Draft profile: With tremendous talent, Michkov is the draft's wild card

The 2023 NHL Draft kicks off Wednesday, with the Blue Jackets holding the No. 3 overall pick in what many experts agree is a high-end draft.

Highly sought-after wunderkind Connor Bedard is likely headed to Chicago with the No. 1 choice, but the Blue Jackets will still be able to a player with high-end skill in the draft. Among the potential choices are big, steady Swedish center Leo Carlsson, electrically skilled American center Will Smith, physical and talented Canadian center Adam Fantilli, and the wild card, offensively gifted Russian winger Matvei Michkov.

MORE: Draft consensus rankings | CBJ draft hub | RSVP for Wednesday's draft party

With that in mind, we're breaking down those four players this of this week, finishing today with Michkov. Long thought to be one of the most offensively gifted prospects in years -- and perhaps the best Russian prospect since Alexander Ovechkin -- Michkov will be the most interesting player to follow in the draft. Signed for three more years in Russia and limited in his exposure internationally because of the geopolitical situation, Michkov could be seen as a risky pick -- but one with a massive potential reward.

We'll list Michkov's bio info, his accomplishments in his career to this point and conclude with expert opinions on the standout. Unfortunately, he could not attend the NHL Scouting Combine earlier this month, so we do not have an in-person interview.

Matvei Michkov: The Vitals

Position:Right Wing

Age:18 (Born Dec. 9, 2004)

Height/Weight: 5-10, 172

Hometown: Perm, Russia

The Accomplishments

• Ranked the No. 2 international skater available by NHL Central Scouting after posting a 9-11-20 line in 30 games this past season with Sochi and SKA St. Petersburg of the KHL.
• Notched all 20 points in 27 games with Sochi after a midseason loan from SKA designed to get him more playing time.
• His 0.67 points per game is the best-ever for a KHL prospect in their draft eligible season, besting Vladimir Tarasenko (0.57) and Artemi Panarin (0.45).
• Also compiled 10 goals and 14 points in 12 games this past season with SKA-Neva, the top minor league team in the SKA system.
• Had 22 goals and 38 points in 22 games in 2021-22 with SKA-1946, the junior level team for SKA St. Petersburg, then added 13 goals in 17 playoff games.
• Scored 35 goals and posted 52 points in 50 games in 2020-21 with SKA-1946.
• Had three goals in two games at the 2022 IIHF World Junior Championship before the event was postponed because of COVID concerns.
• Scored eight goals and added 13 points in five games at the prestigious 2021 Hlinka Gretzky Cup U-18 tournament.
• Posted 12 goals and 16 points in seven games to lead all scorers at the 2021 IIHF World Under-18 Championship.

The Experts Say

CBJ radio host Dylan Tyrer has spoken to a number of scouts and draft experts leading into the draft on the Pipeline Podcast presented by Ruoff. Here's what they had to say about Smith.

Scott Wheeler, The Athletic:"I think there's a real strong case (he should be No. 2). … He's a special talent, the best Russian prospect since the 2004 draft when Ovechkin and Malkin went back-to-back 1-2. He's a better prospect at this stage than Andrei Svechnikov, who is now a point-per-game player with the Carolina Hurricanes. He's really a historic generational talent in his own right for the country. They have not produced a talent like this in 20 years. … Part of his success (in Sochi) was he was a talented player on a terrible KHL team, and he got to play first power play and first line in a way that you wouldn't get to for a CSKA or a Spartak or some of the giants of the KHL. That was a factor. I think his numbers were a little inflated just by the opportunity he was given by his move at midseason of this year, but every step of the way below that, (he produced). Two years ago when he last competed internationally, he was a double underager playing in Texas at the U-18 Worlds and almost broke the scoring record there. Had he been at the U-18 Worlds in Germany or Switzerland since, I can't even harbor a guess how he would have done. Had he been (at the World Juniors this year), I think he would have been right there with Bedard. … I truly believe he has an opportunity if and when he comes over to one of the top 10 scorers in the league. I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if Matvei Michkov had a 100-point season in his career. That's the kind of talent we're talking about."

Chris Peters, FloHockey: "I think if you took away all of the concerns of drafting Russian players, of the fact he's under contract for an extended period, there's probably a good chance that we're talking about him more as the No. 2 pick relative to this group. As far as hockey intelligence goes, he probably is No. 1 in this draft, at least as far as I'm concerned. I was doing the broadcasting for that Under-18 World Championships where he scored 12 goals -- he was two off the all-time record by Alex Ovechkin at that tournament -- and I have been to that tournament many, many times, I had never seen anything like that in my life. … He's not a big guy, he doesn't have that explosive skating ability, but he looks like every time he has the puck he's a threat to score."

Adam Kimelman, NHL.com:"If you're just judging in the raw skill, Michkov and Bedard are 1-2 in this draft just from a skill standpoint, but unfortunately there's a little bit more that goes into it and a lot of it is out of his control. … He projects to be an outstanding player with his skill set, the speed and the skating, and the offensive upside that you love. I just think there's too many things there to give you pause. I think he's for sure a top-five talent, but he is the most interesting player coming out of this draft because we haven't seen him at World Juniors, haven't seen him at the World Championships through forces out of his control, so you don't have that comparison."

Dan Marr, NHL Central Scouting director:"If you take away the situation that he's in and you got back to the World Juniors in Dallas two years ago, he's a generational talent and he belongs in that same conversation. He just hasn't been on a stage where we can see him perform to that degree. You always expect players to continue their development. Connor Bedard continued to develop. Adam Fantilli, Will Smith, they've all continued to develop. So you're projecting the same for him. … When you have a chance to get a generational talent whether he comes over right away or two years down the road, you're drafting to improve your franchise. This is a player who is going to add value and improve your franchise down the road."