Revisiting Flyers’ Matvei Michkov’s Best Games From Rookie Season

It’s easy to forget now, but Matvei Michkov‘s rookie season was supposed to be in the future, not the past. Part of the reason Michkov fell to the Philadelphia Flyers at seventh overall in the 2023 NHL Draft was that he was under contract in the Kontinental Hockey League until after the 2025-26 season.

However, in a stroke of good fortune, Michkov’s deal was terminated last summer, allowing him to make his NHL debut at 19 years old last season. There were some trials: a two-game healthy scratch, in-game benchings and shouting with former head coach John Tortorella, an inadvertent collision with then-teammate Scott Laughton, and a two-month scoring dip in the heart of winter.

But the positives outweighed the negatives. Michkov led his rookie class with 26 goals and had the most prolific scoring season by a Flyers rookie since Mikael Renberg in 1993-94. Renberg ushered in the Legion of Doom line and led the team to the Stanley Cup Final in 1997. The Flyers hope that Michkov will have a similar effect, but that’s not a task for August. What can be done now is a review of Michkov’s best performances from his debut season.

October 15 @ Edmonton Oilers

Michkov showed flashes of talent in his first two NHL games, recording his first point with an assist in his second contest. However, his third game, a showdown with two of the NHL’s biggest stars, Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, brought the Russian rookie to life. By the halfway mark of the first period, Michkov had scored his first two NHL goals.

Both came on the power play, although they each showed a different aspect of his game. The first was about determination and willpower in a jam attempt at the side of the net. His first push was denied, but he stuck with the play. Though it took a replay to confirm the goal, Michkov knew he had scored and celebrated as such. Though it’s his finesse and hands that make most of his highlights, this play quickly showed that Michkov had the physical toughness to score goals in the dirty areas.

However, he also proved his hands weren’t overrated. The Flyers went back to the man advantage moments later, with Michkov stationing himself on the right flank. Morgan Frost walked down the middle before dishing the puck to Michkov at the bottom of the right circle, a spot where Draisaitl frequently lights the lamp, but is too sharp an angle for most players to score. But Michkov had it in him, blistering a one-timer short-side to give the Flyers a 2-0 lead.

November 11 vs. San Jose Sharks

Following a four-game scoreless stretch and some defensive lapses, Tortorella made a move that only he could make work. Michkov joined Sean Couturier, Travis Sanheim, Joel Farabee, Morgan Frost, and more on the list of notable Flyers to spend time in the press box when Tortorella was behind the bench.

Following a two-game benching, Michkov joked that there was no better place for it to happen (the Flyers were in Florida for both games). But he was all business when he returned to the ice at the Wells Fargo Center. The Flyers’ power play didn’t score in either game with Michkov watching from above, but they did in his first period back, as he found Travis Konecny in the bumper spot for a blistering one-timer.

But the big moment came in the second period, when a Ryan Poehling outlet pass sprung Michkov for a breakaway. A clean snipe gave the Flyers a commanding 3-0 lead… which they blew. Michkov wasn’t responsible for that, though, as he watched each of the San Jose Sharks’ goals from the bench. But he took matters into his own hands in the shootout, scoring the winning goal in the skills contest.

Beyond the points and the flair, he also delivered a strong all-around performance. His 73.43% expected goals share was one of the highest marks on the team, as was his 0.24 expected goals against while on the ice (per Natural Stat Trick). He also showed snarl in a late-game shoving match with fellow Calder Trophy contender Macklin Celebrini. Ultimately, Michkov delivered the type of performance Tortorella was hoping for and ultimately avoided the press box the rest of the season.

November 29 @ St. Louis Blues

Every good player needs to show up in big moments. November was Michkov’s month to show it. After his shootout heroics against the Sharks, he helped the Flyers steal a win in their very next game. Outshot 37-19, the team rallied from a 4-2 deficit in the back half of the third period to force overtime, where Michkov snuck a sharp-angle shot past Ottawa Senators goaltender Linus Ullmark to complete the comeback.