You don’t have to step very far to find a Philadelphia Flyers fan talking about the relationship between head coach Rick Tocchet and Matvei Michkov. It’s been speculated to death after the star rookie winger turned in a disappointing season and was not used a whole lot by the coach in the most important games of the season.
Despite Michkov playing very well after the Olympic break earlier this year — leading the team with 22 points in the final 26 games of the season — as soon as he hit the postseason, all of that success was washed away and he looked to be out of his depth in the playoffs.
With that came a healthy scratch in Game 5 of the first round against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Michkov returned in Game 6 and the eventual final game of the series as the Flyers moved on, but his time in the press box would come back. After three losses to the Carolina Hurricanes, Michkov was once again a healthy scratch for Game 4 and what was the final game of the year as the Flyers were swept in their own building.
During Tocchet’s exit interview on Wednesday, he dove into why he decided to scratch the 21-year-old winger twice and what he’s seeing for Michkov’s future with the Flyers.
Tocchet explains scratching Michkov in the playoffs
The scratch in the first round was understandable, but the second-round scratch was a little questionable. In Michkov’s spot in the lineup, 20-year-old center prospect Jett Luchanko, who just finished a mediocre OHL season with the Brantford Bulldogs, was thrust in on the third-line right wing.
It was a questionable decision at the time and after seeing Luchanko be ineffective, it was brought up again and Tocchet had to provide the answer as to why he made the call.
“I wanted to get more speed in the lineup,” Tocchet said. “Listen, it’s not like everybody was on point in their game. I’m not going to single him out, there’s a couple guys that struggled. At that moment as a coaching staff, and talked to other people in the organization, we just felt maybe let’s get a little fresh. And Michkov is like, it’s his first playoff run. He’s a second-year player. If it happened to another young guy no one would really say anything but it’s the pressure of that.”
Luchanko is a much better skater than Michkov, that is true. And the detail work that the young center prospect has is solid, but the offense is not at an NHL level at all and the Flyers certainly could’ve used any firepower they could get during that Hurricanes series.
But, Michkov’s struggles are understandable. As Tocchet explained himself, he’s still so young and is in just his second year of playing in the best hockey league in the world. Just because he’s this seventh-overall pick and was heralded as one of the best prospects in hockey not too long ago, there’s this pressure for him to perform and it’s a disappointment when he doesn’t.
That’s now all in the past and Michkov is already working towards seeking to prove doubters wrong next season.
Michkov is already on his ‘vengeance tour’
Tocchet wanted to have all the media and fans chill out a bit when it comes to expectations for Michkov. And shared just how excited the 21-year-old is to already be starting to put the work in this summer and be that star player everyone hopes he is.
“We just got to let this kid breathe because I think he’s made a lot of strides. I can’t talk for last year, but I can talk for this year that he’s made some strides. I mean, he’s already skated yesterday. I mean, that’s pretty cool. I want him to take a break, but I’m not going to tell him what to do. But for him to go out and shoot pucks yesterday, it’s something.
“It’s almost like a vengeance tour, and I love that. I think every player should have some kind of motivation in their head to prove anybody wrong. I think that’s really important.”
Michkov mentioned in his own exit interview on Tuesday that he was going to hop on the ice right after it was over, and it seems like he did exactly that. That’s just some Jaromir Jagr-esque work ethic that can put him above the rest and we’ll gobble all of that up as fans.
The mention of the fire in his belly to go on a “vengeance tour” next season and punish everyone who even thought for a second that his sophomore slump was truly the player that he would be for the rest of his career, is just so perfect. It’s everything we needed to hear as we head into this offseason.
On Matvei Michkov’s future and how he can develop
Tocchet was then asked if he believes that Michkov can actually reach his ceiling, since it is something almost every fan is now wondering after seeing him go from a 63-point rookie campaign to scoring just 51 points and not being used up the lineup with the best players on the team.
“Oh, absolutely. The kid wants it, don’t get me wrong. But we have to understand he’s 21 years old. We have the tools to help and that’s a thing this summer, for him, and he’s already got all of these different plans which is great and we have these tools that can help him. We got to remember he’s 21 years old.
“Is there their vision? Yes. Is there something he needs to improve? Of course. I think there’s something he can work on this summer — separation speed, his shot, all of that stuff he can work on. But it’s not just him. Every young guy, I can carbon copy the exact same thing. You have to be able to improve on all different areas. But he does want to improve.”
Earlier in the press conference, Tocchet was talking about how many young players are on the Flyers roster and where they go from here. The head coach praised how often one of those developing players would go and get a coach off the ice to talk things through, or want to get clarification on something in practice.
Tocchet then got to clarify that Michkov is one of those players that are hungry to improve and would seek out assistance to do so.
“I know there’s a bit of a narrative with him and the coaches, but he’s in the meetings. He’s one of the guys that goes and grabs [assistant coach Yogi Svejkovsky], ‘Hey Yogi, let’s go watch the power play’. He’s one of those self-starters where he wants it. But, you know, he’s learning to understand certain things and how we do things around here. Like I said, he’s a spoke in the wheel and he’s a big spoke for us if we can develop him.”
We won’t get to see any results of what should be a busy summer for Michkov until Flyers training camp next fall, but all of this has us more excited than ever.
