Every single person in the Philadelphia area can’t stop thinking about Matvei Michkov. We can’t either. After just two preseason appearances, three assists, and one empty-net goal that he was extremely excited to score; Michkov is on the mind of every Flyers fan.
What will he be able to do in his rookie season? What if he fixes the power play? How many points will he score? Can he win the Calder Trophy? These questions will be answered eventually, but right now, it’s just about him getting established in the league and getting accustomed to the top level of professional hockey.
One way that the Flyers coaching staff is doing that is keeping his linemates consistent. Morgan Frost has been Michkov’s center since the beginning of camp and winger Owen Tippett has been on the other side of the ice.
The 25-year-old winger talked at length about his new linemate after the Flyers’ 2-0 preseason win over the New York Islanders on Thursday night and really went over how impressed he has been.
“He’s great,” Tippett said. “Obviously, I’ve been skating with him for the whole camp now — he’s an exciting player. He thinks the game so well and he’s got a lot of skill, so it’s going to be fun going forward.”
Michkov just oozes confidence while he is on the ice. He expects so much from himself and appears to hold himself accountable and responsible to make plays that can lead to a whole bunch of scoring chances. And as Tippett mentions, the confidence factor is significant.
“It’s huge. With a guy like that, that plays with confidence, he’s only going to get better. It’s nice to play with a guy like that and like I said, it’s going to be fun. He can make those tight plays and he thinks the game so well. … He’s so excited. Every time he’s on the bench, he just wants to go back out there. His excitement is contagious — guys kind of feed off of it. It’s been fun to have his energy around.”
This appreciation and pure excitement to have such a talented player added to the team is just so evident. Michkov has already been seen paling around with his new teammates on the bench and the guys just want him to exceed in his first taste of the NHL. Tippett even confessed that he was trying to get the 19-year-old rookie a goal in his first appearance in Philadelphia.
“There were a couple chances, obviously, you want to give him the looks. First game at home, too, so you know it just kind of ended up being the right play for both of them and I’m happy he got one.”
That’s some comraderie.
The one significant takeaway that Tippett talks about, though, is that he will not really change his game when it comes to playing with Michkov. Even though he is able to make special plays, the left winger will just keep playing the game that got him to this point of his career and let the chemistry grow naturally.
“I don’t think it changes much,” he said. “Doesn’t matter where Frost and I are, he’s going to find out. Obviously, the more we play together, the more chemistry will be there and we’re going to be used to each other. There’s some rust right now, after being together for just a couple games, but the more we get settled, the more we will get comfortable with each other. … Just looking at the fact that we’ve been together since Day 1 of camp — that’s our indication that we’re going to start together and it’s been kind of nice to get the familiarity in and get some games in.”
While we haven’t seen some mind-bending plays happen yet with that trio at 5-on-5, it can certainly work and head coach John Tortorella agrees. If that is the line we see on October 11, when the Flyers open their season in Vancouver, and then Sean Couturier is up top with Travis Konecny and Tyson Foerster, that’s one hell of a top six — in our humble opinion.
The overarching statement that Tippett really made clear on Thursday night is that Michkov can just do things that other players can’t. He can play a simpler game and just know that he will be able to get him scoring chances and if this sticks through all 82 games, it is going to be a blast.
“If you think you’re open, he’s good enough to make that extra play and make that extra move. It’s going to be fun to play with him and we’re all excited to have him.”
