With the NHL offseason comes boredom. What better way to cure that boredom well watching your teams top prospects play in the KHL.
The KHL preseason starts bright and earlier, just in the dying months of the summer. With the NHL training camp starting in September and preseason to follow shortly after.
Matvei Michkov and Saint Petersburg of the KHL were the most talked about, with Flyers fans anxiously waiting for three years to magically fade away. Well time slowly ticks away why not enjoy 4 preseason hockey games across the pond. On Tuesday, SKA rapped up their summer hockey against the Russia U23 team and it was anything but a friendly bout.
Matvei Michkov, the Philadelphia Flyers 7th overall pick in 2023, had a solid preseason. Playing all four games at a new position, opening a new window for the already talented 18-year-old. Michkov, had only played one game at Center prior to this year. Nonetheless, he strived under the new role. Giving him more confidence, along with more freedom around the ice.
The 18-year-old Russian played on the second line for SKA, along side some other true talents. 2024 NHL Draft prospect, Ivan Demidov and New Jersey Devils prospect, Arseni Gritsyuk. All three of them stood out whenever they touched the ice, creating something out of nothing, generating most of Saint Petersburg’s offence throughout. In game 1 against Avangard, Matvei Michkov and his linemates wasted no time in showcasing their skills.
A quick play between Matvei Michkov and Ivan Demidov, that leads to Demidov ripping one past the goaltender. Michkov, was able to feed the pass through three Avangard defenders. Giving Ivan Demidov, the ability to walk right in and snipe it top shelf. An attribute of Michkov’s that has gone unnoticed is his ability to create plays from behind the net. He uses it as his own defender, like a pick play in basketball. Giving him time and space between himself and the opposition. In the latter stages of the first period he executes this to a tea, feeding the puck on an angle to Gritsyuk well skating behind the net; drawing the defender away, well Michkov can go undetected behind the play and open back door. Unfortunately, things would die down both offensively and defensively for SKA, allowing Avangard to come back from behind and win 3-2.
Saint Petersburg would meet Avangard against just two days later, hoping for a better result that would not come to fruition. Avangard jumped out to a two to zip start, flipping the script on last game. Michkov, would cut into Avangard’s lead but there was no push back after. Matvei, won a faceoff cleanly and immediately cut into the front of the net, receiving a pass and roofing it.
That would stand as the only goal for Saint Petersburg, as Avangard would score 4 straight. In spite of the lose, Saint Petersburg second line was again a bright spot, building strong chemistry between Demidov and Michkov. Which should be built on more throughout the season if they stay on a line together. The two had multiple of opportunities, just could not get the bounces. Between hitting posts, bodies in front of the net, or just getting straight up beat by the netminder. The effort was still evident though and would progress more in the next two games.
In game 3, Michkov played against the team he was loaned to in the 2022-23 season, Sochi. Repeating the past two games, both Michkov and Demidov were off to hot starts. Both of them had three Sochi players focused on them, opening up a lane for Gritsyuk to score. The focus in this game was the little things, winning board and puck battles, completing passes, breakouts, winning faceoffs. That was clearly the case for Michkov’s game, even showing some broad street bully in him. He won’t take crap from anyone and it showed at times in the game.
Game 4 brought a mix of fatigued, anger, grit, skill, and mental toughness. Anger went on to be a factor for Michkov along with him trying to get his legs under him. He took heavy hit earlier in the first period that shook him up a bit — in that same shift he turned over the puck which resulted in him getting hit but was still able to completed a nice pass that opened up a scoring chance.
It took Michkov till the second period in this contest to find the score sheet. A nice secondary assist on the power play, assisting on yet another Ivan Demidov goal, a kid who should be leading the pack in the 2024 NHL Draft skill and interest wise. Not just for the Flyers.
Michkov, is seen as a goal scorer, his scouting report highlights that pretty strongly which he proves day in day out. Goal scorers like to find new ways to score, for example Trevor Zegras and all though the Michigan has been executed by Zegras and others, it doesn’t stop players from continuing to try it. Which is exactly what happened in the game against Russia. Matvei Michkov, attempted it but just came up short.
Michkov, all though known for his shooting and goal scoring abilities, that was just noted. He did not shoot the puck a lot during the preseason, having 10 shots in 50+ minutes of ice time across 4 games played. Not to mention, he still scored two goals and probably had another six shots that just missed the net or hit iron.
One of the very few concerns from fans, is Michkov’s defence and back check. Against Russia his back check picked up compared to games prior; skating hard, beating out Russia players or coming from behind to swipe the puck off an opponent. All areas that raised concerns, should be squashed or not as worrisome.
Across all four games, Matvei Michkov ended with a total of 5 points, (2 goals, 3 assists), accumulated over 40 shifts, 54:48 minutes of ice time, 10 shots on goal, 13-for-28 on faceoffs, 5 hits, and 1-for-3 in shootouts. His impact may not have shown on the score sheet as much as it did actually in game. Setting up teammates or preventing scoring chances, it’s safe to say Michkov played a complete 200-foot game this past week.
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