Matvei Michkov’s arrival in Philadelphia this summer was widely-heralded, and it brought a new level of excitement to the organization that hadn’t been seen in a while. That said, expectations within the organization were a little more tempered than perhaps they were among outside observers. Michkov certainly had been highly featured in highlights coming over from Russia during his last season in the KHL. But the KHL isn’t the NHL, and the Flyers’ front office and coaching staff knew that.
Flyers Front Office Brass has remained steadfast in their approach with Michkov, knowing that there will be bumps along the road during his rookie season. “He's something by the way he plays that we don't have a lot of, and that's why it's so exciting. At the end of the day, it’s his rookie season. He’s 19 years old. He still has a lot to learn. There are going to be some ups and downs, and he sees it", said Flyers General Manager Daniel Briere prior to the start of the season. “On the flip side of that, he's been dealing with this pressure for a long time already. It's almost as if he's comfortable in it so far, but it's our job to protect him as much as we can.”
Michkov’s start was excellent, as he posted four goals and five assists for nine points in the first nine games en route to NHL Rookie of the Month honors for October. But things have tapered off since then, as he went four games without a point before picking up an assist on Travis Konecny’s power play goal in Carolina on Tuesday.
Still, there is much more to being an NHL player than point production, and it’s some of those things that head coach John Tortorella hopes Michkov gets a little bit of a reset on when watching Thursday’s game at Tampa Bay as a healthy scratch.
“He is a 19-year-old kid playing in the best league in the world,” Tortorella said after the Oct. 31 win over St. Louis. “I think he is beginning to see what the National Hockey League is as far as the speed, as far as time and space. All the things it comes with. There’s going to be some major struggles with him 5-on-5. We expect that, where I’m going to have to teach.”
It was in that St. Louis game that Michkov missed a few shifts after Torotorella had a talk with him on the bench early in the game.
“In that teaching moment, I’m not going to tell you what it’s all about, but if we keep on seeing the same mistake and he totally is not concentrating on a certain part of the game and that’s where I’ve been very honest with him about that,” he said. “He is going to miss some ice, he is going to watch the game. It’s not me screaming at him. It’s telling him, no this is how it works. If I think other guys are going and struggling in certain situations and are repetitive, you’re going to have to sit and watch a little bit. That’s all that was.”
It's hard to relate to what a night in the press box can do for a player, but it can be immensely helpful in certain ways. The game appears exponentially slower when watching from up top; it’s a perspective that players and coaches don’t see very often, and when they do there’s often a quip towards writers and broadcasters that they now understand why we think the game is so easy sometimes. Michkov will be able to get a very solid look at what players like Sean Couturier, Scott Laughton, and others are doing when they don’t have the puck, how they defend the neutral zone, and all manner of other things that a player certainly doesn’t see while on the ice and really can’t see very well while on the bench.
“He is a great kid,” Tortorella said after the St. Louis game. “He wants to do so well, but it’s a lot. It’s a lot for him. The power play has been good. I think it struggled a little the past few games. But 5-on-5, that line hasn’t been that great. And he has struggled 5-on-5.”
“Again, he doesn’t play four games in six nights over there. He doesn’t play against competition like he plays here. There are going to be some major struggles in his 5-on-5 game. Power play, I feel very comfortable, he is going to do some things there. So, I’m going to have to watch him, like any other young player or really any other player in that room. He is going to be held accountable as we go through these games and we will see where it goes… that’s the way it’s going to be. He may miss games. Who knows. I don’t know what’s going to happen but that’s part of the development of a 19-year-old kid.”
So that situation comes tonight. But it’s not a punishment, not a warning shot, nothing like that. It’s simply that for one night, the Flyers feel Michkov can develop better by watching this particular game than he can by playing in it.
“It’s just part of the process,” Tortorella said this morning. “With young guys, they can watch games too as far as developing. It’s trying to help him.”
