Philadelphia Flyers get bad news on the development of top prospect

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Josh tupper
August 26, 2023 (8:38)

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When Matvei Michkov fell all the way to 7th overall the Philadelphia Flyers were elated. The Flyers felt like they were able to acquire the second best prospect in the draft with the 7th pick. Unfortunately for the Flyers, Michkov still has a contract in the KHL.

Michkov's contract was one of the key contributors to him fall in the draft. For many teams, the fear of Michkov remaining in the KHL for years, was too concerning. Unlike players who play in junior leagues or the NCAA, NHL teams have very little control of players development in the KHL.

Despite the Flyers holding Michkov's NHL rights, they will have zero control over his development. While Michkov started off extremely strong during the preseason, he has since seen his ice time cut dramatically.

Over his last two games Michkov saw 8 minutes and 5 minutes of ice time respectively. If that wasn't bad enough yesterday, Michkov found himself being a healthy scratch.

Michkov played fewer than 8 minutes two games ago, and fewer than five minutes last game, including just one shift in the second period after this turnover. He is not dressed for today's game. Having little control over development was one of the risks in drafting him.

Michkov is viewed as an extremely high potential player but all of that could be tanked by a lack of playing time. Given the Ivan Fedetov situation it is unlikely any KHL team will be willing to do anything to assist any NHL team.

This was always one of the risks of drafting Michkov, and is clearly a case of buyer beware.