In a pivotal season for the Philadelphia Flyers to return to relevancy in the Eastern Conference, it's crucial that Matvei Michkov takes the next step in his development under a new head coach in Rick Tocchet. Will his play ascend in his second season or will it take a step back as we saw with Chicago's Calder-winning Connor Bedard?
It's still unknown what's exactly to be expected from the Russian winger in his second season in the NHL, but let's all hope he has an encouraging spike in production. The Flyers' new head man behind the bench seems to believe Michkov will breakout, as he's over the moon with praise for his talented young playmaker.
Rick Tocchet lauds Matvei Michkov's decision-making ability
For Tocchet, coaching a 20-year-old with the abilities of Mickov has to be like recieving a shiny new toy for Christmas. The former Flyers great showed that he can't wait to show his new toy off with a recent quote regarding one of his "special talents".
Rick Tocchet knows he has something special in Matvei Michkov 🍿
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) August 21, 2025
(via @NHLdotcom) pic.twitter.com/CwBN5yQaa4
Tocchet added how it's difficult to find players of Michkov's caliber in the NHL's Flyers preview, saying "His hands around the net, his ability to make those plays, around the net, those are tough guys to find". That player with the offensive upside has certainly been hard to find for the Flyers over the past couple of rebuilding seasons.
Thinking a few steps ahead of the game is a trait that's obvious when you watch the league's best like Connor McDavid or Nathan MacKinnon. Although Michkov certainly isn't on the otherworldly trajectory of those two, he has a promising rookie season to build off of. In his first 80 games, Michkov posted a 26-goal, 63-point campaign and led all rookies in goals scored.
That showing was good enough to place Michkov fourth in last season's Calder Trophy voting, and hopefully he could use the disappointment of not winning the award as fuel to break out with over 30 goals and 80 points tallied. He's on a Flyers team that still lacks offensive talent around him, but hopefully Tocchet can unlock Trevor Zegras' full potential as a center alongside Michkov.
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