The eyes of the hockey world will be on the Montreal Canadiens in June as they prepare to make their first round pick in this year's NHL draft. With the fifth overall pick, it is expected that general manager Kent Hughes will have his work cut out for him to find a quality player in what could be a surprisingly deep talent pool. One prospect that has been getting a lot of press lately is Matvei Michkov, a young Russian forward who plays in the KHL. Although he is under contract for three more seasons with his current team, many experts believe that selecting him at number five would pay off tremendously for the Habs. Former player agent David Ettedgui was adamant in his support of the young man as he recently stated this on BPM Sports: <q>The Canadiens have to take Michkov. If the Canadiens don't take Mishkov, it's the worst mistake of the last 20 years. If the Canadiens don't take Mishkov, they better have some really incredible, accurate information that's going to say this guy is not coming. Because Mishkov is the best Russian player since Alex Ovechkin and I haven't seen one as good as him since maybe Pavel Bure. Mishkov is a phenomenon this guy. I'll take him second behind Bedard!</q> <div align='center'><blockquote class='twitter-tweet' data-lang='en'><a href='https://twitter.com/BPMSportsRadio/status/1655983857034833922'> </a></blockquote></div> However, not everyone is convinced by the choice of Mishkov so early in the first round. There are rumors of some unfavorable circumstances surrounding him that have caused NHL scouts to question his long-term value to an organization. In addition, a source close to the Habs' management has mentioned that there is little chance that Matvei Michkov will wear the blue-white-red jersey next season. It remains to be seen if Kent Hughes and company are willing to take a risk with such a high level player in one of the most important drafts in recent memory for Montreal.