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Matvei Michkov

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Matvei Michkov
Michkov in 2024, shortly after arriving at JFK airport
Born (2004-12-09) 9 December 2004 (age 19)
Perm, Russia
Height 5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Weight 175 lb (79 kg; 12 st 7 lb)
Position Forward
Shoots Left
NHL team
Former teams		 Philadelphia Flyers
SKA Saint Petersburg
HC Sochi
NHL draft 7th overall, 2023
Philadelphia Flyers
Playing career 2021–present

Matvei Andreyevich Michkov (Russian: Матвей Андреевич Мичков; born 9 December 2004) is a Russian professional ice hockey forward for the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League (NHL). He made his Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) debut with SKA Saint Petersburg in 2021 and played for them and their affiliates until 2022. Michkov was drafted seventh overall by the Flyers in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft.

Playing career

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Amateur

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As early as 2014, Michkov began to get noticed for his hockey talent, setting scoring records for his age group.[1] He scored 109 points in 26 games in the Russian U-16 league, and then had 56 points in 56 games as a 16-year-old in the U-20 division, besting the previous record for points, held by Nikita Kucherov.[2]

In 2020 Michkov transferred from the youth program of Lokomotiv Yaroslavl to SKA Saint Petersburg.[3] He played the 2020–21 season with both SKA-1946 and SKA Varyagi of the Youth Hockey League (MHL), recording 56 points in 56 games.[4] He led the league in goals scored with 38, and finished eighth overall in points.[5] He also set a new record for points by a 16-year-old in the MHL[6]

Professional

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In 2021, Michkov made his professional debut with SKA Saint Petersburg of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL), with his first game coming on 2 September 2021.[7] He split the season with SKA and their junior affiliates; he had 5 points in 13 games in the KHL, and a further 51 points in 28 games with SKA-1946 and SKA Varyagi in the MHL.[8]

During the season, he signed a five-year contract with SKA Saint Petersburg that will keep him playing in Russia until the 2025–26 season.[9]

Michkov missed two months in the KHL after suffering an injury from Alexei Emelin.[10] He joined SKA's minor-league affiliate SKA-Neva of the Supreme Hockey League (VHL) for the 2022–23 season.[11] He was considered one of the top prospects for the 2023 NHL Entry Draft, though some scouts and pundits speculated he may drop due to the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine.[10][12][13]

SKA loaned Michkov to HC Sochi on 20 December 2022 for the rest of the 2022–23 season. At the time Michkov had played 3 games with SKA and had not recorded a point. He also played 14 games in the VHL with SKA-Neva, recording 14 points.[14] Though HK Sochi finished with the worst record in the KHL, Michkov finished fourth in team scoring with 20 points in 27 games; his point-per-game average of .67 was the highest for a draft-eligible player in KHL history.[15]

At the 2023 NHL Entry Draft, Michkov was selected with the seventh overall pick by the Philadelphia Flyers. Continuing his development in Russia, Michkov returned to SKA for the commencement of the 2023–24 season. Beginning the season as a healthy scratch, Michkov featured in just 1 game with SKA, before he was returned to Sochi on loan for the remainder of the season on 12 September 2023.[16] Less than four months after he was drafted, Yahoo! Sports questioned if teams had "missed the ball", finding it "hard to reconcile Michkov slipping to seventh"; Michkov scored 14 points in 14 games and was voted into the KHL All-Star Game.[17] He completed the season with Sochi collecting a team leading 19 goals, while placing second in scoring with 41 points through 47 regular season games.

Philadelphia Flyers

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On 1 July 2024, Michkov signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Philadelphia Flyers.[18] Flyers General Manager Daniel Brière speculated part of the reason Michkov fell in the draft was due to his KHL contract keeping him in Russia until 2026, and expressed amazement he was able to join the team earlier than expected.[19]

International play

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Medal record
Men's ice hockey
Representing  Russia
World U18 Championships
Silver medal – second place 2021 United States
Hlinka Gretzky Cup
Gold medal – first place 2021 Czech Republic/Slovakia

Michkov scored a hat trick playing for the Russian national team against Germany in the 2021 World U18 Championships.[20] Michkov was named the most valuable of the tournament at 16 years old. He won the scoring race with 12 goals, the most goals ever scored by a Russian and the second-highest single-tournament total in history, and 16 points. Michkov was also named Best Forward and made the media all-star team.[21] Russia won the silver medal.[22]

Personal life

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Michkov was born in Perm, and has played hockey since receiving his first pair of skates at age 3.[7] In order to further develop his hockey career, he, along with his parents and brother, moved to Yaroslavl to join the youth program of Lokomotiv Yaroslavl in 2015.[1]

In April 2023, Michkov's father, Andrei, was reported missing; he was found dead two days later near Sochi.[23]

Career statistics

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Regular season and playoffs

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Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2020–21 SKA Varyagi MHL 6 3 1 4 2 — — — — —
2020–21 SKA-1946 MHL 50 35 17 52 45 5 1 2 3 6
2021–22 SKA Saint Petersburg KHL 13 2 3 5 0 — — — — —
2021–22 SKA Varyagi MHL 6 8 5 13 2 — — — — —
2021–22 SKA-1946 MHL 22 22 16 38 22 17 13 4 17 16
2022–23 SKA Saint Petersburg KHL 3 0 0 0 2 — — — — —
2022–23 SKA-Neva VHL 12 10 4 14 4 — — — — —
2022–23 HC Sochi KHL 27 9 11 20 14 — — — — —
2022–23 Kapitan Stupino MHL — — — — — 5 4 3 7 27
2023–24 SKA Saint Petersburg KHL 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
2023–24 HC Sochi KHL 47 19 22 41 26 — — — — —
KHL totals 91 30 36 66 42 — — — — —

International

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Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2021 Russia U18 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 7 12 4 16 4
2021 Russia HG18 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 5 8 5 13 0
Junior totals 12 20 9 29 4

References

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  1. ^ a b Merk, Martin (20 January 2020). "Russia's best-kept secret". IIHF. Archived from the original on 23 October 2022. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
  2. ^ Ellis, Seteven (30 April 2021). "Nobody Can Stop 16-Year-Old Phenom Matvei Michkov". The Hockey News. Archived from the original on 7 May 2021. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
  3. ^ "СКА заплатит 400 тысяч рублей за 15-летнего Мичкова. Он разорвал контракт с "Локомотивом"" [SSKA will pay 400 thousand rubles for 15-year-old Michkov. He terminated the contract with Lokomotiv] (in Russian). Sports.ru. 2 May 2020. Archived from the original on 6 September 2021. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
  4. ^ Ellis, Steven (15 November 2021). "Matvei Michkov Made the Most of a Big Opportunity". The Hockey News. Archived from the original on 23 October 2022. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
  5. ^ "Мичков выиграл снайперскую гонку сезона, Никулин − бомбардирскую" [Michkov won the sniper race of the season, Nikulin — the scorer] (in Russian). Youth Hockey League. 8 March 2021. Archived from the original on 23 October 2022. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
  6. ^ "Кучеров, Бучневич, Капризов. Чьи еще достижения побил лучший снайпер сезона Матвей Мичков" [Kucherov, Buchnevich, Kaprizov. Whose other achievements have been beaten by the best sniper of the season Matvei Michkov] (in Russian). Youth Hockey League. 9 March 2021. Archived from the original on 23 October 2022. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
  7. ^ a b Seren Rosso, Alessandro (25 December 2021). "Matvei Michkov: "We play for the fans, and they want to see a show"". Kontinental Hockey League. Archived from the original on 23 October 2022. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
  8. ^ Bukala, Jason (17 October 2022). "Future Considerations: Why Matvey Michkov is a fascinating draft prospect". Sportsnet.ca. Archived from the original on 22 October 2022. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
  9. ^ "SKA have agreed on a new contract with Matvei Michkov". SKA Saint Petersburgh. 12 December 2020. Archived from the original on 23 October 2022. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
  10. ^ a b McKenzie, Bob (23 January 2023). "'It's Bedard at No. 1 and a wide chasm to everyone else'". TSN. Archived from the original on 23 January 2023. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
  11. ^ Nekrasov, Anton (1 October 2022). "Матвей Мичков сделал дубль в дебютном матче за клуб ВХЛ "СКА-Нева"" [Matvey Michkov made a double in his debut match for the VHL club SKA-Neva] (in Russian). Championat.com. Archived from the original on 23 October 2022. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
  12. ^ Schram, Carol. "NHL Scouts Face Challenges While Hockey's Top Prospects Dazzle At 2021 U18 World Championship". Forbes. Archived from the original on 7 May 2021. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
  13. ^ "How the war in Ukraine is impacting Russian players in the NHL and beyond". ESPN.com. 24 October 2022. Archived from the original on 26 October 2022. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
  14. ^ "Матвей Мичков будет играть за "Сочи"" [Matvei Michkov will play for "Sochi"] (in Russian). HCSochi.ru. 20 December 2022. Archived from the original on 25 December 2022. Retrieved 25 December 2022.
  15. ^ Ellis, Eteven. "NHL Draft Prospect Roundup: Is Matvei Michkov the true No. 2 talent in the class?". Daily Faceoff. Archived from the original on 13 October 2023. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
  16. ^ "Michkov moves to Sochi on loan" (in Russian). HC Sochi. 12 September 2023. Archived from the original on 13 October 2023. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
  17. ^ Stoller, Jacob (21 October 2023). "Matvei Michkov's historic pace is making NHL teams who passed on him look foolish". Yahoo Sports. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
  18. ^ "Flyers Sign Matvei Michkov to Three-Year, Entry-Level Contract". NHL.com. 1 July 2024. Retrieved 3 July 2024.
  19. ^ Kimelman, Adam. "Michkov grateful for 'warm welcome' from Flyers, eyes playoffs". NHL. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
  20. ^ Aykroyd, Lucas (29 April 2021). "Michkov's four goals doom German". IIHF.com. Archived from the original on 5 April 2023. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
  21. ^ Aykroyd, Lucas (7 May 2021). "Michkov named MVP". IIHF.com. Archived from the original on 29 July 2021. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
  22. ^ Podnieks, Andrew (7 May 2021). "Canada rallies for gold". IIHF.com. Archived from the original on 7 July 2022. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
  23. ^ Hall, Thomas (4 April 2023). "Top NHL prospect Matvei Michkov's father found dead in Russia". Yahoo Sports. Archived from the original on 13 October 2023. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
[edit]
Awards and achievements
Preceded by Philadelphia Flyers' first round draft pick
2023 		Succeeded by
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