Michkov continues to shine for Flyers in pre-season action after recording first goal

Matvei Michkov continues to show why the Philadelphia Flyers were excited to have him make the jump to the NHL sooner than expected.

Playing his first home game of the pre-season, Michkov scored a goal and registered an assist in Philadelphia’s 2-0 victory over the New York Islanders on Thursday.

The Flyers’ top prospect now has a goal and three assists in two pre-season games.

Michkov’s teammates have noted the young Russians’ passion and have done what they can to help him progress forward considering how key he is to the team’s future success.

Michkov has been playing on a line with Morgan Frost and Owen Tippett.

“A lot of learning. It’s obviously still so early, so there’s obviously a little bit of language barrier. So, Tip and I just trying to explain what we can to Mitchie,” Frost told reporters after the game. “He’s a creative guy and he loves the game, and he’s already telling us stuff that he wants us to do and whatnot, so it’s exciting. I think hopefully we can create some and stick together for a while.”

“Every time we’re on the bench, he just wants to get back out there,” Tippett added. “And his excitement is contagious. Obviously, guys kind of feed off it. It’s been fun.”

When Flyers general manager Danny Briere selected Michkov with the seventh-overall pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, he knew patience was going to be key in his development, especially with him having three years left on his KHL contract. After tricky negotiations, SKA St. Petersburg instead let Michkov out of his contract over the summer.

In his final KHL season, Michkov had 19 goals and 41 points in 47 games. He recorded 11 multi-point games and finished the season with five goals and eight points in his last nine games.

It’s been tough to overlook the excitement in the city with many fans already sporting Michkov jerseys and see him as the face of a team looking to get back into the playoff picture.

Head coach John Tortorella has tried to avoid having as much pressure put on Michkov despite all the hype around him.

“It’s not going to be the Mischa show, because I think it’s unfair to him,” Tortorella told reporters. “I’m going to watch that very closely because I want to give him every opportunity to get his feet planted in here and go about it the right way.”

–With files from the Associated Press