August 5: In an official statement from Russia’s hockey federation, Russia Hockey states that Michkov will miss just two weeks of action, rather than the two months that was initially reported.
They state that they plan on Michkov participating in a tournament that is set to begin on August 22nd, which makes this a far better timeline for Michkov than the one he appeared to be on just yesterday.
August 4: After suffering a lower-body injury in a KHL preseason game as the result of a hit from former NHL defenseman Alexei Emelin, top 2023 NHL Draft prospect Matvei Michkov will miss two months of game action, as reported by The Athletic’s Corey Pronman.
Michkov is likely to miss at least the first month of the KHL’s regular season, if not more.
Widely regarded as a surefire top-three talent in next year’s draft (if not top-two), Michkov is a bit of a controversial prospect for a lot of circumstances out of his control. Breaking into the KHL on one of the best teams in the league last season as a 17-year-old, Michkov was able to show what he can do professionally in the season before his draft year with five points in 13 games. His production in Russia’s junior league was equally as outstanding, racking up 51 points in just 28 MHL games.
But with Michkov under contract until 2026 with his KHL team (SKA St. Petersburg), and with the increased uncertainty about whether he’d even be able to leave the country if he got out of the contract, Michkov may go lower in the draft than his talent level suggests.
Hopefully, it’s not a severe loss of development time for Michkov, who remains one of the most electric prospects in hockey.