The International Ice Hockey Federation has made a massive decision that could affect hundreds of players across the world, and most importantly, the Philadelphia Flyers’ Matvei Michkov.
Announced by the group that oversees all international hockey tournaments, their previous decision to ban Russia from all competitions going forward has now been reversed. They most recently made the formal decision to ban the country from all competitions during the 2026-27 season, but now that ban has been lifted.
From now on, it seems like decisions regarding any future tournaments will be on an event-by-event basis, as The Athletic’s Chris Johnston clarifies.
The decision was initially made by the IIHF due to “safety and security concerns” for the tournaments. That was quickly appealed by the Russian Ice Hockey Federation to the IIHF Disciplinary Board and on Monday, that made the decision to reverse their ban. According to the release from the IIHF, this does not mean that Russia will automatically be re-instated for every tournament going forward — as Johnston posted, whether or not Russia can compete in the World Juniors, or World Championships, or the Olympics (the big three tournaments) going forward will be decided at a future date.
They may decide that Russia can take part in the upcoming World Juniors, but not be there for the World Championships, for example.
The ban initially came from the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and has been in place since then.
But most importantly, this means that our beloved Michkov might be finally able to put on that beautiful Russian sweater again and represent his country at a tournament in the near future.
Michkov has not had much opportunity to represent Russia
Due to the ban, Michkov has been barely able to take part in any meaningful tournaments for Russia. During his prime eligibility to light the hockey world on fire at the World Juniors, he was limited to just two games during the 2022 tournament, just months before the invasion. He scored three goals in those two games over Switzerland and Sweden, just to get a glimpse of what he could’ve done at that level.
Prior to that, he was able to shine at the Under-18 level, scoring 12 goals and 16 points in just seven games in 2021, leading the entire tournament in scoring over players like Connor Bedard, Mason McTavish, and Shane Wright.
But that was it. He was able to dominate the Under-18s to a historic degree and then play two games at the World Juniors because part of that tournament was canceled due to COVID outbreaks and had to be delayed to August. The ban basically perfectly lined up with when Michkov would’ve eventually graduated to the men’s roster but now we can only think of what he would’ve pulled off at Worlds while lacing up next to Evgeni Malkin or playing on the same power play as Kirill Kaprizov, for example.
So now, we just have to think of if he can actually make it onto the roster.
The next time this could be possible is at the World Championships next summer, if the Flyers are ousted from the playoffs early (or don’t make it at all) and if Russia is allowed to take part in the tournament that is set to take place in Dusseldorf and Mannheim, Germany in May 2027. If they are, it certainly isn’t out of question that Michkov is one of the wingers that goes. He might not be getting the most ice-time if the likes of Nikita Kucherov and Artemi Panarin are ahead of him in the depth chart, but if he can have a good season, there is certainly more reason to have him high up on the lineup over the likes of Vasily Podkolziv or Ivan Barbashev or Pavel Buchnevich or Kirill Marchenko.
That’s a possibility, but what about the big one? The Big Tournament?
Can Michkov actually make the Olympic roster in 2030?
We need to do some more future-looking and peer into our crystal ball for this, but if Matvei Michkov reaches his potential as a 100-point offensive dominator (just one year ago we were thinking he could realistically get there in his prime), then it will almost be impossible to leave him off the Olympic roster in 2030, should Russia be allowed entry.
Michkov in the French Alps — we need it.
The Flyers winger will have just turned 25 years old when the Olympics come next and that just feels like the perfect age for him to make it on the roster. He won’t be some past-his-prime veteran, but he will certainly not be young enough that the excuse of inexperience would be there.
Michkov would theoretically be in the middle of his sixth season with the Flyers and hopefully by then, this team will be a regular Stanley Cup contender and one of the best teams in the league and that will be because of Michkov’s offensive prowess. Imagine leaving that at home?
This will completely depend on where the team and Michkov are at this point. Maybe some hotshot prospect like 2027 Draft-eligible Nazar Privalov comes roaring out the gates and takes his spot away from him. We’ve seen it happen to Canada and the United States where star players are either too young so veterans have to take their roster spot, or these crazy youngsters just wipe the floor with the league so they need to have their own spot too.
We’re still so many years away. Maybe Michkov is playing next to Connor McDavid in Philadelphia at that point so he’s basically a lock.
