Flyers’ Matvei Michkov is named to the NHL All-Rookie team

Although Matvei Michkov may have finished fourth in Calder Trophy voting, he has earned some hardware after an impressive rookie season.

The Flyers winger was one of the three forwards named to the NHL All-Rookie team, alongside Macklin Celebrini of the San Jose Sharks and former Flyers draft pick Cutter Gauthier of the Anaheim Ducks.

Calgary Flames goalie Dustin Wolf and defensemen Lane Hutson (Montreal Canadiens) and Denton Mateychuk (Columbus Blue Jackets) rounded out the selections as voted by the Professional Hockey Writers Association. Wolf, Celebrini, and Hutson, who won the Calder Trophy two days ago as the NHL’s top rookie, were unanimous selections.

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Michkov was one point shy of being a unanimous selection. The only difference on this reporter’s ballot was that Celebrini’s teammate Will Smith, who finished 19 voting points behind Gauthier, was ranked third behind Michkov and Celebrini.

Sporting No. 39, Michkov led the Flyers — and all NHL rookies — with 26 goals and finished second on the team with 63 points, which also tied Celebrini for second among rookies. The duo finished three points behind Hutson, the rookie leader.

The Flyers star led all rookies in overtime goals, with each of his three winners coming before he turned 20 on Dec. 9. It tied Sidney Crosby, Ilya Kovalchuk, and Rick Nash for the most by a teenager in NHL history.

“I’ve been around a few superstars, and he’s got that mindset,” general manager Danny Brière said in April. “He came in [to our end-of-season meeting], he has a detailed plan of all the things he wants to do. I was actually shocked by how prepared he was for his meeting, and he knew exactly what he needed to do and how he wants to conduct himself.

“He’s a special athlete and person. Extremely intelligent. He’s got a different mind. It’s part of the reason that makes him who he is. There’s something special around him, just his approach. … I left the meeting laughing to myself like, ‘Well, if he accomplishes half the things he has on his list to do, we’re in really good shape.’”

Michkov also tied Celebrini for the most power-play goals (eight), had the third-most power-play points (17), and finished No. 1 among rookies in even-strength points (46). His even-strength points total is the most impressive, considering his first NHL goal came with the man advantage against Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers on Oct. 15, and he didn’t score an even-strength point until his sixth game and an even-strength goal until his eighth.

Selected seventh overall in 2023, Michkov was the first Flyers rookie to score more than 60 points since Mikael Renberg potted 82 in 1993-94, and the ninth all-time. Despite his success, he said at his end-of-season chat with the media through a team translator: “I could have scored more, not happy with my result.”

The Russian, who came over two years earlier than expected from the Kontinental Hockey League, was named the Rookie of the Month in October and February; his selection in October was the first by a Flyer since James van Riemsdyk in November 2009.

He is the 11th Flyer and fourth forward in team history to be named to the All-Rookie Team, joining goalies Brian Boucher, Ron Hextall, and Pelle Lindbergh, defensemen Shayne Gostisbehere, Joni Pitkänen, Janne Niinimaa, Chris Therien, and Thomas Eriksson, and forwards Simon Gagne, Renberg, and Eric Lindros.

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“[Michkov]’s probably the one guy that I’ve played with in my career that wants to be the best player in the NHL,” winger Travis Konecny said. “He believes that he can be, and you can’t teach that. That’s just something that he wants and he believes in, and that’s a powerful thing.”

The NHL also announced on Thursday that Connor Hellebuyck won the Vezina Trophy, as the league’s top goalie, and the Hart Trophy as the NHL’s MVP. Hellebuyck, who tends the net for the Winnipeg Jets and is one of the top American goalies in the game, is the fourth netminder to win the Hart Trophy in the expansion era, joining Dominik Hašek (twice), José Théodore, and Carey Price.

Hellebuyck went 47-12-3 with a 2.00 goals-against average, .925 save percentage, and eight shutouts. He also repeated as the winner of the Vezina after winning the second of his career last season. He joins Hašek, Martin Brodeur, and Patrick Roy as the only three-plus-time winners since 1982.

The netminder was also named to the NHL’s First All-Star team alongside forwards Kyle Connor of the Jets, Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche, and Nikita Kucherov of the Tampa Bay Lightning and defensemen Cale Makar of the Avalanche, and Zach Werenski of the Blue Jackets. Lightning forward Brandon Hagel, defenseman Victor Hedman, and goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy and forwards Leon Draisaitl of the Edmonton Oilers, David Pastrňák of the Boston Bruins, and Vancouver Canucks defenseman Quinn Hughes were named to the Second All-Star team.

Members of the PHWA vote for the All-Star teams and Hart Trophy, and NHL general managers vote on the Vezina.