PHILADELPHIA — Matvei Michkov and the Philadelphia Flyers feels like something that was meant to be.
There were many questions floating around the non-English speaking Russian prospect leading up to the NHL Draft.
For one, it was hard to scout him because he plays in a country currently at war, and his father, Andrei, recently died amid "unexplained circumstances," according to the Russian Ice Hockey Federation via Twitter on April 4.
And despite being seen as the best prospect in the draft not named Connor Bedard, some teams were hesitant to commit despite his high level of skill because he's under contract with the KHL's SKA St. Petersburg through 2025-26, meaning he can't play in the NHL until 2026-27.
He wasn't selected with one of the first six picks on Wednesday, and the Flyers did the right thing by taking the second best offensive player in this draft, according to the hosts of Locked on Flyers.
Michkov, in fact, came right out and said he is excited to play in the NHL, and specifically for the Flyers.
"It's important for me to finish the goal that my dad had for me," Michkov said via a translator, "and that's to win the Stanley Cup."
For the Flyers, the question marks dissipated in talking to Michkov, and they're willing to bet he'll be worth the wait.
"We took a big swing, but we hope that this turns out to be a home run," Flyers general manager Daniel Briere said, via NHL.com. "Time will tell. It's a little early, but we feel when he's ready to come (to the NHL), he could really be a difference-maker, and that's the risk that we were willing to take, to wait a little bit to hopefully have a difference-maker on our hands."
As Rachel Donner of Locked on Flyers notes, Briere is now on the clock in terms of building a team that fits with Michkov's timeline for arrival in Philadelphia, because this kid's going to hit the ground running and wants to be part of a winning club.