In a brand-new column, find out what scouts are saying about the Russian phenom, plus info on Eduard Sale and Sweden's disappointing juniors.

Welcome to a brand-new column, Real Prospect Gossip. The idea here is to pull back the curtain a bit and give you some of the inside info I get from folks in the hockey world - whether they be team execs, scouts, agents or coaches. Sometimes it's going to come from the players themselves. It might get a little lurid at times, but on the whole it's gonna be both fun and educational. Let's get into it.

Another world juniors has come and gone without Russia, currently barred from international play due to the nation's invasion of Ukraine. Because of that, we missed out on the potential of Connor Bedard and Matvei Michkov going head-to-head again, as they did in spectacular fashion at the world under-18s a couple years ago in Texas. Before the invasion, Michkov was the obvious No. 2 prospect in the 2023 draft, a player of similar size and skill to Bedard, albeit one who played on the wing instead of center. Did he have the same dazzle factor as Bedard? Yes, he did.

But now, Michkov's draft slot is very much in question. I'll get to the particulars in a minute because the juicier storyline is that according to one of my insiders, scouts have started to bring up character issues with Michkov. Now, he was loaned out to KHL Sochi by SKA-St. Petersburg, but that felt like a good move because Michkov was dominating in Russia's version of the AHL while only getting into three KHL games with SKA - the runaway best team in the league.

So here's the conspiracy theory: Are scouts trying to psyche each other out on drafting Michkov? Nobody talked about his character last year, but now we're full speed ahead on 2023. If your team might only be drafting sixth or seventh (or even later), it behooves you to hope he drops - when he could easily be top five.

Having said that, how high any Russians go this summer will once again be a hot topic. Michkov's contract with SKA famously runs until 2026 and it's hard to see the most powerful franchise in the league letting him go to North America early, especially given the current political climate. GMs are worried already about getting Russian players over and Michkov could very well be similar to Minnesota Wild star Kirill Kaprizov in terms of timeline.

Which begs the question: Which GM has the runway and the courage to go early on Michkov? Columbus GM Jarmo Kekalainen has never been scared to take a chance at the draft and he does have youngsters such as Cole Sillinger, Kent Johnson and Kirill Marchenko finding their way in Ohio already. There's also the possibility that Montreal has two high picks thanks to the Ben Chiarot trade with Florida. If you go safe with one of those selections, you'd probably be more likely to take a gamble with the other one - especially considering Michkov's potential.

Overall, scouting Russian players has been very difficult for NHL teams this year. They still have their sources on the ground over there, but more video is being utilized - and you can't get to know a kid that way.

In 2022, we saw two Russian-based kids go in the first round (the first Russian taken was OHL Ottawa's Pavel Mintyukov, traded from Saginaw this week). The first was Ivan Miroschnichenko, 20th overall to Washington - a team with the best Russia-North America hockey ambassador in the world, Alex Ovechkin. The second was Danila Yurov, 24th overall to Kaprizov's Minnesota Wild. Based on skill, we should see at least three or four Russian kids go in the first round - Michkov, Mikhail Gulyayev, Daniil But and Dmitri Simashev. But how many will go that high?

Next item: I was very impressed by Eduard Sale in Halifax. The Czech right winger and 2023 draft prospect didn't just hold his own on the team's top line with Jiri Kulich (BUF) and Matyas Sapovaliv (VGK); he proved he belonged there. Sale has been playing for Kometa Brno in Czechia's best pro league, the Extraliga, and getting decent results. But I wanted to ask him if he had thought about next year yet: "I hope I will go to Canada," he told me. "Maybe I will stay, but I don't know."

Sale's major junior rights are owned by the OHL's Barrie Colts, a team that has landed some big imports in the past (Colorado first-rounder Oskar Olausson being a notable recent example). Sale also played at the world juniors with Stanislav Svozil, the Columbus pick who went from Kometa Brno to the CHL (in his case, Bedard's Regina Pats) after he was drafted.

Finally, Swedish insiders were very disappointed in their world junior squad, citing a lack of effort from many of the players. And in retrospect, it did take a miraculous shorthanded goal by Victor Stjernborg (CHI) to get past Finland in the quarterfinal - the last game they actually won. The team wasn't very inspiring in Edmonton, either, but they at least played for bronze as a send-off to coach Tomas Monten, whom they knew was moving on after that tourney. I do expect more from the Swedes next year; they're hosting the world juniors in Gothenburg and potential returnees Filip Bystedt (SJ) Leo Carlsson (2023) and Axel Sandin Pellikka (2023) were three of the most competitive and effective players on the squad this year.