The National Hockey League’s (NHL) junior player auditions have come to an end. The ceremony took place in Nashville. North American clubs chose a total of 19 Russians. Note that 23 Russian players were selected in last year’s draft.
The Arizona Coyotes chose Lokomotiv defender Dmitry Simashev as number six. The Philadelphia Flyers drafted SKA’s Russian forward Matvey Michkov with seventh overall. Forwarl of the Loko system, Daniil But was selected by Arizona under 12th. From the avant-garde system, Mikhail Gulyaev was selected by the Colorado Avalanche at number 31. The rest of the Russians were selected in subsequent rounds.
The Chicago Blackhawks had previously selected Canadian forward Connor Bedard for first overall in the NHL Entry Draft. The Anaheim Ducks chose striker Leo Karlsson with the number two pick. Adam Fantilli was the third overall draft pick by the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Former Olympic champion and Stanley Cup winner Valery Kamensky declarationThat Michkov had to prove he deserved to play for Philadelphia by playing for SKA.