While Philadelphia Flyers phenom Matvei Michkov hasn’t looked quite like himself to start his second season in the NHL, there is, at least, a reason for that, according to head coach Rick Tocchet.
Tocchet dubiously did not play Michkov, 20, for the Flyers’ 3-on-3 overtime session against the Carolina Hurricanes, which ended in a loss after Bobby Brink’s game-winning goal was wiped out by a controversial goaltender interference call against Travis Sanheim.
The Flyers’ first-year head coach revealed after the loss that he was going with the players he “thought were skating,” which obviously did not include Michkov.
There is a little bit more to it than that, though, as Tocchet revealed Monday.
“If we don’t have penalties, [Michkov is] probably getting 17 [minutes]. I think everyone’s making an issue,” Tocchet was quoted as saying by Kevin Kurz of The Athletic. “Secondly, he dealt with something this summer, something with an ankle that I didn’t even know about. I don’t think he could implement some of his training. So, he’s a little bit behind the eight ball when it comes to that. It’s something we’re going to correct. But I think he got behind the eight ball a little bit this summer coming into camp.
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“He’s healthy. It wasn’t a major thing. Something that affected some of his training. We know we’ve got to work with him. That’s the best way to explain it.”
Michkov has played just over 28 total minutes for the Flyers this season through two losses, recording two shots on goal in Game 1 against Florida and zero in Game 2 against Carolina.
In both games, the Flyers’ franchise player took a penalty, and in both games, Michkov didn’t record a point.
All is not lost, though, as it’s still early in the season, and it certainly sounds as though Michkov just doesn’t have his conditioning and game legs yet.
The Flyers play four times in the next seven days, including Monday’s home opener against Florida, so the uber-talented Russian should still have plenty of opportunities to figure things out and get going.
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