2023 NHL Draft Day Buzz: Latest On Matvei Michkov, Anaheim Ducks, Trades

NASHVILLE, Tennessee — It’s finally here. The 2023 NHL Draft will open with the first round Wednesday night at Bridgestone Arena at 7 p.m. ET. There has been a flurry of trade activity in the last few days and plenty of news and rumors coming out of the draft as we get set to usher in a new class of future NHL stars.

To get you prepped for tonight, I thought I’d share some of what I’ve heard from the last 24 hours I’ve bee in Nashville. Keep in mind, much of what you hear in the lead-up to the draft should be taken with a grain of salt. Teams are not exactly forthcoming with their plans and some of the rumors we hear turn out to be smokescreens in order to try to get teams to make some moves perhaps they otherwise wouldn’t.

So when it comes to trade rumors, who teams are going to pick (with the exception of the Chicago Blackhawks since we all know Connor Bedard is going No. 1), you can’t believe everything you hear. But let’s start with something I know to be true…

Matvei Michkov Impressed In Interviews With NHL Teams

The biggest wild card of the draft is Russian goal-scoring sensation Matvei Michkov. On talent, you could make a case that he’s the second best player available, but there are a number of complicating factors that could see him fall lower in the top 10.

To recap those issues:

• Michkov is under contract until 2025-26 with SKA St. Petersburg which means a team that drafts him won’t see him until 2026-27 at the earliest.
• The only personnel from teams that have seen Michkov in person this year are their Russian-based scouts. No GMs, scouting directors or other decision-makers have seen him play hockey in person this year. The last live viewing many had was at the 2022 World Junior Championship that got postponed due to a coronavirus outbreak right in the middle of it.
• Teams hadn’t been able to have much contact with him beyond some zoom calls here and there until this week at the draft.
• The ongoing situation between Russia and Ukraine has destabilized things politically and a player of Michkov’s profile may come with political implications that are very difficult to predict. Russia also remains banned from international competition meaning Michkov will not get reps against his age peers any time soon.

There are probably a few other things here and there, but many of the teams that sit in the top 10 of the draft had a chance to meet with Michkov in person this week in Nashville. Reports I’ve been hearing coming out of those conversations is that teams were impressed with the player.

Michkov recently lost his father who died unexpectedly just a few months ago. His mother, however, is with him in Nashville and it’s my understanding that she has also been involved in some of the meetings with Michkov. Teams probably want to make sure he’s going to be comfortable leaving home when the time comes to sign his NHL contract.

Coming out of these meetings, I think it is possible that Michkov goes a bit higher than we expected. Teams are being very coy about their general feelings about him, but the wide conversation is that they felt any rumors about personality or character issues have been overblown and did not match with what they saw in their meetings, which were conducted through a translator.

I’ve even heard more rumblings that there could be a race to trade up to get him. The Philadelphia Flyers and Washington Capitals are both believed to covet the player. If either team has an inkling that someone is willing to trade down, they could do it. Trading up, however, has been a very difficult process given the incredible value of players at the top of this draft.

The Anaheim Ducks Are A Mystery On Day 1

Conventional wisdom suggests the Ducks are simply going to take Adam Fantilli, the consensus No. 2 prospect in this class. However, more and more teams are uncertain of what they’re ultimately going to do. I’ve heard both Leo Carlsson and Matvei Michkov as possibilities.

GM Pat Verbeek keeps things very close to the vest and there won’t be much tipping of picks coming out of Anaheim. However, teams feel that this draft really does start at No. 2 and whatever Anaheim does could create an interesting cascade of dominoes at the very top of this draft.

We all know that Columbus wants one of the top centers and I think they’d be particularly thrilled if Fantilli would be there, though the consensus around the industry seems to suggest that Columbus is also very high on Will Smith. The Blue Jackets did not meet with Matvei Michkov this week, though it was reported  by The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline it was a scheduling conflict.

Either way, if Anaheim throws a curveball, the biggest would be taking Michkov. That then puts three top remaining centers right there for the taking for Columbus, San Jose and Montreal. My assumption would be that Fantilli, Carlsson and Smith go next in that order. But that’s only if Anaheim takes the big swing.

Pat Verbeek very well could do it. He’s not one for conventional wisdom after many years with Steve Yzerman and certainly can put a major stamp on a rebuild with Michkov. That said, any one of the players available to them could be a new franchise cornerstone on a team that is absolutely loaded with young prospects and roster players.

Travel Nightmares Aplenty For Draft Eligibles

Anyone that has tried to travel out of the Eastern United States of late has been hit with massive delays and cancellations. Unfortunately, for many of the European prospects who did not arrive early to Nashville, that was also the case.

Several top NHL Draft eligibles including Leo Carlsson and Axel Sandin Pellikka were forced to drive from New York City to Nashville after flights were delayed. Carlsson missed his scheduled media availability Tuesday because he had just arrived that morning after a 13-hour van ride.

Leo Carlsson had quite the adventure getting here to Nashville. I’m told his flight from Newark yesterday got cancelled so Carlsson and his family rented a minivan and drove 13 hours overnight to Nashville. Just got in this morning. Welcome the draft, kid!

— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) June 27, 2023

Sandin Pellikka and his family were traveling with fellow 2023 NHL Draft eligible Noah Dower-Nilsson, so they all hopped in a rental van and booked it to Nashville. As I was getting my morning coffee, I heard they had just made it in after an overnight drive.

This may have also impacted last-minute interviews with teams, which is unfortunate, but it sounds like many of the prospects are going to make it for the draft. But some of them are going to be very, very tired.

Trades Impacting The Draft

As is always the case and should be throughout draft night, there could be a series of trades that really shake things up. There was already one deal that moved first- and second-round picks in this year’s draft. But beyond that, teams have been very reluctant to move first rounders this year.

The Colorado Avalanche went from one pick in the first five rounds to three in the first two. They had their own pick at No. 27, but traded away former first-rounder Alex Newhook to Montreal for picks No. 31 and No. 37 as well as prospect Gianii Fairbrother. That was a tidy piece of business from the Avs as Newhook hadn’t quite established him within their lineup.

Montreal lands Alex Newhook!

The @CanadiensMTL and @Avalanche have made a trade. ???? pic.twitter.com/aNr7vr1SSU

— NHL (@NHL) June 27, 2023

The Avs then used the No. 37 pick to get Ross Colton from the Tampa Bay Lightning. Without that, Tampa would not have picked until the sixth round. Now they get a chance to land a solid B prospect with their earlier pick while clearing a little room off the cap.

Having multiple picks in the first round strengthens my belief that Colorado will be using one of those three picks on a goaltender in this draft. They’ve really struggled to draft and develop their own goalie over the years and I think they have a golden opportunity with their two picks in the top 31 to make a play on one of the higher-upside goalies in this draft.

Additionally, keep an eye on what the Ottawa Senators are doing. They don’t have many picks in this draft. As of right now, they don’t pick until the fourth round. With Alex DeBrincat seemingly in play, there could be a chance for Ottawa to recoup some earlier picks and add to their stable of good young players. Eyes have been on Detroit to potentially land the Michigan native, but if that’s what Steve Yzerman truly has interest in, we’ll never know for sure. DeBrincat’s presence on the market makes for an interesting day.

The Winnipeg Jets could be another team that is very active as well. They are likely to start moving some core players even in the wake of the massive Pierre-Luc Dubois trade. It could be a very busy day for Kevin Cheveldayoff if high picks are starting to be thrown his way for players like Connor Hellebuyck and Mark Schiefele, though reports have indicated they want more roster players to remain competitive.

While new Pittsburgh Penguins president of hockey operations Kyle Dubas is just getting his feet wet with the job, I will be interested to see if they keep their pick at No. 14 or try and trade back for some additional assets. If the player they really like is there, I’d imagine they simply use the pick. They have so many organizational needs and if they can increase the number of assets they leave this draft with, it might be worth exploring a trade-down scenario. It would not be the first time Dubas did that.

News and Notes

• Tenessee State Adding Hockey: In addition to the NHL Draft here in Nashville, there was a big announcement in college hockey as Tennessee State will announce Wednesday that they will become the first HBCU school to offer ice hockey as a sport. Details will be revealed at 3:30 p.m. in Nashville, but this was the result of a feasibility study conducted by the school with the NHL. It is unclear what level they will start with, but this is a monumental day for the expansion of college hockey both into a non-traditional market and to have the first HBCU school involved in hockey is a great step for making the game more inclusive and inviting. This could be a very important endeavor for both the school and the sport at large and I can’t wait to see what they do with it.
• Player Meetings Continue: NHL teams continue to meet with prospects at the last minute to finish up their due dilligence. Most lists are finalized, but I know teams have set up a number of meetings with players beyond Michkov to simply touch base and get that last little bit of face time with a GM and some of the decision makers. A lot is riding on the top of this draft and teams want to get it right.
• Nashville Is A Hockey Town: This is my first time in Nashville and I love seeing the NHL iconography all over town. Broadway is vibrant and with Bridgestone Arena right on the strip, it’s in the middle of everything. The energy around the draft is always fun, but throw in a little Honky Tonk, throw in some hot chicken and you’ve got the perfect combination. Enjoy the draft everyone!

Live Coverage Throughout The Night

Make sure you stay close to all of our coverage throughout the night. I will have pick-by-pick analysis for every pick int he first round with reports appearing very soon after the pick is called. I’ll be dishing on the player and how they fit with the team that drafted them. On top of that, we’ll have plenty more on our social media channels. So make sure you’re following FloHockey on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube!

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