Danny Briere was excited to make his first draft pick as a general manager a week ago. He was probably more excited as he watched the draft board play out in the Flyers favor to start the first round of the NHL Draft.
With the seventh overall pick, the Flyers took a swing and may very well hit one out of the park. The Flyers selected Matvei Michkov, a Russian right-winger who has projected to be a potential generational talent.
Michkov is signed in the KHL for the next three seasons with SKA St. Petersburg, where he played three games this past season. The majority of his time came with HK Sochi in the KHL, scoring nine goals and 20 points in 27 games.
There was risk involved with Michkov due to the timeline of his contract in the KHL and how long it may take for him to come over to play in the NHL. With the Flyers in a rebuild, that risk made sense.
More to come on the selection of Michkov later. The Flyers also have the 22nd overall pick in the first round.
