A lighter Matvei Michkov flashes improved English and speed on Day 1 of Flyers training camp: ‘He’s put in the work’
Michkov's first day of training camp was night and day compared to last year, while his summer work earned praise from his coach and several teammates.
Matvei Michkov walked into the press room at the Flyers Training Center in Voorhees on Thursday after the first day of training camp, and you could quickly see there was a lightness to him. Not just because, as he said in a recent interview in Russian, he’s lost around 29 pounds since last year’s training camp.
For the first time since arriving in North America in the summer of 2024, Michkov sat in front of the media for a press conference, taking and answering questions in English. Only once or twice did he look to Slava Kuznetsov, the team’s translator, for clarification in Russian or to find the right word to use in English.
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“I know now a little bit better English,” he said about his comfort level. “My first years so hard for me; I stay in Philly [with] zero level [of] English, second year a little bit better, [and] now a little more better.
“This is my first interview [in] only English. This is hard for me, guys. Sorry. And yeah, I feel much better now. I think Philly, this is my second home.”
The 21-year-old winger’s maturity and comfort level have skyrocketed not just with conveying his thoughts to the media, but with his coaching staff and teammates. Alternate captain Travis Konecny noted it will make it easier to communicate this season, especially on the bench during the heat of battle.
With that, the hope is it will all translate to a rebound year for Michkov.
Despite an impressive first season that saw him tie for second in rookie scoring with 63 points, finish fourth in Calder Trophy voting, and named to the NHL’s All-Rookie Team, Michkov followed it up with 20 goals and 51 points in 81 regular-season games in Year 2. Not terrible, but he was scratched in the playoffs as he struggled with the pace and finished with just one assist in eight postseason contests.
After arriving last year out of shape and ill-prepared for the season, he spent this summer working out and having fun — “50-50,” he said — while dropping a significant amount of weight and getting leaner. He was invited to work out with fellow Russian NHLers like Artemi Panarin and Mikhail Sergachev, which he called a good experience, and had Flyers performance development coach Lorne Goldenberg come to Russia to push him further for two weeks.
“I feel right now, lighter. I [am] lighter right now on the ice and [have] more speed,” he said. “Every skill, more speed, better skills. … I eat right now just good food, no fast food, no sugar — little bit maybe [on a] day off; I like chocolate, but just days off.
“And this is hard work too. This is hard work, not only on the ice but [in] life too. … I want to play better for [the] team, for Flyers, but my first option is the team. I need to support everybody who plays [for] the Flyers.”
It may have been Day 1 of training camp, but coach Rick Tocchet noticed a quickness and added strength in Michkov’s skating. Tocchet liked how Michkov was pushing the pace during his set of laps, which each group did at the end of their second on-ice session of the day in Voorhees. “When guys start getting tired, their stride gets choppier, and his was still long; that’s a good sign,” Tocchet said.
Michkov also showed the rewards of the work he put in to strengthen his shot.
“Every practice I work on my hands, one-timers,” he said. “But I think this is my little problem; I need harder [shot] on one-timer, and this is plus [to] score for me. This is a good situation. … Tocc talk to me, you need to work on one-timers, and I work on one-timers all summer. And I think now, I [am] feeling better.”
Skating on a line with Denver Barkey and free-agent signee Zach Aston-Reese, Michkov was moving well and getting to the net, firing a shot past Dan Vladař at one point. Tocchet thought the two youngsters, Barkey and Michkov — who had chemistry last season when paired up as wingers — were “buzzing” and showed how much they had grasped the concepts the staff had preached.
And Michkov showed some feistiness at one point when he and fellow 2023 first-round draft pick, defenseman Oliver Bonk, got into a pretty good shoving match at the far end of the rink.
“Well, you can definitely tell he’s put in the work. He’s put in sacrifices, and he looks in good shape,” captain Sean Couturier said. “He’s skating well out there, making plays, so it’s exciting to see.
“He’s always been a big part of our team, so we expect that out of him, and he seems to want more. So that’s encouraging, and it’s fun to see.”
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