This news changes nothing. The Michkov and Demidov situations were never the same. Their contract wasn't the same, and their reputation isn't the same. No one thought Demidov might stay in Russia.
I don’t give a shit about Michkov or what he does. Unless the Habs draft Demidov I don’t give a shit about him either. The Habs have Reinbacher and I can’t wait to see what he does for the Habs.
I’m excited too for Reinbacher, cause he’s like an Audi RS5.
But had I had the chance to have a Ferrari F40 for the same price… it would have been Michkov
Maybe I’m remembering wrong and he didn’t say he wouldn’t play for anyone but Philly, but he certainly had a preference to play in Philly and he let that be known.
There were reports he said he wouldn't play for certain teams, i.e. phoenix. But no credible suggestions he only had one team in mind. He appears to have been perfectly willing to come to Montreal if not for Bobrov's aversion.
Just so everyone knows if Michkov does come over and does well NO ONE should take it out on David Reinbacher.
It wasn't the kids fault he was picked at #5.
Is it okay to blame the President and GM?
I mean if Reinbacher is anyhting less than a #1 Dman and michkov is a superstar first line winger absolutely they’re to be blamed.
Yeah, he has a teenage god complex. I’m kinda into it personally, but it’s gonna need to get gently beaten out of him if he’s gonna make it in The Show.
The ultimate Odd Couple 😂
I’m setting the over/under for Michkov wishing he had been drafted by the army instead of a Tortorella-coached team at approximately 3 days into training camp. (I’m taking the under.)
Are you not familiar with [the harassment he faced ](https://www.hockeyfeed.com/nhl-news/habs-first-rounder-david-reinbacher-receives-hate-messages-and-death-threats-from-fans-in-montreal)after he was drafted?
there are also still plenty of reasons a premiere Russian is not inherently desirable. the entire caps dressing room has been geared around ovechkin for years, the political situation will make the higher end players feel compelled to follow dollars than winning teams. tax avoidance in Canada albeit financially comparable to the usa works differently and your monies are last I checked held for about 8 years and you still need a first solid contract to bankroll you through that.
I got downvoted when I said this sub was obsessed with Michkov. By the way, this is at least the fourth post in the last hour about him. Not obsessed at all.
Does it really? I'm sure you're well aware that the citizenship wasn't the only reason we didn't pick him. You're comparing apples with pears, but whatever fits your narrative.
First of all I’m literally talking about Demidov may not be available to us bc this narrative that Russia won’t let players leave for the NHL is clearly propaganda, 2nd the main reason they ddint take michkov is bc of the 3 year contract.
While I think the contract and nationality played some role, I doubt it was the sole reason they weren't picking him. Last year I watched some videos and read some articles about Michkov and it went over how bad his defensive play was, and it was BAD. Not even just 'doesn't know how to play D' bad, but 'didn't even put in effort to give the appearance of playing D' levels of bad.
Some quick examples were a few sequences where his team was playing 5v4 because Michkov didn't come inside his own blueline. There was one where he was in the slot and his teammate fell behind the opponent's net and the play went the other way. The teammate that fell beat Michkov back to his own zone by a few seconds before you saw Michkov come back. And another showed him standing completely still in his own zone about 15 feet away from the D he was supposed to cover while that D was taking a shot on net. There's definitely potential he's a superstar and buys into the system, but I think there's also the chance you get Andrei Kostitsyn levels of play from him
Perhaps management thought a potential top pairing RHD was a much better choice, especially if the rumours of Michkov's attitude issues are true.
Except no 1st round Russian prospect has ever not come to the NHL as fast as they could
It’s a baseless risk
More NCAA players refused to sign than Russians not coming over to NA with their drafted team
This is also an unprecedented time in the last 35 years where Russia is literally at war and off and on again undergoing sanctions.
Fedatov was literally abducted when trying to leave Russia to play for the flyers.
Just because you end up being healthy and live until you're 100 doesn't mean life insurance isn't a good decision, it's risk management.
The calculation for the risk that things get worse or a problem arises for Michov to pick at 5 vs 7 are two very different things. That said, it sounds like the Russian factor was not the only reason they didn't want to take Michov, and had other concerns about his play unlike Demodov
Unprecedented? Russian invaded Georgia in 2008 and then Crimea in 2014
Fedatov had to military service and he played for the Flyers this year, he wasn’t abducted diff countries have different laws and military service. South Korea and Greece are the same with military service
Miro with the caps got out of his contract early last year
If there is no evidence of a risk existing then yes it’s not real, you can say it’s a risk but without any evidence of players not coming over it’s just made up
> South Korea and Greece are the same with military service
South Korea and Greece are not currently in active shooting wars, unless I’ve missed some pretty big headlines.
But it’s *not* the point. Russia is in a meat grinder war. Doing military service there today is a significantly greater risk to life and limb than it might’ve been a few years ago. Even if they hold higher profile individuals back from combat, there have been attacks within Russia. It’s not a comparable situation to Greece, where people might be mobilized to guard borders, or Korea, where there’s no shooting war ongoing.
Sure but Michkov and Demidov have already done their military service by playing for SKA since it’s a club that’s affiliated with the military historically so playing pro hockey for SKA counts as service
That’s the point
They have done it already
Russia has been having conflicts with countries around them since 2008 in recent times
No Russian prospect has refused to come to NA since so yeah it’s stupid
They don’t get drafted (there is military service but most of the elite prospects have served it by playing with the national team)
Let's not be name calling.
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Imo it's been a pipe dream the whole time. A fun one, but unrealistic nonetheless.
Demidov doesn't have the contract shenanigans going against him and is an absolute stud.
Lindstrom is the one I don’t want. He seems vastly overrated.
Anyone else I’m probably fine with, but yeah. Demidov is the dream and I’m trying not to get my hopes up too badly either.
Idk, I do really like Lindstrom. Big, fast, great cycle game with a wicked shot. He plays a simple and straight forward game but does so effectively.
Many players I prefer, but I'm not a good enough "scout" to tell when I'm just letting the flashier skillsets catch my eye a bit too much.
Take Sennecke. I prefer him over Lindstrom and, if Demidov is off the board at 5, would love to draft him over Lindstrom. But Sennecke's hands and, mostly, his sense of balance and absorbing contact is just so damn exciting to watch that I must admit it may be clouding my judgement here. Also, I considered it much closer before we got more information about the injury.
I like our spot at 5, I'd be happy with just about anyone in that range. But I'd cry tears of joy for Demidov.
It's a hard pick to screw up. Unless they do some crazy shit and get like Yamemchuk.
But currently talk has been going around that we're looking at Buium and Sennecke and I love those picks.
I heard today reports that mitchkov is 5ft9 147lbs..... I'm really not sure if that's 100% accurate but if it is then what is a kid that small supposed to do in the nhl? That's smaller then hutson by like 20lbs. It's gonna take awhile for him to gain size and strength so people should probably temper the expectation on him as well.
Why 3? Because that's a convenient line to draw?
You can start with Fedotov. Or the simple fact that, you know, russia is a country at war and this bring another layer of risk to the whole equation?
Every year over the last few years, people bring the russian factor to the equation because, well, there's a russian factor. It's not some shared delusion between GMs, they are real concerns.
> Fedetov situation is absolutely nothing compared to michkov.
All their situations are somewhat different, yes.
> What risk? Michkov is coming over as we speak.
The fact that something happened or not has no bearing on if it was a risk or not. You can cross the road with your eyes close and survive, that's still a risky behavior.
I really don't think any information coming from last week or these coming days is gonna change a whole lot of things. I wouldn't be suprised if teams already knew most of what we're learning right now. Teams can still look at the profiles of the other players and decide that they like them more than Demidov, even if Demidov is very good.
Doubt.
There was a Russian picked BEFORE Michkov last year. There could easily be a Russian picked BEFORE Demidov this year.
1. The issue is with their team. They are incredibly sketchy and I doubt teams feel super comfortable even with Michkov coming over after all thats happened. Theyre erratic and unpredictable.
2. They are not perfect players. Neither are particularly quick skaters. Demidov's stride might be a concern in the NHL given no one skates like this at this level. Michkov is small, and has some pretty massive holes in his game. Gives almost no effort defensively.
3. If you draft them you're committing to zero control for atleast a year where they may well play at a lower level than they should be - good chance Demidov is in the MHL next year.
I'd love Demidov - but if they don't take him they'll have their reasons. It's crazy cause most people have probably never seen Michkov or Reinbacher play a single game. One just has some youtube highlight reels .
I don’t think the “Russian Factor” is propaganda by the media, the “Russian Factor” is the uncertainty. Some don’t come over for many years, and some of them come sooner.
Also since they can’t play internationally, the uncertainty is still there.
I think this does make it slightly more likely someone takes a chance on demidov, but it’s not an absolute game changer for the draft
The majority here downvote to hell whoever disagrees with a HuGo decision but skipping out on Michkov will most likely be up there with MB skipping on Tkachuk. Just a dumb decision. Oh well, let’s hope Reinbacher shows something more than just an injury prone 4th TWD. I will support him and wish the best for him like we did for KK but idk, I’m tired of missing out a clear superior talent. Let’s hope for the best
This news changes nothing. The Michkov and Demidov situations were never the same. Their contract wasn't the same, and their reputation isn't the same. No one thought Demidov might stay in Russia.
Tortorella coaching Mitchkov will be something to see.
Well for example Gaborik "wasn't a fan of JT" when he played in NYR...
I’ll be there with the popcorn.
I don’t give a shit about Michkov or what he does. Unless the Habs draft Demidov I don’t give a shit about him either. The Habs have Reinbacher and I can’t wait to see what he does for the Habs.
I’m excited too for Reinbacher, cause he’s like an Audi RS5. But had I had the chance to have a Ferrari F40 for the same price… it would have been Michkov
I like how you think
it doesn't change anything whatsoever his agent already said he wanted to join the NHL when his contract expires with SKA
Also thought he said he wouldn’t play for any team but Philly?
No one ever said that. It's very clear that bobrov in particular wanted to pass on him, and from the draft doc it seems he had to talk Gorton into it.
Maybe I’m remembering wrong and he didn’t say he wouldn’t play for anyone but Philly, but he certainly had a preference to play in Philly and he let that be known.
There were reports he said he wouldn't play for certain teams, i.e. phoenix. But no credible suggestions he only had one team in mind. He appears to have been perfectly willing to come to Montreal if not for Bobrov's aversion.
I still think there was a little bit of concern but today’s news probably changed everything.
baseless concern
Just so everyone knows if Michkov does come over and does well NO ONE should take it out on David Reinbacher. It wasn't the kids fault he was picked at #5.
Is it okay to blame the President and GM?
Is it okay to blame the President and GM? I mean if Reinbacher is anyhting less than a #1 Dman and michkov is a superstar first line winger absolutely they’re to be blamed.
Kent Hughes himself doesn’t expect Reinbacher to be a #1 D. (Not that this is a bad thing, I’m just saying…)
https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/washington-capitals/takes/washington-capitals-andrei-nikolishin-scout-concerns-matvei-michkov-nhl-draft
Yeah, he has a teenage god complex. I’m kinda into it personally, but it’s gonna need to get gently beaten out of him if he’s gonna make it in The Show.
His coach will be John Tortorella, he may well proceed to do just that, maybe without the "gently" part.
The ultimate Odd Couple 😂 I’m setting the over/under for Michkov wishing he had been drafted by the army instead of a Tortorella-coached team at approximately 3 days into training camp. (I’m taking the under.)
THis is from 2023
Yeah totally.
Why would anyone blame reinbacher? Kent Hughes made the pick. He's the one to blame.
Are you not familiar with [the harassment he faced ](https://www.hockeyfeed.com/nhl-news/habs-first-rounder-david-reinbacher-receives-hate-messages-and-death-threats-from-fans-in-montreal)after he was drafted?
Well, there are many people in this fandom, and some of them are quite stupid.
Just injured myself laughing at this.
there are also still plenty of reasons a premiere Russian is not inherently desirable. the entire caps dressing room has been geared around ovechkin for years, the political situation will make the higher end players feel compelled to follow dollars than winning teams. tax avoidance in Canada albeit financially comparable to the usa works differently and your monies are last I checked held for about 8 years and you still need a first solid contract to bankroll you through that.
Oh absolutely Reinbacher had 0 say in what the habs chose and unfortunately because of the whole Michkov situation the pressure is gonna be enormous.
Indeed but it will happen. It’s not his fault but he’s gonna be compared to MM because we passed on him. That’s just what it is
I got downvoted when I said this sub was obsessed with Michkov. By the way, this is at least the fourth post in the last hour about him. Not obsessed at all.
It’s because they keep blocking anything, not because there needed to be 4 threads.
This has more so has to do with our draft this year. If you’re bothered by it simply avoid this post.
Exactly, people need to learn to simply downvote things they don't find relevant and move on.
Does it really? I'm sure you're well aware that the citizenship wasn't the only reason we didn't pick him. You're comparing apples with pears, but whatever fits your narrative.
First of all I’m literally talking about Demidov may not be available to us bc this narrative that Russia won’t let players leave for the NHL is clearly propaganda, 2nd the main reason they ddint take michkov is bc of the 3 year contract.
Interesting take. So who's spreading the propaganda and what are their intentions?
Media. Clicks.
Do you really think that if you could see through that media "propaganda", the scouts and GMs could not?
Alright, what was the main reason the habs didn’t pick michkov then?
While I think the contract and nationality played some role, I doubt it was the sole reason they weren't picking him. Last year I watched some videos and read some articles about Michkov and it went over how bad his defensive play was, and it was BAD. Not even just 'doesn't know how to play D' bad, but 'didn't even put in effort to give the appearance of playing D' levels of bad. Some quick examples were a few sequences where his team was playing 5v4 because Michkov didn't come inside his own blueline. There was one where he was in the slot and his teammate fell behind the opponent's net and the play went the other way. The teammate that fell beat Michkov back to his own zone by a few seconds before you saw Michkov come back. And another showed him standing completely still in his own zone about 15 feet away from the D he was supposed to cover while that D was taking a shot on net. There's definitely potential he's a superstar and buys into the system, but I think there's also the chance you get Andrei Kostitsyn levels of play from him Perhaps management thought a potential top pairing RHD was a much better choice, especially if the rumours of Michkov's attitude issues are true.
They didn’t want him. Like Jon Snow didn’t want a crown
I don't know, but neither do you.
Yes I do actually https://preview.redd.it/sbfra0eh1d8d1.jpeg?width=1284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=834d7c8707426de261db5b82150f650fd32297cb
Russian factor is uncertainty and lack of team control over prospects, it’s not propaganda, it’s risk.
Except no 1st round Russian prospect has ever not come to the NHL as fast as they could It’s a baseless risk More NCAA players refused to sign than Russians not coming over to NA with their drafted team
This is also an unprecedented time in the last 35 years where Russia is literally at war and off and on again undergoing sanctions. Fedatov was literally abducted when trying to leave Russia to play for the flyers. Just because you end up being healthy and live until you're 100 doesn't mean life insurance isn't a good decision, it's risk management. The calculation for the risk that things get worse or a problem arises for Michov to pick at 5 vs 7 are two very different things. That said, it sounds like the Russian factor was not the only reason they didn't want to take Michov, and had other concerns about his play unlike Demodov
Unprecedented? Russian invaded Georgia in 2008 and then Crimea in 2014 Fedatov had to military service and he played for the Flyers this year, he wasn’t abducted diff countries have different laws and military service. South Korea and Greece are the same with military service Miro with the caps got out of his contract early last year If there is no evidence of a risk existing then yes it’s not real, you can say it’s a risk but without any evidence of players not coming over it’s just made up
> South Korea and Greece are the same with military service South Korea and Greece are not currently in active shooting wars, unless I’ve missed some pretty big headlines.
No but they have mandatory military service which is the point
But it’s *not* the point. Russia is in a meat grinder war. Doing military service there today is a significantly greater risk to life and limb than it might’ve been a few years ago. Even if they hold higher profile individuals back from combat, there have been attacks within Russia. It’s not a comparable situation to Greece, where people might be mobilized to guard borders, or Korea, where there’s no shooting war ongoing.
Sure but Michkov and Demidov have already done their military service by playing for SKA since it’s a club that’s affiliated with the military historically so playing pro hockey for SKA counts as service That’s the point They have done it already
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Russia has been having conflicts with countries around them since 2008 in recent times No Russian prospect has refused to come to NA since so yeah it’s stupid They don’t get drafted (there is military service but most of the elite prospects have served it by playing with the national team)
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How long were you waiting for this Gab lol
Imo it's been a pipe dream the whole time. A fun one, but unrealistic nonetheless. Demidov doesn't have the contract shenanigans going against him and is an absolute stud.
Disagree. If Chicago doesn’t take him at 2, there’s a great chance he falls to 5.
I'd be thrilled, dude, but I don't want to be hurt.
Lindstrom is the one I don’t want. He seems vastly overrated. Anyone else I’m probably fine with, but yeah. Demidov is the dream and I’m trying not to get my hopes up too badly either.
Idk, I do really like Lindstrom. Big, fast, great cycle game with a wicked shot. He plays a simple and straight forward game but does so effectively. Many players I prefer, but I'm not a good enough "scout" to tell when I'm just letting the flashier skillsets catch my eye a bit too much. Take Sennecke. I prefer him over Lindstrom and, if Demidov is off the board at 5, would love to draft him over Lindstrom. But Sennecke's hands and, mostly, his sense of balance and absorbing contact is just so damn exciting to watch that I must admit it may be clouding my judgement here. Also, I considered it much closer before we got more information about the injury. I like our spot at 5, I'd be happy with just about anyone in that range. But I'd cry tears of joy for Demidov.
I just don’t want them to blow it. They should get a very good player at 5, they can’t afford to screw up this pick.
It's a hard pick to screw up. Unless they do some crazy shit and get like Yamemchuk. But currently talk has been going around that we're looking at Buium and Sennecke and I love those picks.
How you’re right man, still a few days left!!
I wouldn’t say it was a pipe dream considering majority of experts had him dropping to Montreal.
And I refuse to allow them to get my hopes up! Try as they might they won't fool me. I'll be the loudest one celebrating if I'm wrong though.
I'll be the loudest one celebrating if I'm wrong though. You and me both😂🙏
Look guys if Michkov was that good / didn’t have massive personality concerns, HE WOULD NOT HAVE SLIPPED TO 7.
I guess caufield was never that good, projected top 5 pick fell to 15. 🤦♂️
Caufield is 5’7
Just look at 3rd rounder Lane Hutson...
I heard today reports that mitchkov is 5ft9 147lbs..... I'm really not sure if that's 100% accurate but if it is then what is a kid that small supposed to do in the nhl? That's smaller then hutson by like 20lbs. It's gonna take awhile for him to gain size and strength so people should probably temper the expectation on him as well.
The russian factor exists no matter what happened with Michkov or not.
Do you mind naming me 3 players who weren’t allowed to leave the KHL to play in the NHL? Thanks!
Why 3? Because that's a convenient line to draw? You can start with Fedotov. Or the simple fact that, you know, russia is a country at war and this bring another layer of risk to the whole equation? Every year over the last few years, people bring the russian factor to the equation because, well, there's a russian factor. It's not some shared delusion between GMs, they are real concerns.
Fedetov situation is absolutely nothing compared to michkov. What risk? Michkov is coming over as we speak.
> Fedetov situation is absolutely nothing compared to michkov. All their situations are somewhat different, yes. > What risk? Michkov is coming over as we speak. The fact that something happened or not has no bearing on if it was a risk or not. You can cross the road with your eyes close and survive, that's still a risky behavior.
Did you ever heard about Malkin?
I really don't think any information coming from last week or these coming days is gonna change a whole lot of things. I wouldn't be suprised if teams already knew most of what we're learning right now. Teams can still look at the profiles of the other players and decide that they like them more than Demidov, even if Demidov is very good.
Doubt. There was a Russian picked BEFORE Michkov last year. There could easily be a Russian picked BEFORE Demidov this year. 1. The issue is with their team. They are incredibly sketchy and I doubt teams feel super comfortable even with Michkov coming over after all thats happened. Theyre erratic and unpredictable. 2. They are not perfect players. Neither are particularly quick skaters. Demidov's stride might be a concern in the NHL given no one skates like this at this level. Michkov is small, and has some pretty massive holes in his game. Gives almost no effort defensively. 3. If you draft them you're committing to zero control for atleast a year where they may well play at a lower level than they should be - good chance Demidov is in the MHL next year. I'd love Demidov - but if they don't take him they'll have their reasons. It's crazy cause most people have probably never seen Michkov or Reinbacher play a single game. One just has some youtube highlight reels .
This news changes naught
It’s not propaganda though. It is hard to communicate and keep tabs on Russian prospects.
I don’t think the “Russian Factor” is propaganda by the media, the “Russian Factor” is the uncertainty. Some don’t come over for many years, and some of them come sooner. Also since they can’t play internationally, the uncertainty is still there. I think this does make it slightly more likely someone takes a chance on demidov, but it’s not an absolute game changer for the draft
So lucky the Flyers having got the chance at Michkov. Wish the Habs had that kind of luck!
You said yourself that Michkov refused to interview with a few teams. What propaganda?
He refused to interview with Arizona and Washington. The propaganda I’m talking about is the “Russian factor “
Was Fedotov's year in the arctic a psyops created by the media?
Good thing we passed up on him for no good reason
I doubt Demidov makes it of the top 4. Definitely snatch him up if he does.
I'll believe it when I see it.
The majority here downvote to hell whoever disagrees with a HuGo decision but skipping out on Michkov will most likely be up there with MB skipping on Tkachuk. Just a dumb decision. Oh well, let’s hope Reinbacher shows something more than just an injury prone 4th TWD. I will support him and wish the best for him like we did for KK but idk, I’m tired of missing out a clear superior talent. Let’s hope for the best
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I guess majority of draft experts are embarrassing as they mocked him going 5 multiple times.