When the 2023 offseason started and the dust from the lottery settled, the Flyers were slotted to pick seventh overall and wouldn’t pick again until the 87th overall selection in the middle of the third round thanks to Chuck Fletcher dealing away their second round pick as well as their own third rounder in the Ristolainen and DeAngelo trades respectively.
Obviously there was skepticism the Flyers would follow through with a proper rebuild no matter how many times Briere and co. reiterated the phrase. But then, he dealt away Ivan Provorov for a first round pick in 2023 (22nd overall) and a pair of future second rounders.
It reignited the hope there will be many more dominos to fall and main roster pieces to get sold off, and now that the Flyers are adding more picks, it seems like a good time to revisit the continued debate: does it make sense to potentially draft Russian forward Matvei Michkov?
If all else was equal, Michkov would probably be the second overall pick this season as his talent level is second only to Connor Bedard, but as a Russian player and the uncertainty surrounding his ability to make it to North America to play in the NHL in the first place could scare off teams and thus his stock falls in favor of teams taking prospects that will have no problems playing for their new team. He is signed with SKA St. Petersburg of the KHL until the conclusion of the 2025-26 season.
For the Flyers, Michkov presents a very interesting option- His talent is exactly what the team needs, but is taking the risk of this guy never playing for your organization due to circumstances out of his control worth the gamble?
As noted, before, when the Flyers only had one pick in the first two rounds, taking that kind of gamble was a gigantic risk. Take Michkov at seven and he, for one reason or another, never makes the jump and just like that, they wasted their only shot in the deepest draft in years.
But now that the Flyers have acquired the 22nd overall selection in the Provorov trade, and could very well acquire another pick or two in the weeks leading up to the draft, the idea of selecting Michkov becomes far more palatable considering he won’t be their only pick to make or break the draft.
There’s obviously no guarantee he falls to the Flyers at seven, but he’ll more than likely fall out of the top three.
The Flyers could attempt to trade up in the draft. Swap the seventh and 22nd overall selections (and an additional future pick if need be) for San Jose’s fourth overall to select Michkov.
Then, say, trade Travis Konecny to Detroit for the 17th overall pick and Scott Laughton for an additional late first round pick, for funzies, Toronto’s 28th overall pick, the Flyers get three first rounders in total (4th, 17th, and 28th overall) and manage to walk away with Michkov, a potential legitimate star to build the franchise around.
That’s obviously contingent on San Jose (or Montreal or Arizona) wanting to trade their pick in the first place. Those teams surely having the same internal logic battle as the Flyers are. Weighing the options and deciding what’s best for the future of their respective franchises.
There’s obvious risk taking Michkov. There’s a non-zero chance he isn’t allowed to make the NHL jump, something the Flyers witnessed first hand when it comes to Russian players when goaltender Ivan Fedotov was kidnapped by the Russian military last summer. Taking that risk again with the same threat looming overhead, this time in a much more critical situation when it comes to the future of the Flyers’ organization is no easy call, even if they manage to acquire one or more first round picks to fall back on.
It’d be a hell of a statement for rookie GM Danny Briere to move up in the draft and take Michkov, but it’s the exact level of creativity and bravado the team has been desperately lacking. The green light should be given to sell off as many roster pieces as possible leading up to the draft, and if they can actually manage to snag a couple of extra first rounders, the proposition to select Michkov becomes far more palatable. The addition of extra picks is the only way the risk is worth the reward for the Flyers.
By: Dan Esche (@DanTheFlyeraFan)
photo credit: youtube.com
brotherlypuck.com 