For our final BSH season preview, we focus on the single most important player in the Flyers’ organization, and their second leading point getter last season, Matvei Michkov.
What did we see from Michkov last season?
Everything we needed to see from Matvei Michkov last season, we did. The Russian rookie showed flashes of his dazzling puck skills game in and game out, and ended up as the team’s leader in goals, and 2nd on the team in points. The final stat line for Michkov read 26 goals, 37 assists, and a total of 63 points, ranking him highly among rookie scorers, and putting the rest of the league on notice.
And Michkov did all of this under a John Tortorella system that frankly, did not fit his playstyle whatsoever, and without the benefit of playing on a power play that could actually score with any frequency. Michkov spent most of his time on ice with Travis Konecny and Sean Couturier, and found some consistency of production alongside two of the Flyers veterans. In the offensive zone, Michkov showed penetrating vision, and the ability to see and complete difficult passes. He has deft hands, a good shot, and the ability to use his body to shield the puck from defenders and make himself difficult to move. But his mentality may be the most impressive trait that Michkov possesses.
He seems to want to be the team’s Alpha Dog on offense, someone who wants to take the game over and provide that winning play, that important goal. He has another level of lethality on offense that the Flyers have been searching for, and while he wasn’t a complete 300-foot player in his first season, that can be improved upon over time. He did look tired at times during his first season, but that isn’t necessarily shocking, given the more rigourous schedule and Tortorella Factor.
The skills were as advertised despite playing for a team in some real dysfunction, especially near the end of the season where the bottom fell out. Michkov proved that all the excitement surrounding his arrival was warranted.
What type of role do we expect Michkov to play this season?
Michkov will likely take over the role as the outright talisman of the Flyers offense in his sophomore season. He should be pushing for a point per game pace barring injury, and be one of the main engines of their hopefully revitalized power play. He played with Owen Tippett and the newly acquired Trevor Zegras this preseason, and will have a few new options for linemates heading into the new year. But as he continues to grow, he will become the focal point of whatever trio he is a part of. It may not matter as much who he plays with, he may be the one to elevate the players around him and create a dangerous offensive environment regardless of who he plays with.
He’ll likely be one of the Flyers’ most played forwards, and after going through the wringer in year one, he should be more prepared for what it takes to play a heavy minutes load for 82 games. His added NHL experience and a bit better forward group around him should result in a jump in production, it’s just really a matter of how high he can push the ceiling in year two. Michkov should challenge the likes of Travis Konecny for the team points lead once again, and seems like a lock to break the 30 goal mark.
And crucially, John Tortorella is gone. The relationship between Michkov and his former head coach was, by all intents and purposes, pretty positive, but the likelihood that a Tortorella team was going to get the most out of a high-flying, scoring winger was pretty low. Rick Tocchet isn’t some offensive genius, but he will definitely encourage Michkov to take more risks, and hopefully give him a bit longer leash when he makes some minor gaffes. 30+ goals and 70+ points seem like a reasonable potential stat line for the 20-year old under these circumstances, but make no mistake, his ceiling is near-limitless.
Overall, Michkov should take another step forward and become the Flyers most important winger. While names like Konecny may challenge for the point or goal lead, the night in, night out creative engine of the team should be undoubtedly Michkov. Extrapolating his rookie season numbers, with some added experience and skill development suggests as such, and Matvei hasn’t given us any reason to doubt him.
