Two games into the KHL’s 2023 regular season, Philadelphia Flyers prospect Matvei Michkov has twice found himself made a healthy scratch by SKA St. Petersburg coach Roman Rotenberg. Michkov had been practicing and playing at multiple positions during the preseason, including center, but is yet to make his first KHL appearance of the season.
The general expectation heading into the year was for the Flyers’ future star to make another leap in his development, as SKA are a much better team than HK Sochi: the team he played for on loan last season. Michkov was with SKA last year as well, but played just three games before going on to make appearances for Sochi, SKA-Neva St. Petersburg of the VHL, and Kapitan Stupino of the MHL.
All in all, it is a bit strange to see the 18-year-old ride shotgun to the likes of Vasili Glotov and Pavel Dedunov. Dedunov is 33 years old and has just 72 points in 471 games; good for an awful 0.15 points-per-game. Glotov, a 2016 seventh-round pick by the Buffalo Sabres, is not much better with 62 points across 156 KHL games.
Riding bench to former Flyers prospect Vorobyov
Then, there is also former Flyers prospect Mikhail Vorobyov, who, at the age of 26, is taking away from the development of Michkov. Vorobyov was drafted 104th overall by the Flyers in the 2015 NHL draft, and turned tail back to Russia after an uneventful 35 games in the NHL.
The center, who is a regular for SKA and a favorite of Rotenberg’s, was convicted of evasion of military service via bribery last year after he illegally purchased a false military ID. Since leaving the Flyers, Vorobyov has played four seasons in the KHL, with the last three coming with SKA.
At this time, it remains unlikely that Michkov leaves Russia before his contract expires. The Flyers are already at the heart of the ongoing dispute with Ivan Fedotov, and the terms of Michkov’s release remain the same. SKA and Michkov would either have to mutually agree to a contract termination, or the forward would have to buy himself out of his contract using his own personal money.
It is a very unfortunate situation for Michkov to be in right now, especially with the far inferior aforementioned players getting playing time ahead of him. The KHL is similar to the NHL, and sports leagues around the world, in the regard that bigger, lesser-skilled, coach’s favorites will get playing time at the expense of those earning it based on merit.