others, of former player agent David Ettedgui. During his appearance on BPM Sports, he declared that if the Canadiens did not draft Michkov fifth, if of course he was still available, it would be a monumental blunder.
"The Canadiens have to take Michkov. If the Canadiens don't take Michkov, it's the worst mistake in the last 20 years. If the Canadiens don't take Michkov, they better have really incredible and precise information that says this guy will not come. Because Michkov is the best Russian player since Alex Ovechkin and I haven't seen one as beautiful as him since maybe Pavel Bure. Michkov is a phenomenon. I would take him second after Bedard!"
Despite his enormous potential, not all NHL teams are keen on drafting a player who will still be under contract for the next three seasons in the KHL.
But there are also certain circumstances surrounding the youngster that are not very favorable for him to be selected early in the first round, and there's also the fact that a well-placed informant in the Canadiens' entourage mentioned that the chances are almost nil that Matvei Michkov will be drafted by the team next June.
There will still be a lot of news in this thorny file in the weeks to come, but with Kent Hughes, we are never safe from a last-minute surprise.
Credit: Let's Go Habs
POLL |
Do you believe in the chances of seeing Michkov drafted by the CH next June? |
Yes | 140 | 64.5 % |
No | 77 | 35.5 % |
List of polls |
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