John Tortorella may not be the head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers anymore, but in his short time coaching rookies Matvei Michkov and Jett Luchanko, the polarizing bench boss left his mark.
Michkov, in particular, butted heads with Tortorella often. Sometimes the 20-year-old Russian was reduced to a healthy scratch by Tortorella, and other times, he would get benched and verbally clash with Tortorella on the bench.
In the end, though, the Flyers’ star rookie was better for it. In a recent interview with ЛЕД | NHL on YouTube, Michkov shared further insights into his experiences with the fiery head coach, including an interesting note on making his NHL debut for Tortorella alongside fellow youngster Jett Luchanko.
“John Tortorella came into the locker room before the first match – that’s when I made my debut, and Jett Luchanko, we debuted together,” Michkov began. “He came into the locker room and said, ‘Let’s go. These are our two young players, and today, we will play for them, fight with them, support them, always help them. Here, we play for each other.’ He told us not to worry, and we just went out on the ice and did what we knew how to do and didn’t invent anything.”
Michkov ultimately finished his NHL debut against the Vancouver Canucks on Oct. 11 with four shots on goal, a blocked shot, and a missed shootout attempt, but recorded his first NHL point – an assist – against the Calgary Flames one night later on Oct. 12.
Overall, the 5-foot-10 winger played 71 games under Tortorella last season, scoring 20 goals, 31 assists, and 51 points; Tortorella was fired by the Flyers shortly before the end of the season on March 27.
“We have a great relationship, even despite what happened there. It all happened during the game,” Michkov added. “I understand, and he understands, that everything is based on emotions, and in some moments, he couldn’t control his emotions, I couldn’t control mine, and we told each other face to face.
“We got off the ice, went into the locker room, he would call me over and say ‘Damn, come on, excuse me, you’re really wrong there,’ and I tell him ‘Well, you’re sorry, that’s it, there.’ That’s it. Let’s go out, we don’t show anything as a team, all together, amicably. We have one goal: to win. And we go out on the ice and do the same job and sail in the same boat.”
Communication, too, could be an issue due to the language barrier, but the two still spoke often and maintained that relationship away from the rink.
“Often he called, but he called not only to talk about something personal or something else,” added Michkov. “He just called to explain something to me, some tactics, strategy. Because this is my first season, and I came without knowing English, and, at some points, it was hard for me. But he understood it.”
Michkov has taken multiple opportunities to publicly praise Tortorella, his first NHL coach, even after he was dismissed by the Flyers, and this was no different.
The two are more similar in personality than most think, and through that, they formed a bond that will last them through their professional careers and perhaps beyond.
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