Major statement regarding Matvei Michkov's real potential: It's likely to please Canadiens' fans

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David St-Jean
August 19, 2023 (6:19 PM)

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Over the past few months, a player who has garnered a lot of attention, especially among Montreal fans, is undoubtedly the Russian prodigy Matvei Michkov. According to many experts, the 18-year-old had the necessary talent to be chosen at the second overall pick in the draft on June 28th.

Moreover, several observers continued to state that if it weren't for Russia's geopolitical situation and his contract in the KHL, Michkov likely would have been selected right after Connor Bedard. After all, the forward had a historic season in the KHL with 9 goals and 11 assists (20 points) in 27 games.

His remarkable statistics led to him being considered the best Russian prospect since Alex Ovechkin. A very honorable comparison considering that players like Nikita Kucherov, Artemi Panarin, Kirill Kaprizov, and Andrei Svechnikov were all selected after the Capitals' forward.

The majority of journalists quickly deemed it a steal by the Flyers, who possibly snagged a generational talent at the 7th pick. However, not everyone seems to share this opinion.

Indeed, during his appearance on the podcast "The Sick Podcast with Tony Marinaro", former Canadiens scout Grant McCagg is far from of the same mind, as he believes that Matvei Michkov could become the next Nail Yakupov.

"I think he could be the next Yakupov. He doesn't impress me. He's not particularly fast. He's not big. He's not physical. He's going to have a hard time establishing himself in the NHL, especially in the playoffs. Teams didn't just ignore him because of his character. Many see him getting 100 points and more in the NHL, but there's no guarantee he'll even reach 80 points. I don't see it." - Grant McCagg

Wow! Such a statement was unexpected!

However, there's a significant difference between saying that Michkov won't have 100-point seasons and predicting that he won't be able to secure a place in the NHL, as was the case with Nail Yakupov. Given the special status Michkov holds according to many professional scouts, it would be surprising to see him fail to that extent.

Nevertheless, if such a prediction were to come true, it's safe to say that it would greatly please the fans of the Canadiens, who seemed devastated that Kent Hughes didn't select him at the 5th overall pick.

To hear Grant McCagg's remarks, you can listen to the podcast right here: