How does 2024 NHL Draft prospect Ivan Demidov compare to Matvei Michkov?

In two straight seasons, we’ve had a draft-eligible winger from the SKA organization who is slightly undersized but dominated junior hockey in Russia.

Last season it was Matvei Michkov. Michkov was the subject of massive debate for on- and off-ice reasons in part due to his long KHL contract. Michkov was initially seen as a potential contender for the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NHL Draft. He went seventh overall to Philadelphia.

This season it is Ivan Demidov. Demidov is the back-to-back MVP of Russia’s junior league and had a great playoff leading SKA’s junior team to a title. He is in the conversation for the most skilled player in the entire 2024 NHL Draft class.

While Michkov and Demidov are not in the same draft class, their somewhat similar situations have often begged the question in scouting circles and public discourse about who is better. There are enough analogies to last season as well where I talk to scouts who have him as high as No. 2, or not even in their top five prospects. With Demidov being in the conversation for the second overall pick in this year’s class and Michkov falling to seventh last season we dive into that debate today.

Skill sets

This is currently how I think the two players’ traits grade on a scale of 1-6. Not every scout would agree with this assessment. Some would have Michkov’s IQ higher. Some would have Demidov’s skating higher. Some would have both of their compete graded differently.

The distinctions for me would be that Michkov is a smarter player and more of a natural scorer, while Demidov competes harder and is a bit bigger. Some scouts would argue Demidov is a better skater, but I don’t see it and several scouts agree with my assessment. Demidov is a more powerful skater, but he’s a bit knock-kneed where he naturally goes into a 10-2 and his awkward stride is a minor concern for some teams in projecting his game to pro hockey. The scouts in his corner would argue it’s purely aesthetics but the actual end product is a better skater who gets by plenty of players. I see the argument based on how he skates around in the MHL, but I don’t see a lot of NHL players who skate like that in the NHL. Some good players who do would be types like Jeff Skinner and Kevin Fiala.

The scouts who like Demidov see him as a more honest and direct forward whose game they think will translate…