Some key pieces of the Flyers are still over in Italy battling for medals. But most of the club has been back in Philadelphia practicing. And after three consecutive days where the team was getting back in the swing of things, assistant coach Todd Reirden says it’s important for some players to have strong finishes. And none of those came to the fore more than winger Matvei Michkov during Thursday’s post-practice presser.
Although Reirden spoke in depth about the trio of players called up from Lehigh Valley for a few days (Carson Bjarnason, Oliver Bonk, and Hunter McDonald), he was asked about what Michkov means to the club and how he should look at this last 26 games.
Flyers assistant Todd Reirden talks about Matvei Michkov
“Absolutely huge,” Reirden said. “He’s a huge player for us and the importance of him can’t really be described because we need him. We need him to pick up where he left off a little bit before the break there.”
Reirden added that Michkov has 13 goals and 16 assists for 29 points. And if last year is any indication or measuring stick, the winger might come out of the gates flying. In his first three games in 2024-25 after the 4 Nations Face-Off, Michkov had eight points. He ended the season with 27 points after the tournament til the end of the season. So if he had a similar streak this season, that could certainly help the Flyers’ fortunes. The coach also added that Michkov had three quality practices this week, getting the reps that a condensed schedule often doesn’t afford.
“I thought he’s had three good practices,” Reirden said. “And hopefully that time away will help him build some confidence, and also get accustomed to playing with the same players in practice every day. One of the things that you miss out on in practice when you don’t practice much is getting that chemistry. We’ve used him with a lot of different people.”
Michkov was seen throughout the trio of practices working with Bobby Brink and Noah Cates on a line for most of the week. He also showed up early for Tuesday’s session and was practicing his shootout skills against Carson Bjarnason later in the week. Reirden was adamant that as well as some of the other point-getters have been this season, Michkov is a guy who is crucial to the Flyers success now and down the road.
Matvei Michkov is the first player on the ice at the #Flyers first practice back from break. About 20 minutes before start time. pic.twitter.com/0q2sc5JRi8
— Will James (@wmjsports) February 17, 2026
“But for us to make the push that we want, it’s clear that we need him to get to a higher level than he was at going into the break,” the assistant coach said. “That will be something that I think these first three practices will put in him a good spot. Tomorrow will be a day away and then we’ll start to do some more 5-on-5 stuff, some special teams in these next couple of days. We’re really hoping for a big 26 games from him.”
Given how the season has been for the forward, Reirden isn’t the only guy who is hoping Michkov has a strong finish in the roughly final third of the 2025-26 season.
