Matvei Michkov had a good rookie season, but according to him he did not, “There are moments in the season, I could have scored more. I’m not happy with my result.”
Michkov finished the season with the most goals by a rookie with 26. He also had 37 assists for a total of 63 points, so it’s kind of shocking to some he would be disappointed in his rookie campaign.
For his efforts, Michkov’s rookie season was shaped like this:
26 goals 37 assists 63 points
3 Game Winning Goals
8 Power Play Goals
3 Overtime Winners
19 Multi-Point games
7 Multi-Goal games
Through all the benchings, a language barrier he’s a franchise, superstar type player
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“I was shocked at how well prepared he was for his meeting, and what he wanted to do this Summer,” Flyers’ General Manager Danny Briere said of Matvei Michkov following his exit interview with him. “He’s looked around the league at players, and why they have success. He was telling me all the things that he learned this year, and I was amazed.”
The patience is paying off, and it really fueled Michkov’s overall success on the ice. He doesn’t have to be afraid to make a mistake, It’s just easier to adapt to the game knowing this. Is there stuff to work on? Sure, there always is, and Michkov will continue to work on his craft. But, It’s just nice knowing that he doesn’t have to play mistake free hockey, especially since he’s trying to make a play, more often than not.
Michkov plans to go to Russia for the summer and rest. He started logging a ton of minutes down the stretch, and he said that made him comfortable, “I don’t like to play less minutes. If I play more, I feel comfortable.”
He even spoke of his former Head Coach John Tortorella yesterday at his exit interview, “John taught me a lot. I think he was one of my best coaches.”
In the end, the Flyers couldn’t have scripted Michkov’s play and transition in North America any better. Now he will train, train, train in the offseason for the upcoming season.
