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234 – Michkov Playing Top Line & Luchanko Staying With The Flyers?
The preseason has come to an end and it looks like the Flyers’ opening night roster is set. As we sit right now, we do not know who will exactly fill the team’s final roster spot. Jett Luchanko, Olle Lycksell, Anthony Richard, and Emil Andrae seem to all be in a position to at fill that spot in the early going. However, with the recent update from training camp that Luchanko is the only one with the NHL squad, it seems that at the very least he will be getting his nine game trial from the Flyers. There is some hesitation in putting a guy who just turned 18 in August in the NHL so soon. Especially since he only recently emerged as a top player for his team in the OHL. However, with an extremely mature mindset and an already pro-level playing style, it could work. Time will tell if Luchanko is here for the long run, but he will have to add some points at the NHL level if he is going to prove to management that he is truly ready.
Aside from Luchanko, the main highlight of the young players at camp and probably the highlight of training camp overall, has been the play of Matvei Michkov. If you have been listening to this podcast, you would know that we said he would be a big impact with the squad day one and even had a chance of playing on the top line to start the season. It seems like the coaching staff agrees with that assessment, as Michkov has been placed with top-line players Sean Couturier and Travis Konecny in the final practices before the season. Whether this will stay all season is unclear, however it is clear the Michkov might already be the best offensive talent on the team at just 19 years old. With 3 goals and 4 assists in 4 games in the pre-season, he is currently tied for first in points in the entire NHL during the pre-season. We believe that this kind of performance can continue into the regular season as we expect Michkov to hit anywhere near 60-80 points in his first NHL season. Let’s hope for the city’s sake, that our prediction comes to fruition because it would put the Flyers on the map, not just locally, but throughout the league.
On this episode of Gettin’ Gritty Wit It, Yariv and Vasili go through the results of the preseason and how the team has handled their training camp and early scrimmages. Even though preseason is overvalued when evaluating roster regulars, it is a brilliant opportunity to get a taste of the guys fighting for their NHL future. This season might be the most exciting one of the past two decades as not only is there a top first round pick in Luchanko fighting for a spot and looking to grab it, there is a superstar in the making in Michkov who looks to have already taken the league by storm.
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