Prospect Info: 2023 draft 4th overall Will Smith

[mogambomoroo]

Michkov seems to be a bit of a problem child. A kid about to be drafted should be happy to get drafted, no matter where. Time will tell how he will react when things do not go his way.

I agree, and that's why I feel like MG did excellent job for not drafting him.

There is so many shoulda woulda coulda comments about Sharks not drafting Michkov over the internet but the reality is that IF Sharks would've gotten a good interview with him, got a chance to show him San Jose and Michkov told MG that he would love to be here, Sharks would have selected Matvei Michkov.

 

[Barrie22]

Michkov seems to be a bit of a problem child. A kid about to be drafted should be happy to get drafted, no matter where. Time will tell how he will react when things do not go his way.

This has been said for almost a year now, but the Michkov fanboys/girls do not care about it. Michkov is a player that if not happy, is for sure not going to come over and that has been clear since talk about his draft position has been talked about.

Then also adding into the part about him being entitled and calling out veterans on a team after his first couple games in the KHL and it also does not bode well for his chances in the NHL also.

 

[karltonian]

How many times has the Michikov panned out, and how many times has he not?

Uh, none.

 

[LadyStanley]

 

[SjMilhouse]

This has been said for almost a year now, but the Michkov fanboys/girls do not care about it. Michkov is a player that if not happy, is for sure not going to come over and that has been clear since talk about his draft position has been talked about.

Then also adding into the part about him being entitled and calling out veterans on a team after his first couple games in the KHL and it also does not bode well for his chances in the NHL also.

No one can really know for sure and the ceiling certainly makes it enticing but with the rumors that have come out (which are rumors but still), there has to be a ton of concern that any team who takes him can end up in a situation where Michkov just decides 2-3 years from now (for whatever reason he wants) he isn't going to play for the team who drafted him, requests a trade, re-signs in the KHL, etc. That's a ton of risk for a top 4 pick when there is someone like Smith available. While we'd own the rights, I can't imagine you're going to get a good return in one of those scenarios where you are stuck having to move him WITH the added risk that a player who does something like that could also say "...and oh btw, I will only play for these 2 teams"

 

[Sendhelplease]

I would have preferred Michkov but I do understand why they preferred Smith and I am really excited to have a player of his caliber in the system. You can acquire elite wingers but it is near impossible to acquire an elite center. Build down the middle and with defenseman and then trade/free agent for wings and goalies is a good philosophy.

 

[landshark]

No one can really know for sure and the ceiling certainly makes it enticing but with the rumors that have come out (which are rumors but still), there has to be a ton of concern that any team who takes him can end up in a situation where Michkov just decides 2-3 years from now (for whatever reason he wants) he isn't going to play for the team who drafted him, requests a trade, re-signs in the KHL, etc. That's a ton of risk for a top 4 pick when there is someone like Smith available. While we'd own the rights, I can't imagine you're going to get a good return in one of those scenarios where you are stuck having to move him WITH the added risk that a player who does something like that could also say "...and oh btw, I will only play for these 2 teams"

Part of me says, "Tough shit kid, have fun in Russia." The other part of me gives no shits since the Sharks didn't take him.

 

[SjMilhouse]

Part of me says, "Tough shit kid, have fun in Russia." The other part of me gives no shits since the Sharks didn't take him.

Yeah by all means I hope it works out for him, I have no issue with a player doing whatever they want. Just not excited for if/when he comes over to Philly and nothing bad happens and he tears up the league because all we will hear is "see we should have taken him, everyone is dumb blah blah" when there is no way to know that it would have played out the exact same for us or any other team who passed on him.

 

[landshark]

Yeah by all means I hope it works out for him, I have no issue with a player doing whatever they want. Just not excited for if/when he comes over to Philly and nothing bad happens and he tears up the league because all we will hear is "see we should have taken him, everyone is dumb blah blah" when there is no way to know that it would have played out the exact same for us or any other team who passed on him.

Said it in another thread but I really hope Michkov becomes a rallying point and target of the non-hockey market teams when they face Michkov's chosen team.

 

[hohosaregood]

These comparisons are hilarious… Smith is nothing like Horvat style or ceiling wise

I still feel like he could be our Henrik Sedin if we're choosing anybody from the Canucks.

 

[LadyStanley]

 

[OrrNumber4]

Said it in another thread but I really hope Michkov becomes a rallying point and target of the non-hockey market teams when they face Michkov's chosen team.

Eh, should teams also do that with Adam Fox since he only wanted to play in New York?

 

[landshark]

Eh, should teams also do that with Adam Fox since he only wanted to play in New York?

Works for me. Players should earn the right to pick their team.

 

[OrrNumber4]

Works for me. Players should earn the right to pick their team.

 

[landshark]

That's it?

They can choose where they go when they reach UFA status, per the rules. Which is earning their right to choose where they play.

Roll your eyes all you want, I don't see you offering any reasons why players should just play wherever they please from the moment they enter the league. Heck, if everyone can just choose what team they want to play for why have a draft at all? Or a league for that matter...

 

[OffSydes]

They are not wrong, forcing a

That's it?

They can choose where they go when they reach UFA status, per the rules. Which is earning their right to choose where they play.

Roll your eyes all you want, I don't see you offering any reasons why players should just play wherever they please from the moment they enter the league. Heck, if everyone can just choose what team they want to play for why have a draft at all? Or a league for that matter...

There should not be a draft

Abolish the Draft

Sports drafts aren’t fair to players, and they don’t even work on their own terms. We should just get rid of them.

nymag.com

Sports Drafts Are Immoral And Bad

The Sacramento Kings came in for even more derisive laughter than the baseline occasioned by any mention of their existence yesterday when ESPN’s Chad Ford posted the following in the little quasi-Twitter scroll thing on the right side of the Worldwide Leader’s busted website:

deadspin.com

Sports drafts are ruthless exploitation

The real winner of the draft lottery is the super-rich owners of every single NBA team who get to underpay every single young player.

www.vox.com

 

[OrrNumber4]

Roll your eyes all you want, I don't see you offering any reasons why players should just play wherever they please from the moment they enter the league.

Because as soon as you were an adult, you could work for whoever you wanted, for as long as you wanted, for however much you could get.

I understand that things like the cap, the draft, restricted free agency, etc. might be necessary to ensure a competitive league and stable profits for the owners. But we should understand that it is a racket and is fundamentally illiberal; sympathy, not outrage, is what we should be feeling when an 18-year-old balks at such conditions.

 

[Erep]

Because as soon as you were an adult, you could work for whoever you wanted, for as long as you wanted, for however much you could get.

I understand that things like the cap, the draft, restricted free agency, etc. might be necessary to ensure a competitive league and stable profits for the owners. But we should understand that it is a racket and is fundamentally illiberal; sympathy, not outrage, is what we should be feeling when an 18-year-old balks at such conditions.

Players are contracted through the league. If they do not like the terms of employment in the NHL they are free to play for any other hockey organization.

Now of course none of the other leagues or teams can pay anywhere near what the NHL can, but the reason the NHL can is at least in part because the CBA stabilizes the NHL market in a way that can grow to the point where it is now.


If you want to be an NHL player, you have to play by their rules. If you want to be a hockey player, you have options. Just like, if you want to work for Microsoft, you have to play by their rules, but if you want to be a computer programmer, you have options. The difference is just the NHL options are the best by a bigger margin, but they are like that because of the CBA.

 

[Barrie22]

Because as soon as you were an adult, you could work for whoever you wanted, for as long as you wanted, for however much you could get.

I understand that things like the cap, the draft, restricted free agency, etc. might be necessary to ensure a competitive league and stable profits for the owners. But we should understand that it is a racket and is fundamentally illiberal; sympathy, not outrage, is what we should be feeling when an 18-year-old balks at such conditions.

Once you become an adult you can join a company, but then you follow whatever rules that company has. Or you founnd another company.

The NHL is a company, KHL is a company, SHL is a company. If you do not like the NHL rules then go play for another company.

 

[OrrNumber4]

Once you become an adult you can join a company, but then you follow whatever rules that company has. Or you founnd another company.

The NHL is a company, KHL is a company, SHL is a company. If you do not like the NHL rules then go play for another company.

So if all the tech companies banded together and formed a racket, limiting their employee's wages and opportunities in the problem, you'd support it?

 

[one2gamble]

So if all the tech companies banded together and formed a racket, limiting their employee's wages and opportunities in the problem, you'd support it?

He described a scenario that is contrary to your description. In his example there are multiple tech companies. Just like there are multiple hockey leagues

 

[OrrNumber4]

He described a scenario that is contrary to your description. In his example there are multiple tech companies. Just like there are multiple hockey leagues

Ok, so every tech company with a market cap over USD10 billion creates a conglomerate with harsh rules.

 

[Hodge]

NHL teams also own virtually every 15,000+ seat arena suitable for hockey in North America which means even a motivated group of billionaires would be hard pressed to start a WHA style rival league in 2023. The NHL is the dictionary definition of a cartel.

 

[landshark]

Because as soon as you were an adult, you could work for whoever you wanted, for as long as you wanted, for however much you could get.

I understand that things like the cap, the draft, restricted free agency, etc. might be necessary to ensure a competitive league and stable profits for the owners. But we should understand that it is a racket and is fundamentally illiberal; sympathy, not outrage, is what we should be feeling when an 18-year-old balks at such conditions.

I was working for the almighty dollar long before I was an adult.

And no, we can't just work for whoever we want when we become an adult. I don't even know where to start, so I won't bother.

It pisses me off that these players play in the NHL. I would honestly rather see them go play somewhere else. They're jeopardizing the league I enjoy watching.

I don't think your argument holds any water because on one hand you talk about stable profits for owners but that's right after you understand the cap, the draft, free agency etc... and right before you call it a racket, and then I think after that you do what the kids these days are calling virtue signalling (this is new to me, might be wrong about the usage, if so, oops) by pointing out how your opinion is sympathetic because some new-to-adulting human that's really good at playing a game wants to pick where he plays that game professionally in a league that provides the structure and entire reason why player will get paid to play that game in the first place.

The NHL isn't denying anyone a basic human right by having rules that insist they play for the team that drafts them outside of specific conditions. Allowing players to have that much say jeopardizes the structure of the league. No league, great... I wonder if they'd all still get paid... I guess they could go play elsewhere. Which is what I was advocating initially.

 

[gaucholoco3]

NHL teams also own virtually every 15,000+ seat arena suitable for hockey in North America which means even a motivated group of billionaires would be hard pressed to start a WHA style rival league in 2023. The NHL is the dictionary definition of a cartel.

It is an unfortunate reality of professional sports. The players hurt the most are rookies coming in but once they sign an NHL contract they are given protections negotiated by their union.

It’s not perfect but it is better than the richest owners buying all the top players. Just look what happened to US pro soccer in the 70’s. It was a free market and the league bankrupt itself by not having enough competitive balance.