The Philadelphia Flyers, one of the NHL’s weakest offensive teams during most of the season, have gone 4-1 and averaged five goals per game since John Tortorella was fired.
It‘s a small sample size, but the Flyers are playing more relaxed and with more freedom under interim coach Brad Shaw.
No players have benefitted from the change more than young right wingers Matvei Michkov and Tyson Foerster.
Especially the 23-year-old Foerster.
In five games under Shaw, Foerster has six goals. Michkov, 20, has four goals and four assists in that span.
Foerster had 20 goals as a rookie last season and has 22 this year. He is one of the Flyers’ few first-round picks who looks as if he will live up to his billing.
“Twenty goals is a nice threshold – not many guys do it, and never mind at his age,” Shaw told reporters after Foerster’s first career hat trick keyed an 8-5 win Wednesday over the New York Rangers.
“He hasn’t been given a ton of offensively responsibility, either. And so for him to do it sort of in a checking-line role is probably even more impressive. He’s a real intelligent young man, a real pro. Mature beyond his years, and it shows in his game.”
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Foerster, who built strength as a teenager while stacking 500 to 1,000 bales of hay a day while working on his grandparents’ Ontario farm, has been on a line with Noah Cates and Bobby Brink. Shaw saluted the line for its strong two-way game.
Shaw realizes that Foerster, owner of one of the team’s hardest shots, has been known for his offense. Drafted 23rd overall in 2020, he is the fifth-highest scoring right winger from that class.
But “I’ve been impressed with how he’s added to the defensive side and with the penalty kill and with how responsible that line plays 5-on-5,” Shaw said. “We put them out there regularly against the other team’s top unit, and they do a fantastic job. He’s a big part of that – he’s a big part of our defensive conscience.”
Foerster and Michkov have received much more playing time under Shaw. That’s the essence of a rebuild – giving young players extended minutes to allow their games to grow.
Michkov averaged 16:18 of ice time under Tortorella, and that number has climbed to 19:45 since Shaw was named. Foerster’s time has increased from 16:40 to 19:01 since the coaching change.
Shaw says Michkov has a “really unique skill set,” and he is trying to figure out “how to best use him and against which types of players.”
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The Philadelphia Flyers parted ways with coach John Tortorella Thursday, ending his time in Philly after nearly three years.
So far, the new coach has pushed all the right buttons with his gifted wingers.
It remains to be seen if Shaw becomes the permanent coach next season, but one thing is certain: the Flyers need someone who can thrive at developing youngsters.
First-round picks like Joel Farabee, Morgan Frost, Cam York and Jamie Drysdale (drafted by Anaheim) didn’t blossom much, if at all, under Tortorella.
The Flyers have also had first-round flops like German Rubtsov (2016) and injury-plagued Nolan Patrick (2017), players that should just be reaching their primes. And they were forced to trade ultra-promising left winger Cutter Gauthier, their top pick (No. 5 overall) in 2022.
So seeing first-rounders Michkov (No. 7 overall in 2023) and Foerster emerge is a step in the right direction – no matter who is fortunate enough to coach them next season.
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