Michkov working to re-claim his throne as the Flyers' franchise cornerstone.
Young Philadelphia Flyers star Matvei Michkov has been the talk of town for much of the summer as the franchise's lightning rod, and understandably so after the way last season went.
Michkov, who was only 20 years old on opening night, started his second NHL season at a sluggish pace, was deployed in mostly a third-line role, and was eventually publicly referred to as "out of shape" by his new head coach, Rick Tocchet.
Things quickly devolved into a firestorm for the Flyers, who were also playing their worst hockey of the season at that time and hurtling towards the NHL's basement.
At the Olympic break, Michkov took it upon himself to train and get right, and that led to him leading the Flyers in scoring from that point until the end of the season. The playoffs were a different story for the 21-year-old, but there would be no playoffs without Michkov's contributions, either.
This summer, we've extensively covered Michkov's workout sessions and results posted on social media and discussed interviews, and on Tuesday, ahead of the Flyers' last rookie camp practice session, Flyers GM Danny Briere assessed the situation himself.
Suffice it to say, it appears Michkov has passed a major test in building back his good faith with the organization.
"We're not allowed to test players, so it's tougher to tell this year, but he looks the part at the moment," Briere said of Michkov's apparent progress.
We recently learned through one of Michkov's interviews that new performance and development coach Lorne Goldenberg was the Flyers staffer who went out to Russia to assist the youngster, but that decision wasn't one made by the organization.
"That was mostly Matvei doing his stuff and looking for help on his side," Briere remarked.
Flyers training camp will officially open on Thursday, and that marks the start of go-time for the prospects pushing to wrest away roster spots, veterans looking to hold onto theirs, and players like Michkov looking to prove themselves.
"It's all part of his maturity level taking a step. I mean, you saw what he did, even during the Olympic break. Decided to, even though he didn't have a lot of time, he completely changed what he was thinking of doing, just going on vacation and having fun. He decided to take care of himself, and it showed in the last stretch of the season, which I think mentally was a good thing for him to see," added Briere.
"'Hey, I took care of myself. Look at the impact I was able to have', and I think he went with that mentality into the offseason. Instead of 10 days to do it, having three or four months, and then that's kind of what you see in how he looks at the moment, and how he just walks around with a different swagger that he had probably two years ago."
Michkov, the seventh overall pick in 2023, burst onto the scene in his rookie year in 2024-25, scoring 63 points in pacing all rookies with his 26 goals.
Last year, though widely considered a down year, the Russian phenom still produced 20 goals, 31 assists, and 51 points despite all the noise and struggles along the way.
That's encouraging for him and for the Flyers.
"He's very competitive. That's his nature. So I wouldn't be surprised at all to see him wanting to prove that last year was just a little hiccup, and he's he's going to bounce back. I mean, that's what I expect from him," said Briere.
"He's a polarizing player, his personality and everything. He's been a superstar since he was, I don't know, 14, 15 years old. I think he's comfortable in the spotlight. That's just who he is. But yeah, definitely things were were overblown. And it goes both ways. They're probably going to be overblown when it's good. They're going to be overblown when it's bad. It's just, I think a lot of it is his personality. He's very polarizing, and I think it's not all that bad, because he strikes me as one of those guys that when things are good and he's in the spotlight, he's not afraid of the big moment. I try to see the positive in it, but definitely I thought last year was was overblown in his case."
The arrow is certainly pointing upwards, at least for now, for Michkov, and in a few days, we'll know for real where he stands and where he's at going into a contract year with no extension immediately forthcoming.
With the lack of meaningful additions to the roster this summer, the Flyers will need Michkov at full strength and then some if they are to make the Stanley Cup playoffs for a second consecutive season... and if they are to make this rebuild count going forward.
