You’ve heard of Matvei Michkov, now meet his twin flame: Ivan Demidov! The two players have a lot in common (similar size, same position of RW), but the main area they differentiate is how they score: Michkov wants to score goals, Demidov is more of a playmaker–both are exceptionally talented.
Demidov’s been hovering around the top five of the 2024 draft for a while now, but lately he’s started separating himself from the crop of high-end defensemen and becoming the clear second best talent available after Macklin Celebrini–at least at forward. With rumors of Michkov coming over sooner than expected and the Flyers getting goaltender Ivan Fedotov to North America out of the blue after all he was put through, teams may feel less hesitation drafting Russians this high.