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2023 Draft and UFA Thread

I don't think the Habs fear drafting a Russian. Habs and the fans have loved Russians. Kovalev.

The current and previous regime drafted Russians including going off the board with Romanov. Signed radulov. Traded for dadonov. Waited for emelin. Etc

Co head of amateur scouting is Russian. Lapointe has been around since 2012.

The invasion of Ukraine was fresh news last draft but this year it is barely talked about. And khl even before Russians economy tanked was not known as being good for players.

The three years might be a concern but most prospects are 2 to 3 years away anyway.

If you got two equal prospects. Sure take the non Russian but at 5th overall there likely won't be anyone close to michkov.
 
worm said:
I don't think the Habs fear drafting a Russian. Habs and the fans have loved Russians. Kovalev.

The current and previous regime drafted Russians including going off the board with Romanov. Signed radulov. Traded for dadonov. Waited for emelin. Etc

Co head of amateur scouting is Russian. Lapointe has been around since 2012.

The invasion of Ukraine was fresh news last draft but this year it is barely talked about. And khl even before Russians economy tanked was not known as being good for players.

The three years might be a concern but most prospects are 2 to 3 years away anyway.

If you got two equal prospects. Sure take the non Russian but at 5th overall there likely won't be anyone close to michkov.
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At 5th overall there likely won’t be Michkov to draft. SJ will take him.
 
After Bedard its pretty solid it's Fantilli but truthfully Anaheim could love his talent and think they could wait. Who the heck knows. One pick out of expectation is all it takes.
 
I'll be very surprised if the top 3 don't fall in line. Bedard, Fantilli, Carlsson... and I feel relatively confident that Smith goes 4.
 
worm said:
I don't think the Habs fear drafting a Russian. Habs and the fans have loved Russians. Kovalev.

The current and previous regime drafted Russians including going off the board with Romanov. Signed radulov. Traded for dadonov. Waited for emelin. Etc

Co head of amateur scouting is Russian. Lapointe has been around since 2012.

The invasion of Ukraine was fresh news last draft but this year it is barely talked about. And khl even before Russians economy tanked was not known as being good for players.

The three years might be a concern but most prospects are 2 to 3 years away anyway.

If you got two equal prospects. Sure take the non Russian but at 5th overall there likely won't be anyone close to michkov.
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The issue isnt the fear of drafting Michkov , simply is he coming over or the KHL giving him a lucrative offer to stay home
 
I really believe they'll let him go in 3 years. No reason not to. I'm betting there some serious money riding on this kid for immediate needs and that's why they're going overboard in assuring the KHL that he'll be there.

Speculation of course but I'm going off the mentality if it is indeed hockey related about his dad (hard not to think so).

So yes, I'm guessing Fedorov has assured all that have called him, and all top five teams will be calling if they haven't already, that MM will be free to leave in 3 years.

If that is the case then Krusty is right in that it could be any team after Chicago. It just depends on their tolerance threshold.

Remember too, it was his Dad's dream to get him here, I think he comes. He won't resign in Russia.
 
Habsy said:
That article says nothing
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It's Darren Dreger. He never says anything. His typical answer to a hypothetical question is always the same:

"Would the Habs and Kent Hughes want to explore the possibility of moving up in the draft? Well I don't know but one would think that the prospect of improving their draft position would be intriguing to him. Now, what sort of deal would he have to put together to make that happen? Is the other first round pick in play? Is an established piece like a Josh Anderson possibly enough to entice interest? Would the Habs want to part ways with Anderson? We'll have to wait and see but it will definitely be interesting to watch as draft day approaches."

See? He just chewed up a minute of air time without saying a damn thing or telling us anything we didn't already know. Dreger is the most useless so-called "insider" there is. He doesn't even know how to tease anything properly. It's basically someone asking him if he thinks "XYZ" will happen and his answer is always a version of "I dunno. You tell me."
 
CH1 said:
Pronman says Habs pick that d-man (yuk) and Slim Shady falls to 8

Washington Capitals: Matvei Michkov, RW, SKA St. Petersburg (RUSSIA)

I think this is the alleyway where a Michkov pick becomes realistic, plus or minus one or two picks. In very early discussions with people around the league on him, Washington or Detroit are considered the betting favorites for his landing spot. Does anyone really have a clue though? No. He could be long gone by this pick, or possibly he could drop further.
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If anyone can assure Michkov safe passage out of Russia it's Putin's BFF Ovechkin.
 
TheCountofMonteCristo said:
The war is now 18 months old and only the chattering classes still discuss it, last year it would have been politically incorrect to take a Russian but now it is just a distant war that has evolved into a stalemate with no end in sight. People won't care about him being Russian other than pro Ukranian or anti-Russian firebreathers. My only concern is getting him in the uniform, if that is a possibility it is a huge risk and we would have wasted a year of being shitty for it.
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The war has nothing to do with it. People aren't averse to Michkov because he's Russian, they're averse because as a Russian of military draft age, he may not be permitted to leave. At minimum he will probably be forced to honor his KHL contract. At worst, the only uniform you'll see him in will be camouflage with a big white "Z" on it and he'll be a corpse on the Ukrainian steppe. In between those extremes is the possibility that he decides not to come of his own volition because he can make more money in the KHL than an NHL rookie contract. Drafting Michkov comes with the caveat that he may never actually play for you.
 
CH1 said:
and remember all of us were "WTF, Why did we draft Price at 5"
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Pierre McGuire on the TSN panel especially.

Before the draft one panelist asked him if you should draft for talent or for positional need. Baldy said you always draft for talent because except for Crosby the guy you pick today is probably 2 or 3 years away from making an impact and you don't know what your positional needs will be 3 years from now.

Then the Habs took Price and the first thing out of his mouth was "Why are they drafting a goalie? They need a defenseman!"

And naturally, no one on the TSN panel called him out on his hypocrisy.
 
CH1 said:
@Count I totally get what you’re saying and I agree, but do I trust that Geoff wants to get into all that “responding” ….and of course, there’s the whole when will he play for us. Again, I have no problem waiting 3 years but some in the org might have well founded fears that the wait would be longer.

TL DR: Mitchcov is not your typical pick. If he was born anywhere else he’d go #2. He’s gonna slide — once an asset slides, it’s very difficult to predict how far because everyone has a different tolerance for risk.
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No one cares that he's Russian. They care that he may never get here. If he shows up to the combine he should not go back to Russia afterward. That would provide a measure of certainty for NHL teams. But if he does that then he likely gets picked at #2 or #3.

I think that the Habs should try very hard to find a way to get Fantilli.
 
WeHaveMoreCupsThanYou said:
No one cares that he's Russian. They care that he may never get here. If he shows up to the combine he should not go back to Russia afterward. That would provide a measure of certainty for NHL teams. But if he does that then he likely gets picked at #2 or #3.

I think that the Habs should try very hard to find a way to get Fantilli.
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And the rest of his family gets wiped out too.
 
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