The Philadelphia Flyers lost the first game of their Rookie Series against New York Rangers prospects Friday night by a score of 4-3. But that doesn’t matter. That never mattered.
The whole point of this exhibition was to watch the development of future Flyers in real time. And the most important future Flyer did not disappoint in his NHL “debut.”
There’s been a buzz surrounding the Flyers all summer thanks to the surprise arrival of Matvei Michkov. The dynamic Russian winger, selected with the No. 7 overall pick of the 2023 NHL Entry Draft, is widely considered one of the most exciting prospects in the world. Friday night, his immense talent was on full display.
Michkov was far and away the best player on the ice throughout the exhibition. His skating was dynamic, his skill was unmatched, and his brain was operating faster than everyone else’s by a considerable margin.
Flyers fans in attendance had their fingers crossed with hopes of seeing Michkov find the back of the net in his first taste of NHL action. Appropriately, he delivered.
Around the midway point of the second period, Michkov gave the Flyers a 2-1 lead on a 5-on-3 power play by getting to the dirty area at the side of the crease, gathering a quick feed from this year’s first-round pick Jett Luchenko — who had a strong game of his own — and squeaking the puck into the net past the young Rangers goalie’s outstretched pad just before taking a big hit.
His spirited celebration was as intoxicating as the goal itself.
The play Michkov made moments before was possibly even more impressive than the goal itself, though. Preparing his attack at center ice, Michkov gathered a drop pass from Emil Andrae at the blue line on the zone entry, then set up Andrae with a return feed down low to generate an unimpeded shooting lane (albeit from a suboptimal angle).
Rangers defenders were frozen in their tracks, unsure if Michkov was preparing to weaponize his lethal shot or set up a teammate for a scoring chance.
This time, Michkov opted for the latter. But he ended up getting a goal soon after anyway.
Michkov’s confidence and creativity noticeably increased as the game progressed. In the third period, he gave fans a glimpse of his extraordinary stick skills by dangling around a Rangers defender along the half boards and setting up a scoring chance soon after.
Later on, with space and time to himself behind the Rangers net, he very clearly thought about attempting the Michigan, but ended up lobbing the puck over the net instead — perhaps with hopes of recreating Trevor Zegras’ famous “Dishigan” goal.
It didn’t work. But it’s the thought that counts.
He also came close to scoring in overtime, thanks in large part to a solid play by Luchenko to chase after a puck along the boards and find Michkov all alone in the low slot for the would-be game-winner. Unfortunately, Michkov’s bid was denied.
You can’t win ’em all.
Of course, if there’s one area Michkov’s biggest detractors point to as a major red flag, it’s his play away from the puck. Michkov likely won’t be in contention to win any Selkes during his NHL career. Nor should he be. He’s an offensive powerhouse, and that’s where he should direct his focus.
But even in a meaningless exhibition game, he showed good effort defensively. Late in the tilt, he made a nice hustle play to break up a shorthanded rush after turning the puck over on a power play. Somewhere, Flyers head coach John Tortorella was smiling.
All in all, Michkov’s first on-ice performance as a Flyer was nothing if not brilliant. He didn’t quite look superhuman, but when he was on the ice, he was impossible to miss.
“He’s a special player, and you can tell,” Phantoms head coach Ian Laperriere told the media after the game.
“Just having him on the bench, it’s fun because you can tell he loves the game. He wants to be out there, and he was out there quite a bit. I was impressed by him.”
Laperriere revealed Michkov will not play in Game 2 of their Rookie Series Saturday evening, so fans will need to wait at least until the Flyers’ preseason opener against the Washington Capitals on September 22 to get their next glimpse of him in game action. But if Friday night was any indication, it’ll probably be worth the wait.
