The hype and buzz — and rightfully so from the Philadelphia Flyers — has been the arrival and NHL debut this season by the No. 7 pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, Matvei Michkov.
Around the league, those that follow closely know when the name Matvei is mentioned, it’s associated with the Flyers.
It won’t happen for a while, if it happens at all, but fans of the St. Louis Blues should start paying attention to their own Matvei: Matvei Korotky.
A seventh round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft, the 18-year-old Korotky (6-foot-2, 198 pounds) has set a blazing trail to his season in Russia’s Molodyozhnaya Hokkeinaya Liga (MHL).
It’s early but Korotky is already off to a roaring start with 21 points (12 goals, nine assists) in 13 games for his side, and they aren’t just garbage points, as evidenced by a recent overtime winner for SKA-1946 St. Petersburg:
Or the fact that the kid simply loves to shoot the puck. At the end of a four-goal game last month, check out the beauty of a fourth goal:
Not only can the kid shoot, but he also has some terrific vision:
And the skating ability to go along with the shot and vision:
Korotky had 38 points (20 goals, 18 assists) for SKA-1946 St. Petersburg last season with a plus-24 rating in 51 regular-season games, and 14 points (eight goals, six assists) in 18 playoff games with a plus-11; he’s already at plus-15 in 13 games this season.
He’s only 18 years old, but remember the name. Surely the Blues have already taken notice.
* Other Blues prospects off to solid starts to their respective seasons include:
— Left wing Jakub Stancl, a fourth-round pick in 2023 who seven points (four goals, three assists) in six games for Kelowna of the Western Hockey League, including a hat trick on Oct. 4:
— Defenseman Quinton Burns, a third-round pick in 2023 who was named captain of Kingston of the Ontario Hockey League, has seven points (all assists) and a plus-4 in seven games.
— Center Tomas Mrsic, a fourth-round pick in 2024, is off to a point-per-game clip with Prince Albert of the WHL with five points (three goals, two assists) in five games:
— Defenseman Lukas Fischer, a third-round pick in 2023 who was also named captain of Sarnia of the OHL, has two goals and three assists in eight games, and defenseman Matthew Mayich (sixth round, 2023) has a goal and four assists in six games for Ottawa of the OHL.
