Matvei Michkov made a Michigan goal (after saying he didn’t want to make any more)

Of course, everyone here knows that talent comes out of his ears. Seeing him attempt such a maneuver in a match that means nothing isn’t exactly surprising.

It’s his style, after all.

But to me, it’s still ironic that on July 12, barely 24 hours before seeing him do a Michigan in a game in Russia, the young man made headlines in an interview when he said he wouldn’t be doing any more Michiganders.

Hm…

Of course, we all understand that there’s a fine line between saying he won’t be doing any more in the National Hockey League and making a spectacle of himself at a meaningless game in the middle of summer.

But to me, the news is this: Mishkov wants to go through the motions because it’s in his nature to play that way, but he’s been told that he has to learn to jockey the sacrosanct right way to be successful in the NHL and maximize his scoring chances.

Will this create frustration in the young man? I’m not sure. He won’t necessarily say so publicly if it does.

If he buys into Rick Tocchet’s game plan, could it help him become a more complete and successful player in the long term? Only time will tell.

overtime

– Happy birthday to Pierre Houde.

– He should get there.

– Montreal is in first place.

– Of note.