The Best Of Matvei Michkov | NEXT "RUSSIAN PHENOM" | 2020/2021 Season Highlights | HD

Meet the Next Great Russian Phenom The hockey world has been blessed with some incredible talents from Russia over the years, with titans such as Alex Ovechkin and Evgeni Malkin still playing at a high level in the NHL more than a decade after coming over to North America. The next big name to keep an eye on? SKA-1946 right winger Matvei Michkov. Last year, Michkov put up a ridiculous 109 points in 26 games for Yaroslavl Lokomotiv&under-16 squad. This season, he is already one of the leading scorers in Russia&top junior league, the MHL, with 14 goals and 20 points in 17 games split between SKA&two squads, 1946 and Varyagi. Oh, and by the way, the kid is still 15 years old, playing with and against players several years older than him. "It¬hing new for me to compete with players older than me, so I feel comfortable," Michkov said through translation. "Of course, the pace is higher here, the guys are physically stronger, but I always give myself the maximum targets. I don&think age is that important. The main thing is how useful you are to the team. Off the ice, I have a good relationship with all of the players, age doesn&come into play." Moving over to SKA-St. Petersburg&organization has also helped his development. One of Michkov&frequent partners in crime with SKA-1946 is speedy center Marat Khusnutdinov, who was just taken in the second round of the 2020 NHL draft by the Minnesota Wild. "Marat is a great guy and an excellent teammate," Michkov said. "We quickly...