Matvei Michkov showed up to training camp 30 pounds lighter and with a new attitude. But how can that translate to on-ice success in his third NHL season?
Matvei Michkov didn't have the easiest time with his coaches over the first two seasons of his NHL career with the Philadelphia Flyers. Depending on who and what you believe, issues of motivation, coachability, and certainly fitness came together to make a very promising rookie year give way to a disappointing sophomore season.
From his rookie season to last year, Michkov's ice time dropped by almost two minutes, so his production was down, and his per-60 stats also declined. Fewer goals, fewer attempts, fewer on-net.
So he took initiative this summer; working with a trainer, he reported that he lost 30 pounds over the summer thanks to intense workouts; he showed up to camp north of 200 pounds last season and is now officially listed at 172.
So, if he is committing to that level of motivation, perhaps he can also get back on track in terms of building on his 26-goal, 63-point rookie season. But what, ultimately, could that look like in 2026-27?
The first factor to consider is his relationship with head coach Rick Tocchet, who seems duly impressed by the work he comes in.
Whether Tocchet tests him early or trusts him because of the work over the summer and into this brief pre-season remains to be seen. But if Michkov can get more rope relatively early in the season, that's a good sign.
He only averaged 11:50 per night in the playoffs and got healthy-scratched in one game. At times throughout the season, he was removed from the power play. How players are used completely dictates their production, so the road toward a larger role in the lineup starts there.
Assuming he got the message, you can probably expect Michkov to be much more involved in the Flyers' offense. Only getting to 176 minutes on the power play, as he did last year, doesn't cut it.
But Michkov also has to prove he can be a conduit for the offense. Philadelphia's man advantage was the worst in the league last year at 15.7 percent. So it's not only about getting minutes, it's about contributing positively in those minutes.
The good news is that the Flyers' coaches have to be searching for a different approach, and running everything through Trevor Zegras clearly didn't work last year. If Michkov can be more involved and the puck starts going in a little more often, then his numbers rise immediately.
The problem, though, is what happens at 5-on-5. Because of Michkov's limitations as a 200-foot player, his coaches probably couldn't commit to playing him more in softer minutes. He started over half of his dead-puck shifts (not on the fly) in the offensive zone, and they mostly did a good job of keeping him away from top pairs, and he still didn't perform as well as he did in his first season.
Certainly, that could be where the conditioning and weight issue comes in, but again, he's got to prove that's behind him. In theory, a well-conditioned, in-shape Michkov who isn't struggling at the end of every shift will be in a position to really put his most common opponents under more pressure and be able to convert more frequently on the chances he and his linemates can generate.
In addition to usage, linemates certainly play a role in how many points a player can rack up. So far in camp, it seems Michkov has been playing with Alex Bump, a solid goal-scorer who got 17 games with the big club in his age-21 season last year, and defenseman Oliver Bonk, who's coming off his first pro season, scoring six goals and 19 points in 46 games with the AHL's Lehigh Valley Phantoms.
This can change, of course, but that seems like the coaches testing the waters with two well-regarded prospects who aren't established NHL players, rather than more established options like Zegras or Travis Konecny, let alone an expected stud like Porter Martone.
Michkov clearly has to prove to all involved that he belongs in a bigger role, which doesn't feel like an especially big "if" at this point, based on what's being reported out of Flyers camp so far. Nothing but praise from Tocchet, so far. And if he does, then a role where he's receiving second-line minutes next to more proven scorers, plus solid power-play time, should mean that his 26-goal, 60-point rookie year is a baseline, and it wouldn't be impossible to see him get to 30 goals and 70 points.
Given what we've seen in the first two seasons of his career, Michkov is never gonna be a defensive wizard, but if he can be a 30-goal guy who can finish a shift without huffing and puffing, then that's a great step for a guy who's a few months from turning 22.
The Flyers have a lot invested in Michkov, so it shouldn't be too hard for everything to fall into place if he starts holding up his end of the bargain.
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