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While Connor Bedard is the unquestioned top player in the 2023 NHL Draft class, 18-year-old Russian Matvei Michkov may be a close second.
Although most scouting services have Michkov ranked at a top-five prospect, many scouts and general managers have been speculating he could fall beyond the No. 5 pick for a handful of reasons—the most significant of which being he’s under contract with SKA Saint Petersburg in the Russian Kontinental Hockey League through the 2025-26 season.
But if his contract status weren’t an issue, just how high would Michkov be picked?
“Michkov would seriously be in the conversation for us if we had the No. 2 pick,” an anonymous NHL executive told The Athletic’s Corey Pronman. “I get all the risks but he could honestly push Bedard in terms of pure ability.”
“He’s a hockey genius,” another executive told Pronman. “He’s the second-best player in the draft, and all things being equal, could push Bedard as a pure player.”
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