Matvei Michkov has only been in North America for a matter of days, but the young Russian phenom is already saying all the right things as he prepares for his first National Hockey League campaign in 2024-25.
After touching down at JFK airport in New York earlier this week, the 19-year-old was introduced in a press conference along with general manager Danny Briere and president of hockey operations Keith Jones in Philadelphia on Wednesday. And Michkov is already focused on having success with the team that selected him No. 7 overall in the 2023 NHL Draft.
“The main idea always is to win,” Michkov said through a translator at Philadelphia's practice facility, per NHL.com's Adam Kimelman. “I'm here to help the team to win. Just to play my style and I'm here to win.”
The youngster added: “The first plan is for the team to make the playoffs. Help the team win night after night so the fans can be coming and enjoying the games more and more.”
Michkov has already proved he can play with men, putting up a phenomenal 41 points in 47 games on loan with HC Sochi in the Kontinental Hockey League last year. And although the KHL and NHL are certainly two very different leagues, there's a lot of hope in Pennsylvania that this kid can help the Flyers return to the playoffs for the first time since 2020.
Matvei Michkov should help Flyers in quest to return to postseason
“We don't see him as a savior,” Briere admitted on Wednesday, per Kimelman. “That's certainly not what we're putting on his shoulders. He's 19 years old, he's coming in to learn, to expand his game. We hope that the sky's the limit for him, but we're certainly not expecting him to be the savior of this team. We're building a team that's going to have many pieces to work together. And we're hoping that he becomes one of them.”
Regardless, after scoring more points than any under-20 player in the KHL last year, Michkov should greatly benefit a team that scored just 2.82 goals per game in 2023-24 — good enough for 27th in the league. The Flyers collapsed at the end of the campaign after holding onto a Metropolitan Division playoff spot for most of it, losing nine of their last 11 games to fall out of a playoff spot at the last.
But with Michkov injected into the top-six and first powerplay unit, along with a plethora of other young talent, there's belief in the city that the Flyers can challenge for a postseason spot again come next April.
After the final two seasons of his KHL contract were terminated, Michkov signed his three-year, entry-level deal with Philly on July 1, and instead of 2026, he's going to be a factor for this team right away.
“The process was long, but I was not involved in it, it was between SKA and the Flyers,” said the future of the franchise. “My main thing was getting ready for coming over and playing here. I'm very happy to be here.”
It'll be intriguing to see how the rookie performs in his first NHL season, and if he can live up to sky-high expectations that have him pencilled in to compete for the Calder Trophy in 2024-25.
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