Flyers Rookie Games: Michkov Set to Debut on Friday

On the first day of rookie camp, a line waited outside of the Flyers Training Center before the group of prospects took the ice. With all due respect to the other 26 hopefuls on the rookie camp roster, most were there to see one player in particular.

Matvei Michkov’s first day on the ice in a Flyers uniform drew a crowd on Thursday.

“I’m not surprised though,” Ian Laperriere said. “I know this town. I’ve been here for 15 years. When people get excited about players and the direction the team’s going, what [Keith Jones] and Danny [Briere] are doing. I think everybody’s excited. I think it’s a great sign. It’s a great town. I’m glad they’re excited. I’m excited too.”

Laperriere, the head coach of the Flyers AHL affiliate in Lehigh Valley, is running rookie camp once again, and has a mix of players he coached in the minors last season, and prospects like Michkov. Before the first day of on-ice work was completed, the Flyers had already announced Michkov’s debut was on the horizon.

Michkov will play in Friday night’s game to open a back-to-back rookie game series this weekend at PPL Center in Allentown, PA. The belief is that Michkov will only play in one of the two games. The 19-year-old top prospect is ready to get into game action.

“It’s my first game in a Flyers jersey, so I’m a little bit nervous, but by the time warm-ups are over, it should be all gone,” Michkov said through translator Max Kuznetsov. “Most important to be confident in yourself and in your teammates and everything else will be resolved.”

The anticipation around Michkov is obviously high, given the crowd waiting to welcome the newest Flyer. Michkov, who continues to work on his English and answered a few questions with brief responses without translation, called it “unbelievable.”

“Words can’t even describe it,” Michkov said.

Thursday’s on-ice session marked the first time Laperriere got to see Michkov live. He noted the excitement level surrounding camp with Michkov’s presence and how impressive the 19-year-old was to start camp.

“I’m excited to see him. I know you guys are,” Laperriere said. “Everybody behind those doors are pumped. From what I saw today, there’s a reason to be excited. A lot of skill, a lot of intensity. He doesn’t speak much English, but you can tell he wants to be a difference-maker. I know it’s one practice, but I’m impressed.”

Laperriere noted that with high expectations for Michkov, it’s important to remember the development aspect of a 19-year-old entering the NHL. While the skills are there, growing pains will also be a part of development.

“Everybody’s got so much expectation on the kid, it’s a different league,” Laperriere said. “The NHL is the NHL. Rookie camp is rookie camp. He’s going to be great, he’s going to be fine, but my point is it’s going to take time maybe. I don’t care who you are, you don’t jump into the NHL and dominate. It’s the best league in the world for a reason.”

Laperriere expressed his belief in both Michkov’s abilities and having the right coaching staff around him to develop him into the player that the team hopes can be a cornerstone.

“He’s 19 years old. To be that young and that skilled, he’s got a bright future in front of him, and he’s got the right coaching staff to teach him how to be a pro,” Laperriere said. “It’s one thing to dominate wherever he was last year in the KHL, but to come at this level, you need more than just flair or nice little hands or plays that he makes. There’s a full game around it.

“For sure he’s going to have ups and downs, but when you’re skilled like that, you have more ups than downs.”

Michkov’s skill set and competitive nature was noticeable to other players. Jett Luchanko, the Flyers 2024 first-round pick, was paired up with Michkov and is expected to play on the same line as Michkov in Friday’s game.

“It was my first time being out there with him. Obviously, he’s an unbelievable player,” Luchanko said. “It’s really cool to share the ice with him. I’m excited to hopefully do that as much as I can moving forward and I’m excited to play with him tomorrow as well.”

On the other side of most drills, defenseman Emil Andrae enjoyed the competitiveness that Michkov brings to his play, even in the opening practice of rookie camp.

“He looks really good. I saw he’s very competitive and I like that,” Andrae said. “I’m also competitive and I like players that are competitive. We’re rookie guys out there trying to improve things and I really see that he’s competitive.”

There’s still plenty of road left in rookie camp, with games the next two days and three more practice days to follow. Usually this is a time for Laperriere to see if any player appears on the verge of graduating from the AHL ranks and taking the next step. It’s a step that Michkov is expected to skip, given his exceptional skill and talent. Laperriere is willing to be on that.

“I won’t coach Michkov, I can tell you that right now,” Laperriere said. “I’ll put money on that.”

The Flyers roster for Friday’s rookie game against the Rangers is below:

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