Well-travelled Canuck Mikheyev eager to return to NHL playoffs
Ilya Mikheyev has logged 63 playoff games.
Forty-four were in the freewheeling and unpredictable KHL. And 19 were with the Toronto Maple Leafs in three successive post-season grinds. What does that mean as the Vancouver Canucks winger prepares for the long-awaited second season?
Let's investigate.
In the KHL, Mikheyev played for demanding coach Bob Hartley on an Avangard Omsk entry that compiled a 39-18-0-5 record in 2018-19 and lost to CSKA Moscow in the league final. Mikheyev and linemate Sergei Shirokov led the club in scoring and remain friends.
“Not the same level as NHL, but we had good teams and good players who played in the NHL,” Mikheyev told Postmedia News. “Different size of ice and more time with the puck.”
Shirokov played just eight games for the Canucks. The Moscow native was a 2006 sixth-round NHL draft pick and his game never transitioned past the AHL stage. He's still playing at age 38 with Automobilist Yekaterinburg and has 432 career points in 638 games.
“He's still good,” said Mikheyev. “He has huge experience and knows how to play. Good guy. We send text messages to each other.”
That's all well and good, but what Mikheyev experienced with the Leafs is more relevant. He skated on a line with David Kampf and Pierre Engvall and the trio provided what any coach demands. Be good in transition. Pressure the puck. Make the most of matchups.
“It was the experience,” recalled Mikheyev. “It's hard to play, sometimes, but it's an interesting time. You play hard to have a good season and then deserve to be in the playoffs. And then you don't know what's going to happen. It's the small details and simple plays. It might be boring, but you have to do it.”
It can also be as much a mental hurdle as a physical exertion.
“I'm fine,” added Mikheyev. “I just have to play. We have to build our game for the playoffs. We have to fix some details.”
Mikheyev looked comfortable Wednesday on a third line with Elias Lindholm and Phil Di Giuseppe. He had a scoring chance by speeding to the net after corralling a Lindholm feed. He killed penalties effectively with Pettersson and wasn't the reason the Canucks dropped a 4-3 overtime loss to the Arizona Coyotes.
Canucks coach Rick Tocchet is searching for the right third-line chemistry. He knows Lindholm's history in Calgary as a faceoff specialist and puck distributor. He knows Di Giuseppe can bang and crash.
At Thursday's practice, lines were altered with Brock Boeser taking a maintenance day and Mikheyev taking his place with Pettersson and Nils Hoglander.
Tocchet saw what the right combination can provide. As an assistant in Pittsburgh, he saw what former Canucks centre Nick Bonino accomplished between Phil Kessel and Carl Hagelin.
In 2016, Kessel had 22 points (1012) in 25 games on the Penguins' march to the first of back-to-back titles. Bonino had 18 points (4-14) and Hagelin added 16 (6-10).
“They destroyed teams,” recalled Tocchet.
“It's important that your third line have high hockey IQ. Sometimes, they're against the best players. And sometimes, it might be against the fifth or sixth defencemen, so there are some good matchups there.”
Lines can always change, but Mikheyev meshing with Lindholm and playing more on instinct makes sense. Mikheyev is up to speed following Feb. 2, 2023 knee surgery and is capable of more than 30 points (11-19) through 75 games.
“His anticipation has been a lot better the last three or four games,” said Tocchet. “He's playing more predictable. And when you have a fast guy playing predictable, he looks faster.
“When he waits too much, that's when he gets in trouble. I just hope he gets on a roll because he has been more noticeable. He knows where the puck is going and he's going to it. He doesn't have a delay.”
Lindholm looked good Wednesday after missing seven games with a wrist injury. He had three shots and five attempts, had two takeaways and was 50 per cent in the faceoff circle. There was nothing that hampered his stickhandling, shot or faceoff presence.
“I was only out 2½ weeks, but when you're not playing if feels longer,” said Lindholm. “But the timing was there (Wednesday) and my body felt good.”
“I thought he really played hard,” added Tocchet. “It was a good step for him, good first game back.”
It makes a Lindholm-Mikheyev pairing in the playoffs possible because of how they can disrupt the opposition. Lindholm saw that Wednesday.
“Obviously, it's his speed,” Lindholm said of Mikheyev. “He's fast and strong on pucks. And he's one of those guys as an opponent where you don't realize how fast he is. He has an advantage there. He makes good plays and is smart and knows how to get to the right places.
“I enjoy playing with him and we're reading off each other pretty well. The key is to not think too much and just react. You can tell when players are confident.
“For me, it's playing free. The puck seems to follow you more and it's the same for (Mikheyev). He checks a lot of boxes.”