As we wrap up our season preview series, it’s time to talk about the most polarizing, most talented, and most important player on the Flyers roster, Matvei Michkov. The 21-year old Russian enters his third full NHL season with something to prove after taking a bit of a step back in year two after his emergent rookie campaign put his name on the lips of every NHL commentator, both around Philadelphia, and the league at large.
What did we see from Michkov Michkov last season?
Michkov’s sophomore season was a slog from essentially every angle. After it was widely reported that Michkov came into training camp out of shape, he was greatly diminished in his ability to consistently find separation and make an offensive impact on a night-in, night-out basis. He seemed sluggish and behind the pace early, with an inability to beat players with his foot speed, and a game that was a lot less relentless than what we saw in his rookie year. He was unable to keep up the pressure throughout a whole 60 minutes plus, and it caused his game to suffer immensely.
External factors didn’t help, either. Head coach Rick Tocchet was profuse in his distaste for what he viewed as a lack of commitment from Michkov, and repeatedly made his thoughts on the matter known to whoever would listen, something that, while he now regrets it publicly, definitely did have an effect on the player’s ice time and confidence.
But at the end of the day, even Michkov himself would admit that his failings were down to his own lack of sharpness. His point total dropped by 12 year-over-year, with his goal total dropping by six, and without the same dynamic level of offensive production, there were less and less scenarios within which Tocchet felt comfortable playing his young Russian star. His ice time subsequently dropped nearly two minutes in his sophomore season, going from 16:41 per game in his rookie season, to just 14:50 this past season.
By the time Porter Martone arrived late in the season and was lighting the league on fire, Michkov found himself bumped further down the pecking order than anyone initially expected, largely playing alongside Noah Cates and Bobby Brink on a sort of pseudo-third line, only receiving choice minutes in the offensive zone, and getting less time-on-ice on a game-by-game basis than names like Noah Cates, Sean Couturier, and even Bobby Brink, a player who got traded later in the season, and was often scratched once he was.
Things didn’t go much better once the playoffs started, with Michkov predictably struggling to keep up with the increased intensity that deep into the season. He played just 11:50 in his eight playoff games; only Garnet Hathaway played less amongst Flyers forwards, and he was even scratched for two games, including a potential close-out Game 5 against the Penguins.
And at that point, it wasn’t even viewed as a punitive punishment. Michkov only mustered one point in his eight playoff games, and although that one point was the assist on Cam York’s series-clincher, it was a very underwhelming performance from someone who was tipped to be a massive part of the Flyers even making it back to the playoffs at all.
But at the same time, it wasn’t at all surprising. Michkov started the season behind the eight-ball, and with his conditioning not in the place where it should have been, it was infeasible to expect him to fully get back up to the speed of the best league in the world on the fly, while starting in a hole. He took his lumps last season, and his quotes during and after the season have all been exactly what you want to hear from a young player who is coming off of a disappointing year.
And it wasn’t all bad. Michkov, while being out of shape and in the coach’s doghouse, was still tied for third on the team in points with Christian Dvorak and Owen Tippett during the regular season, two players who most would consider to have had good, if not great, seasons. He also made it to the 20-goal mark as well, which is something that has proven difficult for a lot of talented Flyers forwards in the recent past, and his 22 points in 26 games down the stretch run was a massive boost that drove the team to a playoff spot when they needed offense the most.
That still bodes well for the future, and as long as he comes into the season more ready to work from day one, the sky is still the limit for the 2023 seventh overall pick. A sophomore slump is nothing new, and while the circumstances may have been concerning, he was still able to salvage some positives while trying to adjust to a system that is different than anything he’s been a part of before. He’s healthy, motivated, and committed to the cause.
What type of role do we expect Michkov to play this season?
Michkov differs from a lot of the other player previews we’ve done thus far, because we’ve already seen a plethora of evidence that suggests he is a much different player this season as opposed to last. After being called out and embarrassed repeatedly at different points of last year, (sometimes quite unfairly), Michkov went to work in the offseason.
He showed up to camp a reported 30 pounds lighter than he weighed in a year ago, and spent a significant portion of his offseason in Russia with Flyers performance development coach Lorne Goldenberg, who also worked with Michkov throughout the Olympic break last year, prior to his hot end to the regular season.
“We together work (for) two weeks and this is good work,” Michkov said recently at Flyers’ camp. “We have in one day two (workouts) in the gym and one on ice so three practices in one day. These are hard weeks, but this is good for me.”
And as a result, he’s looked a great deal quicker throughout camp and preseason, with his skating and lateral movement in particular looking sharper and more refined than it did at any point last year.
Michkov’s standing inside the organization hasn’t changed, if this team is to become a true contender, he will be at the forefront of the offensive nucleus that propels them there. He will be present on the first power play unit that will more than likely improve leaps and bounds from recent seasons. He should be moved back into a more top-six centric role as he continues to prove that he has the gas tank and skillset to be there. Accessing his speed as a weapon the way that he has thus far early on in the preseason only makes that a more likely conclusion.
It’s still just a matter of how high the ceiling can get for Michkov. If he can successfully throw out last year and not let it affect him into the future, it may be the best thing that has ever happened to his career. If he can take what he learned and modify his game accordingly, he still has the tantalizing 80-plus point ceiling that made him such a widely-renowned prospect in his draft year. With Porter Martone taking over the mantle of the hot, uber-skilled Flyers rookie this year, it also should allow Michkov a little more breathing room to work than he had last season, where teams were still keying on him as one of the more primary offensive dangers, even when it was clear that he didn’t quite have the same juice as he did in his rookie campaign. He’ll still be watched keenly to be sure, but he’ll be more used to the feeling this year, and of course be more equipped physically to deal with the constant attention.
But the early signs are good, and health permitting, he should be able to get right back on track where he left off after his rookie year. Last year, especially post-Olympic break, was a year of growth for the Flyers, both the roster and the organization. It felt like Michkov got the brunt of the criticism, and a lot of that was due to the fact that everyone that came up behind him, whether it was Alex Bump, Denver Barkey, or the aforementioned Martone, succeeded nearly immediately, while he continued to struggle. But Michkov’s highs can be higher than all of theirs, and he should be given ample opportunity to carry the water offensively for a team who definitely needs it. The Flyers have built a solid defensive foundation throughout their lineup and system, but players like Michkov and Trevor Zegras will need to bring that extra offensive punch to truly transform the team into something that can be feared on the offensive side of the puck.
There’s still a lot of reason to believe that Michkov can fulfill his massive potential, and last year’s pain should be this year’s gain. There’s a chance we look back at Michkov’s 2025-26 in April of next year and view it as a momentary, and necessary, speed bump on the way to a bright and crowd-pleasing future.
