Career-Threatening Announcement for Matvei Michkov: Did the Canadiens Dodge a Bullet?
The case of the highly promising Matvei Michkov continues to attract a lot of attention, even after his selection in the last NHL draft.
Although he is one of the brightest prospects not currently playing in the league, fans must be patient before they can witness the first strides of the Russian phenomenon.
The player, who was the 7th overall pick in the 2023 draft, technically has two more years remaining in his KHL contract after this season, meaning he cannot move to North America until at least the 2026-2027 season.
While it was assumed that it would be three years before seeing Michkov on the ice in an NHL game, things could potentially get more complicated due to the Russian president. According to what has just been reported by agent Shumi Babaev to MatchTV, the president would have ordered young players to stay in the country.
Shumi Babaev mentions via MatchTV:
"We have an order from the President, according to which young players should stay here - in Russia."
They have been working on rules to not allow players to go abroad before a set amount of time.
Politics are taken seriously there, and if there is a decree for the country's players to remain in Russia, it could certainly thwart the plans of several NHL teams, especially for young talents as popular as Michkov.
This situation could cause concern for Daniel Brière and the Philadelphia Flyers. It seems that Kent Hughes avoided a serious problem by opting for another player with his 5th overall selection.
We fervently hope that this very complex situation will not hinder Michkov's arrival in the NHL, as he is sure to become one of the stars of the league.
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