No.

Garak is supposed to be the cynic. If you're gonna be an optimist, change your avatar to Bashir!

I am neither optimistic nor cynical. I'm just a plain and simple realist/tailor.

That might be a poor choice. But ok.

IDK, I'll admit the Russian footage is harder to come by than my Big Ten Network subscription, BUT Fantilli is going to be Eichel. That's a heck of a player to have as your #1C...most important position in hockey...imo

In all honesty, whatever happens with Prigozhin over the next few days is just too much of a mess to influence anyone who was previously shying away from Michkov.

Civil war in Russia could exacerbate the conflict just as much as speed it's conclusion.

They should spend the entire beginning of the draft, begging Chicago to give them 1st OV. Give MacTavish the phone and let him do his thing. Although, by the end he might be requesting that KD trades for him.

("Please! Trade for meeeeeeee.")

Then proceed to draft Fantilli.

Either way, it could still influence Michkov to openly state that he isn't going back. It could even end up that there is no contract or maybe no season next year to go back to, for him. If things go a certain way, I don't think the US or Canada are going to turn him away because he has a KHL contract. The NHL already clearly stated that they have cut ties with the KHL, presumably, negating all agreements to honor contracts.

Michkov is Bedard level talent, and better than Fantilli. Honestly he might be the most skilled player in the draft even over Bedard but Bedard gets all the hype cause of his exceptional status and playing in Canada. The only time Bedard and Michkov played head to head was at the u17’s and Michkov was the clear better player. The gap isn’t as big as people think and if it weren’t for the Russian political aspect of the game then Michkov would be in talks for #1 and easily over Fantilli.

When you’re drafting at #2 you don’t draft for position, you draft the best player available. Plus Anaheim already has 2 future top 6 centres in Zegras and McTavish so if they want the better player and are okay to wait a few years during their rebuild then they very well may take Michkov of Fantilli.

Yeah, I guess I care less about what happened at U17 than I do U18 and U20. Two Golds and Bedard embarrassing Simashev. Lots happened from years ago. I'm not saying Michkov is bad. Just you gotta continue to play in high pressure situations and succeeded in those situations to be in any real competition with Bedard.

As for Michkov Fantilli...I open to a debate for sure. Politics aside...under KHL contract is still real. NOT wanting to play for ANA is a real potential. Well see if he even gives them an interview. I'd go Fantilli pretty easy depending how things play out this week.

I've read that Anaheim is considering Leo Carlsson, I cant remember who reported that and obviously now I cant find the link to the article so take that with a grain of salt.

If i'm making the selection my pick is Fantilli.

Maybe. But at #2 you don't want to take a gamble, especially when a player like Fantilli is available. Michkov has also been falling down the rankings prospect-wise.

Eh. Not really. He is regarded by most scouts as the #2 prospect in the draft and has higher upside than Bedard. Most of the issues are geopolitical or contractual. BUT, if ANA is looking for a big 2-way center, Fantilli will suit them better for sure. I don't think we will know how far apart they truly are for many years, though.

Yeah. I've seen that too. I might consider Carlsson over Fantilli. But, Carlsson also had the benefit of playing at the pro level all season. Fantilli could've maybe made the same sort of developmental strides if he had been playing against men in a professional league too.

There are ways to watch the KHL/MHL/VHL if you know where to look.

Nope. We're taking big kids, not small ones.

Yeah. It kinda seems like ANA needs to improve their 200 ft game anyway. If they can solve that, they could probably get back into the playoffs pretty quickly, and a big 2-way center would definitely be a good target for them. Do Zegras, McTavish, and/or Strome move to the wing?

Strome is better at center but the other two can easily play LW -- there has already been talk about moving Zegras there.

He was ranked below Carlsson in NHL Central Scouting international skater rankings (taking into account only level of play), and was never really seen as higher upside to Bedard. Only similar to.

Mitchkov is a real small kid. Verbeek won't draft anyone that he can look in the eye, let alone has to look down on.

Carlsson and Fantilli for the mold of what Verbeek likes in a player. We likely take Adam due to the snarl and physicality he plays with.

That said, I think Mitchkov's draft position could fluctuate due to the incipient/ in progress civil war. I hope that kid gets clear of Russia and stays clear.

So ... You're saying he wouldn't draft Bedard if they won the lottery?

We'll never know now, will we?

Sure. Honestly, though, who cares what central scouting says, they are just a single source, and not even the best or most interesting source either. Also, I should've been more specific, I meant offensive upside. There are many public scouts and pundits who consider him to have higher offensive upside than Bedard. I'm not just pulling this out of my arse, or something. I am telling you what I know to be true. But, upside is just a way of measuring a players potential if their development goes right. It doesn't mean a player is better "right now" and isn't a guarantee they will be in the future either. Also, Central scouting doesn't "only take into account their level of play", they consider position and all around game as well. 9 times out of 10 teams are going to take a big 2-way center. It's just the way things go, and I doubt Michkov will ever be a 2-way player.

Which scouts are saying Michkov has more offensive upside?

Those things are incorporated into level of play.

There's a lot of scouts saying he's the best goal scorer in the class, but I don't have the sources on me.