It’s been just over a month since Ivan Fedotov made the surprising move to North America, which was soon followed by Alexei Kolosov’s arrival. Getting those two over were huge wins for Danny Briere and the Flyers. Recent reports suggest this isn’t the last Russian (or Belarusian) to make their way to Philly.
A report today from Match TV’s site, a Russian sports channel, suggests Matvey Michkov may be coming to Philly this summer. Alexander Medvedev, SKA’s chairman, was recently interviewed and gave some very interesting responses revolving around Matvey Michkov.
Of course, Michkov was drafted last summer, 7th overall, becoming Briere’s first draft selection. Flyers fans knew the wait could be as long as three years, maybe only two, but one year was not looking realistic. However, it doesn’t look that far off.
Getting into the article, it’s pretty straightforward in its approach, and just remember it’s going to look wonky having to use Google translate for the page, but the general gist is still there. Medvedev states they’re looking over all options regarding Michkov and where he plays the 2024-25 season. He says “it’s better to leave like Ovechkin or Panarin” and said that if Michkov is ready to be a regular in the Flyers lineup, which looks to be the case, he should go over. He also brought up a change of scenery from Moscow and Sochi could help, especially still being so soon after his father’s death.
Medvedev explained that unlike the situation with Fedotov, the Flyers and SKA have been in regular contact and the Flyers have made it known they would love to have Michkov over ASAP. Like previously mentioned, they want him to be in the NHL, not the AHL, so they would really like a clause or agreement that he will come back to Russia if he’s unable to make the Flyers’ roster. Medvedev did also say that Philly has made it known they have no intention of committing any violations of his rights.
The final question to Medvedev pertained to the possibility of having a clause letting him go back to Russia. Medvedev says that could be possible and explained that there are Russian players who go over and don’t get the playing time they thought before returning to Russia and they don’t want that to happen to Matvey. He reiterated the good relationship between SKA and Philly and explained that they will talk to Michkov and the Flyers front office. The article ends with Medvedev saying that a decision on Michkov will likely be no later than the end of June.
SKA holds all the cards. Medvedev explains in the article that he (Michkov) still has two years left on his KHL deal, a fact all fans begrudgingly know. However, there seems to be a rift between Michkov and SKA head coach Roman Rotenberg. Michkov was left off the Russian 25 roster for the Liga Stavok Big National Team Tour, which is coached by Rotenberg. The relationship seemed tense since the start of this past KHL season when Rotenberg didn’t seem to want to give Michkov a chance on SKA before loaning him to Sochi again. I still want to say to temper your expectations, but at the very least this is a very good sign. We have confirmation from SKA that their relationship with Philly is good and that they don’t plan on getting in the way of Michkov’s NHL dreams. So, even if Michkov doesn’t come over this summer, next summer seems, in my opinion, very likely. At the very least it all but confirms that Michkov will be a member of the Flyers for opening night in October 2026 at the latest. Updates to come as they happen.
By Noah Caplan (@Phlyers24)
Photo creds: Philadelphia Inquirer
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