Top 5 NHL Draft Prospects: Matvei Michkov and Alternatives Revealed by Bob McKenzie

2023-06-22 17:21:16

A true barometer each year in anticipation of the National Hockey League draft, the final list of the renowned Bob McKenzie was published Thursday.

This exercise places Russian forward Matvei Michkov in the fifth echelon, which corresponds to the selection rank of the Montreal Canadiens with their first choice on June 28.

Due to the war in Ukraine and Michkov’s contract with SKA St. Petersburg, there are three other options to consider that could round out the top 5 if Michkov is shunned, according to McKenzie.

Those options are: American striker Ryan Leonard, Slovak center Dalibor Dvorsky and Austrian defender David Reinbacher.

McKenzie also reveals that Michkov is expected to arrive in the United States on Friday or Saturday and is expected to travel to Nashville early next week in anticipation of the draft taking place on Wednesday.

Michkov’s agent Max Moliver has scheduled interviews with a slew of NHL teams, including the Washington Capitals, who would jump at the chance to draft Michkov eighth overall according to rumors reported by McKenzie .

Teams obviously want to know more about Michkov’s intentions to play in the NHL and cross the Atlantic once his contract with SKA ends.

See Bob McKenzie’s top 10 below. The full ranking can be found here.

1. Connor Bedard

2. Adam Fantilli

3. Leo Carlsson

4. Will Smith

5. Matvei Michkov

6. Ryan Leonard

7. Dalibor Dvorsky

8. David Reinbacher

9. Zach Benson

10. Gabe Perreault