Matvei Michkov experienced a bit of a culture shock when he arrived in North America from the KHL last season.
The Philadelphia Flyers’ phenom rookie was forced to adapt to a new style of hockey that prioritizes dump-and-chase forecheck play, something he wasn’t particularly fond of. Michkov recently described his thoughts on what he calls “exhausting” hockey in an on-ice interview translated by Twitter user @Uggg_uggg.
“So you’re supposed to just dump it in, cross the red line, rim it around the boards, and run to fight for it,” Michkov said. “First time I heard that, I was like, ‘What?’ But I was like, ‘Yeah, yeah, sure,’ then I’d hit the ice and still kind of do my own thing. I’m not a fan of dump-and-chase hockey. I’d rather carry the puck in under control, make a clean pass, and enter the zone with possession. If you dump it in, now you’ve gotta go battle for it.
“First off, there’s no guarantee you’re even gonna win that puck back. Second, it’s exhausting hockey. You burn so much energy battling for the puck that you’ve got nothing left for the actual attack. For me, it’s way better to gain the zone with control, keep the puck, and actually set up a solid scoring chance. That’s how I see it.”
Michkov’s comments are reminiscent of what Evgeny Kuznetsov told The Players’ Tribune in 2015 after making the jump from the KHL to the Washington Capitals.
“In my team in KHL, if you dump the puck, coach might put you on bench and you never go out and play hockey again,” Kuznetsov said then. “My first 10 games in NHL, I don’t understand why guys keep dumping puck. I’m looking at coach like, ‘Is he going to say something?’ And he’s like, happy about it. Even Ovi. I see him dump it. I’m looking at him like, ‘What?!'”
Michkov also had to contend with his first-ever NHL head coach being the tough and stubborn John Tortorella. The two clashed several times throughout the season over how Michkov spent his time on the ice, even getting into a mid-game shouting match that led to Michkov being benched for half of a game.
Tortorella was open multiple times about the perceived challenges of coaching Michkov. In a November guest spot on a TNT broadcast, the veteran bench boss explained the rationale behind healthy-scratching Michkov for two games. He also admitted that he mainly had abandoned trying to coach the young winger, partially due to a language barrier.
Despite not loving the new style he was forced to play, Michkov finished a very impressive freshman season with 63 points (26g, 37a) in 80 games, tied for second best among NHL rookies with Macklin Celebrini. He finished fourth in Calder Trophy voting for Rookie of the Year behind Celebrini, goaltender Dustin Wolf, and the leading rookie scorer and winner of the award, Lane Hutson (66 points).
The Flyers fired Tortorella with just nine games remaining in the 2024-25 campaign, replacing him with Rick Tocchet in May. Tocchet is another tough-nosed coach who will likely want Michkov to play more north-south hockey, but has said he believes play styles can be successfully mixed.
“Creativity is great, but if you’re just on the outside spinning your wheels, I don’t think that’s effective,” Tocchet told The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz in June. “You look at Florida, they play straight-line hockey. Is there a hybrid of doing both? Absolutely. We’ve just got to make sure we find that sweet spot.”
The Flyers added another creative offensive player this summer for Michkov to potentially play with, acquiring Trevor Zegras from the Anaheim Ducks. The club is seeking a return to playoff conversation after missing the postseason for five straight seasons.
