{"id":46574,"date":"2019-05-06T14:47:30","date_gmt":"2019-05-06T18:47:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/?p=46574"},"modified":"2019-05-06T15:10:35","modified_gmt":"2019-05-06T19:10:35","slug":"toronto-maple-leafs-sign-ilya-mikheyev-to-entry-level-contract","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2019\/05\/06\/toronto-maple-leafs-sign-ilya-mikheyev-to-entry-level-contract\/","title":{"rendered":"Toronto Maple Leafs Sign Ilya Mikheyev to Entry-Level Contract"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonhockey.com\/nhl-teams\/maple-leafs\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Toronto Maple Leafs<\/a> have signed Russian winger<strong> Ilya Mikheyev<\/strong> to a one-year entry-level contract, the club announced today.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-lang=\"en\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">.<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SportChek?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@SportChek<\/a> Player Alert: The <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MapleLeafs?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@MapleLeafs<\/a> have signed forward Ilya Mikheyev to a one-year entry level contract.<\/p>\n<p>Details &gt;&gt; <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/MrujEScZp1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/t.co\/MrujEScZp1<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/LeafsForever?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#LeafsForever<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/9stMZ1wezs\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/9stMZ1wezs<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MapleLeafs\/status\/1125430263130013698?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">May 6, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h2><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>Maple Leafs Sign Ilya Mikheyev to Entry Level Contract<\/h2>\n<p>The 24-year-old Mikheyev spent the 2018-19 season with Avangard Omsk of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). In 62 games during the 2018-19 season, Mikheyev recorded 23 goals and 22 assists for 45 points before recording 11 points, 4 goals, 7 assists, in 13 KHL playoff games.<\/p>\n<p>Mikheyev also skated in the 2018-19 KHL All-Star Game. His 45 points this season put him in a tie for 20th among KHL skaters in points this season, while his 23 goals in 2018-19 were the ninth-most among KHL skaters.<\/p>\n<p>In 224 career KHL games, all with Avangard, the Omsk, Russia, native recorded 122 points &#8211; that being, 62 goals and 60 assists.<\/p>\n<p>Internationally, Mikheyev skated for Russia at the 2018 World Championships, recording four points, scoring three goals and tallying one assist in eight games played. He has been named to Russia&#8217;s 30-man roster in advance of the 2019 World Championships in Slovakia.<\/p>\n<h2>The details about Mikheyev&#8217;s game<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tsn.ca\/radio\/toronto-1050\/tsn-hockey-bobcast-season-3-episode-16-1.1300331\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">According to TSN hockey insider Bob McKenzie<\/a>, Maple Leafs head coach <strong>Mike Babcock<\/strong> had been in contact with the player throughout the contract talks. McKenzie speculated that this may be the reason why Ilya Mikheyev made the choice to ink a deal with the Leafs.<\/p>\n<p>Mikheyev has been a productive goal scorer wherever he has been. McKenzie said that this was a reason why the Leafs were in on him. Another reason why Babcock was interested in the player is that he stands\u00a0at 6\u20192\u201d and weighs 194 pounds. He has a solid two-way presence that could very well fit into Toronto&#8217;s top-nine unit next season. At least, that&#8217;s what Sportsnet&#8217;s hockey insider Chris Johnston speculated:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-lang=\"en\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">The scouting report on Ilya Mikheyev: A big guy (six foot two, 190 lbs) who can finish. One scout notes he&#8217;s &#8220;slow off the mark&#8221; and &#8220;not a possession guy.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/reporterchris\/status\/1125435462150164482?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">May 6, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>As mentioned by Chris Johnston, Mikheyev is not a possession player and is a bit slow to the puck, but is very solid in the other aspects of his game. This is what helped him become a coveted free agent to many clubs looking to bulk up their top-nine forward group.<\/p>\n<h3>What this means<\/h3>\n<p>By signing Mikheyev, the Leafs might be giving their fanbase a subtle but small nudge that someone like a\u00a0<strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/k\/kapanka01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kasperi Kapanen<\/a><\/strong>, <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/b\/brownco02.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Connor Brown<\/a><\/strong> or\u00a0<strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/j\/johnsan01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Andreas Johnsson<\/a><\/strong>, might be on the move this offseason. To the contrary, it can also be viewed as a sneaky good depth move for the Leafs moving forward in an offseason where every dollar counts.<\/p>\n<p>It is also painfully obvious that the Leafs will have their hands full trying to sign restricted free agent<strong>\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/m\/marnemi01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Mitch Marner<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>and names like Kapanen and Johnsson. This is another low-cost insurance policy signing much like the signing of <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/e\/ennisty01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Tyler Ennis<\/a><\/strong> was before the start of the 2018-19 season.<\/p>\n<p>This is the first of the many intriguing moves to be made in the offseason by Leafs general manager <strong>Kyle Dubas<\/strong> and the Maple Leafs after another disappointing first-round exit.<\/p>\n<p>Main Photo:<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"GgIUbXWkRP5LaTmltYJ4kw\" class=\"gie-single\" style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.ca\/detail\/1085498770\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>window.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'GgIUbXWkRP5LaTmltYJ4kw',sig:'zWB_GGTsaEC70n6_4BkDTiTs7irbCGhZyzW4ByKFfHk=',w:'594px',h:'396px',items:'1085498770',caption: true ,tld:'ca',is360: false })});<\/script><script src='\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js' charset='utf-8' async><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Toronto Maple Leafs have signed Russian winger Ilya Mikheyev to a one-year entry-level contract, the club announced today. .@SportChek Player Alert: The @MapleLeafs have signed forward Ilya Mikheyev to a one-year entry level contract. Details &gt;&gt; https:\/\/t.co\/MrujEScZp1#LeafsForever pic.twitter.com\/9stMZ1wezs \u2014 Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) May 6, 2019 Maple Leafs Sign Ilya Mikheyev to Entry Level [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2391,"featured_media":46588,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[34,18],"tags":[616,4038,2220,1696,231,229,72],"class_list":["post-46574","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-leafs","tag-andreas-johnsson","tag-ilya-mikheyev","tag-kasperi-kapanen","tag-kyle-dubas","tag-mike-babcock","tag-mitch-marner","tag-toronto-maple-leafs"],"modified_by":"Christian Holmes, Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46574","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2391"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46574"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46574\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/46588"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46574"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46574"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46574"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}