The Philadelphia Flyers aren’t starting their 2024 all that great, but overseas, their top prospect was able to destroy hopes and dreams with every stride of his skates in his first game of the calendar year.
We can go on and on about how Matvei Michkov is doing in his first season since being drafted seventh overall by the Flyers — in fact, we already did in two separate parts put pen to paper on how he is the best Russian prospect since Alex Ovechkin — but in his very first game of the year with HC Sochi, he went on a rampage.
Up against a very good Metallurg Magnitogorsk team, Michkov logged a whole 16 minutes and nine seconds and in that time, proceeded to do some incredible things. Nothing might top the absolute gall the 19-year-old had to pull off a bone-breaking deke in overtime.
If you just super slow-motion, you can almost hear the cries the poor Metallurg defender whimpered out as he was heading butt-first down to the ice. If done on any bigger stage, it would instantly be the most viral clip shown across multiple networks, but for Michkov, it’s just another day and another game.
That play didn’t end up resulting in anything but a solid scoring chance, but the Flyers prospect actually did end the game with a goal that put his team up on a two-goal lead. (We are ignoring the fact that Metallurg came back to tie it and eventually win the game in overtime.)
Nothing flashy but just pure goalscoring instincts that ooze out of every one of Michkov’s pores.
Oh, and what’s a game from the young phenom without some attempted at a Michigan goal?
The play has become actually dangerous in more levels of hockey, but it seems to just come so naturally to Michkov. The ability to still control the puck with possession, almost feint a pass to the slot but instead opt for a split-second Michigan attempt is just silly.
We will be sitting here, twiddling our thumbs, waiting patiently along with almost everyone who is reading this sentence right now, for Michkov to arrive in Philadelphia. Today marked one less insane highlight-filled game that we have to watch with him not in the orange and black.
