Flyers' Matvei Michkov Draws High Praise from Rival Coach: 'Only a Matter of Time'

During a season where the Philadelphia Flyers have lost 11 of their first 14 games, only a handful of bright spots have emerged for the struggling club, though third-year forward Matvei Michkov stands out among the few.

Michkov, 21, has already rattled off eight goals, two assists, and 10 points this season and helped bring the power play back to life, with a big hand from fellow young Flyers stars Porter Martone and Trevor Zegras.

In the goal-scoring department, only Auston Matthews, William Nylander, Alexis Lafreniere, Kyle Connor, Artturi Lehkonen, Leon Draisaitl, and Kirill Kaprizov have found the back of the net more times than Michkov this season.

Michkov's blazing start has been duly appreciated by the Flyers and their coaching staff after a summer of arduous work to get back into playing shape, and then making gains on that playing shape compared to his rookie year.

But around the league, including in the Metropolitan Division, other teams and coaches are taking notice, too.

Just ask Spencer Carbery, the 2025 Jack Adams Award winner spearheading the rival Washington Capitals.

"I watched this morning, he's getting in and around the net a little bit. I could just be throwing this out there because I don't watch him close enough, but it looks like he's moving really well, like puck possession, the offensive zone," Carbery told Capitals media of Michkov ahead of Wednesday night's game between the Flyers and Capitals.

"It's only a matter of time with guys like that. Like, down year, sophomore whatever it is, they're going to find ways to score and find ways to figure out the league. They're that talented, and I think that it's just a matter of time before he's a very, very effective goal-scorer in the league."

That's high praise from someone like Carbery, who has spent the four seasons coaching Alex Ovechkin on the Capitals. During Carbery's time as an assistant coach with the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2021-22, Auston Matthews scored 60 goals for the first time in his career.

This is a coach who knows what a superstar goal-scorer looks like as well as any coach in the NHL, and without making any direct comparisons, it is perhaps possible that Michkov, too, could one day reach those heights for the Flyers.

The Russian starlet already has 54 goals in 175 career regular season games, and as it currently stands, Michkov is pacing to finish the season with 48 goals.

For reference, Michkov scored 46 goals in his first two seasons combined in 161 regular season games.

If the Flyers are to make anything of this rotten season, they'll need that level of contribution from Michkov going forward, as well as continued support from Zegras and Martone.