Matvei Michkov was officially introduced to the Philadelphia media today, a full two years before most thought it would’ve happened. But both the Flyers’ top prospect and general manager Danny Briere cautioned he shouldn’t be seen as the “savior” of the club.
“The main idea always was to win, the drive to win and he’s here to help the team to win,” Michkov said through his translator, Flyers skating coach Slava Kouznetsov. “Just to play not his style, he’s here to win.”
“We don’t see him as the savior, that’s certainly not what we’re putting on his shoulders,” Briere added later. “He’s 19 years old, he’s coming in to learn and to expand his game and obviously we hope the sky’s the limit for him. But we’re certainly not expecting him to be the savior of this team. We’re building a team that’s going to have many pieces to work together and we’re hoping he becomes one of them.”
Michkov said the Flyers were in contact with him during his time in Russia in the KHL via phone and through texing. He also said they had watched him play and were “telling him what he could do differently in the game while he’s in Sochi.” Michkov said his dream was to always play in the NHL and his former KHL team SKA “made it possible to release him and now he’s here.”
Despite the whirlwind of the last 48 hours, Michkov says playing for the Flyers is still a dream and “not real.” But he thinks his late father would be “really proud” and he wants to help the team win the Stanley Cup and “all cups possible.” On an individual level, Michkov has personal goals he would like to reach in the 2024-25 season but did not reveal what those particular numbers or goals were.
Briere, who added “it’s pretty amazing” and “a great break” for Michkov to be here at 19, says being coached under John Tortorella will help his game. “The chance for him to learn under Torts,” Briere said. “We all know that he’s gifted offensively, he’s very, very talented. But he’s going to have the chance to learn under Torts to play the other side of the ice as well. That gets me excited that he’s going to get that base early on and I think it’s going to make him better for the rest of his career.”
Speaking of Tortorella, though he wasn’t in attendance for the press conference, Michkov said he is eager to meet him although he hasn’t been in contact with him yet. And despite the language barrier between both Michkov and the coach, Briere joked Michkov will probably not need a translator sometimes with his new coach as “sometimes words don’t have to be spoken” for Tortorella to get his point across.
Michkov, sporting an orange Flyers golf shirt and a Flyers hat, says he’s quite happy with the “warm welcome” he’s received and is looking forward to meeting his teammates. He also said he’s been quite pleased with the Flyers fans he’s come across in his short time in Philadelphia. “It’s unreal how the fans have reacted and how welcomed he felt coming in,” Michkov said through the translator. “At the same time the main idea is to get ready and show really good hockey for the fans and play the best game he can play.”
Although being 19 years old and in a new country, both the Flyers and Michkov believe having Egor Zamula as well as Ivan Fedotov will help make the cultural and language adjustment easier. Briere also mentioned Michkov was shown the Nick Deslauriers-Matt Rempe fight from last season. “We told him that’s his new best friend,” Briere joked.
In terms of the basic day-to-day adjustments, a tutor is also being hired to help Michkov with basic English and while nothing has been confirmed or finalized, there is a hope that both Michkov’s mother and his brother both still residing in Russia could come over in September to see Matvei. Whether his family remains in the U.S. until the first Flyers home game Oct. 19 against Vancouver is still unknown. “That’s the plan,” Briere said. “Plans can always go sideways but I think that’s the plan. It would be good to have his mom and his brother with him so that’s going to help a lot.”
So now the Flyers have their most important and possibly most talented player they’ve drafted since Claude Giroux here. It remains to be see what Matvei Michkov does on the ice to help the Flyers get to the promised land but it should certainly be exciting watching his career hopefully blossom as a Flyer.
