Three Flyers leaders stand up for their young teammate affixed under the spotlight.
Understandably, Matvei Michkov is going to be the talk of the Philadelphia Flyers world this summer, but the team's captains all took moments to stand up for the sophomore forward after a challenging second season in the NHL.
Flyers captain Sean Couturier, as well as alternate captains Travis Konecny and Travis Sanheim, commendably offered words on Michkov's unique situation while being able to put themselves in his shoes, defending a young player who's been in the spotlight non-stop.
Michkov, 21, ended his 2025-26 season on the bench with the Flyers losing 3-2 in overtime to the Carolina Hurricanes in the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, and whether we believe it to be right or wrong, it was what the coaching staff and team decided.
The Russian phenom still scored 51 points this season, though, and now knows what is expected of him and his game in the postseason.
This is all while barely being able to communicate with teammates and staff effectively, living in North America for not even two years.
"I remember when I was his age, trying to find my way. It's not easy, and I couldn't imagine with the language barrier. But he's a guy that's always putting in the work," Konecny said of Michkov at his exit interview Tuesday.
It was just last year that we would come out with stories of Michkov coming home from an afternoon game and going back to the rink, coming out for practice early, staying for practice late, so on and so forth.
He's still the same kid he was.
"He's always in the shooting room, he's always on the ice doing extra stuff. So that part of it's there. It's just trying to find where he's comfortable, at dinner, or wherever it is, to help him get to that next step," Konecny continued. "
I couldn't imagine going over and trying to understand Russian for two years. I'd be pretty lost at times, too. But when he's doing good things and he's scoring goals and he's making good plays, you just make sure you're there to pat him on the back, 'Hey, this is the good stuff. You do this over and over, you'll be a heck of a player.'"
Couturier, who broke in to the NHL himself as a teenager, shared Konecny's sentiment.
"I can't imagine the language barrier at a young age, coming overseas," Couturier said. "It's only his second year in the league, and I'm sure he's going to learn from this past year. Knowing him, knowing his character, I know he's going to be super motivated to prove everyone wrong next year. That's what you want to see."
"The pressure that's been put on him is a lot higher than anyone else has had. He's just like anyone else: we've all been through struggles and good times," added Sanheim. "Obviously, it's been difficult with the language barrier the last couple years. I think he's gotten better and understands a lot more. So, you can start to have more conversations with him, and better conversations... ones that feel like you're getting somewhere."
So, that about sums it up for the Flyers and Michkov through two seasons. The common denominators are age and inexperience, as well as the language barrier. This was anticipated well in advance, but it's something everyone has to work towards to collectively benefit the Flyers in the long term.
Michkov's KHL contract would have originally expired this summer, but the timeline for his arrival was instead sped up by two years by his own accord.
Going into 2026-27, Michkov will have two years of the NHL and North American life under his belt to build on and reference, which should only help him as the Flyers and his teammates learn to better work with him, and vice versa.