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VOORHEES — Day 1 of 2024 Philadelphia Flyers Rookie Camp could have been accurately renamed Matvei Michkov Day.
While 25 prospects hit the ice today at the Flyers Training Center, it was the debut of the 2023 seventh overall pick that inspired around 300 fans to trek to Voorhees, New Jersey on a Thursday morning in September — the chance to see the team’s top prospect and best hope at a homegrown superstar in decades.
They didn’t come away disappointed.
Michkov showcases skill, early command of English
By the second question on his first day of rookie camp, Michkov was already comfortable enough to be cracking jokes.
“Tough questions,” he deadpanned after two softball queries.
The answer didn’t come through his translator, Max Kouznetsov, either. It was spoken by Michkov himself, in clean English.
After just two months in North America working with a tutor, Michkov is already gaining confidence in an unfamiliar language. Unsurprisingly, it doesn’t look like it’s going to take even that long for Michkov to become comfortable in North America at his natural discipline: hockey.
“Very skilled, a lot of intensity,” Lehigh Valley Phantoms head coach Ian Laperriere said regarding Michkov after the day’s session came to an end. “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.”
Michkov wasn’t a highlight-reel-a-minute machine in his first formal on-ice practice wearing a Philadelphia Flyers uniform. But he certainly had his moments, many of which rapidly made their way onto social media platforms as media members and fans excitedly raced to share the videos with the world.
He set up regular linemate (and 2024 first round pick) Jett Luchanko with a subtle little pokecheck pass to spring him for a goal, and snapped a couple of his own home via feeds from Luchanko. He showed off his dangles in end-of-practice shootout runs. And he even attempted a “Michigan” lacrosse-style goal — a favorite of high-skilled young forwards — though fellow top prospect Oliver Bonk was there to reject it.
The consensus from his coaches and his peers? Michkov brought a combination of talent and hyper-competitiveness to the start of rookie camp — just as the Flyers’ brass surely hoped he would.
“Well, quick hands,” Laperriere noted when asked what stood out most in watching the 19-year old Russian winger. “We saw that on video. It’s the same thing, but when you see it live, it’s even more impressive.”
“Especially I saw he’s very competitive, and I like that. That’s me. I’m also competitive, and I like players that (are) competitive,” Emil Andrae noted.
So do Philadelphia fans. While the Flyers Training Center wasn’t exactly wall-to-wall packed, excited locals starting lining up outside an hour before practice was set to start, many wearing newly-purchased Michkov jerseys to show their support for the player they hope will drag their beloved team out of its decade-plus long malaise.
“It’s an unbelievable feeling, words can’t even describe it,” Michkov said through his translator when asked if he noticed the fans in the building clearly there to see him.
Michkov will be in uniform for the Flyers’ first rookie game this weekend on Friday against the New York Rangers’ youngsters at the PPL Center in Allentown, the team confirmed this afternoon. The hype and excitement, in other words, will be given the opportunity to swell even further tomorrow, with Michkov expected to be deployed on a line with Luchanko and Elliot Desnoyers, two other top-10 prospects in the organization.
And if Michkov attacks Friday’s rookie game with the same fervor as he seemingly has his English language studies over the past two months, traveling fans will be in for a show.
Andrae an early standout
The spotlight may have shone brightest on Michkov during Day 1 of camp. But while Michkov surely wants to impress both his newly devoted fans and the organization at large, he knows that his place in the 2024-25 Flyers lineup is essentially locked in. For other notable prospects at camp, however, this is their opportunity to make an opening case as to why they should join Michkov on the opening night roster.
Out of all of the non-Michkov prospects, it appears defenseman Emil Andrae made the biggest positive impression thus far.
“Andy looked like he lost a little bit of weight and put a little bit more muscle on,” Laperriere pointed out. “It shows on the ice.”
When Andrae did not return to the Philadelphia area this summer for development camp, instead choosing to stay home and train, there were scattered grumbles within the organization. Those complaints quickly ceased when Andrae returned for the start of camp, however, and it became abundantly clear that he had not at all slacked off over the summer.
“I’m proud of them,” Laperriere said regarding Andrae and fellow European prospect Samu Tuomaala. “Because after your first year (of) pro, a lot of kids are like, ‘Yeah, I figured it out.’ They went home and they didn’t think like that. They went home and put the work in.”
Instead of training with HV71, his old SHL club, Andrae worked with a private personal trainer, with a heavy emphasis upon explosive plyometrics meant to improve his quickness.
According to Laperriere, it worked, to the point where Andrae was the first player he mentioned when asked who at the camp (other than Michkov) is close to NHL-readiness.
“Well, Andy, with the work he put in this summer,” Laperriere said. “He played four for the Flyers (last season), and he wants to be here.”
Andrae did indeed make the big club out of camp last season, earning the respect of Flyers head coach John Tortorella in camp due to his puck-moving skills and innate aggressiveness. But the pace of play at the NHL level proved too much for Andrae, and he was sent down after a pep talk from Torts that impressed upon him the importance of playing lots of minutes in the AHL for developmental purposes.
So Andrae has fans in both of the organization’s head coaches. Unfortunately for the 22-year old defenseman, however, the competition for spots on the Flyers blueline will be fierce in camp, with seven players possessing significant NHL experience (Cam York, Travis Sanheim, Nick Seeler, Jamie Drysdale, Rasmus Ristolainen, Egor Zamula and Erik Johnson) all essentially penciled in for roster spots. There just might not be room for Andrae to make it, even if he builds off his impressive start to rookie camp.
That’s OK with Andrae.
“I’m just trying to do my best and be as good as I can, and then it’s up to the coaches what the roster is going to look like,” he said. “I’m going to be competitive, I’m going to do everything I can to prove (to) them that I want to be up there. So if there’s an opening in the roster during during the season or (here) in the beginning, I’m going to do my best to be the player that they want to bring up.”
McDonald’s intensity
Michkov wasn’t the only one to bring an added dose of competitiveness to Day 1 of camp. Towering defenseman Hunter McDonald — a darkhorse candidate for an NHL roster spot — showed exactly why the Flyers are much higher on him than his underwhelming collegiate statistics would imply.
Simply put, McDonald is mean.
“He brings that intensity,” Laperriere said. “He’s in your face. He’s physical. He put weight on this summer. He looks great. That’s his role, and that’s why he was intense today. I didn’t talk Torts yet, but I’m sure he really enjoyed that.”
McDonald battled with a number of fellow attendees during the 90-ish minute session, and never hesitated to finish a check or rough up an unsuspecting forward. McDonald’s most fierce confrontation came with Phantoms forward Jacob Gaucher, another 6’4 beast. The two traded hits, slashes, and even punches for a good 15 seconds as they fought for the space in front of the crease.
Michkov’s competitive fire and McDonald’s “keep your head up, kid” approach may be very different in style, but both serve to up the overall intensity of what in past years has appeared to be something of a friendly camp atmosphere.
Laperriere, for his part, loves it.
“I’m sure when you do have a guy like that, Michkov, and even McDonald in camp, for those veterans, it’s just shows where the organization is going and how exciting it is. It brings the intensity up, with the skill level and the intensity,” he said. “I’m sure those guys are gonna (bring it) next week.”
Notable absences
Alexei Kolosov did not appear in Voorhees on Thursday, but that was expected, given the current standoff between prospect and organization regarding his future.
The absences of Denver Barkey and Carter Sotheran, however, did come as surprises.
Barkey sat out the first day of on-ice sessions due to illness, specifically mononucleosis, which he caught over the summer. It’s possible that Barkey could participate in camp at some point, but at least for now, the Flyers are playing it safe to ensure that he avoids any complications and makes a full recovery.
As for Sotheran, he explained on Thursday that he suffers from Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome; a heart condition leads to irregular and often accelerated heartbeats. Sotheran was diagnosed with the condition four years ago, and has largely been able to keep it under control via medications, but he experienced an episode recently and the Flyers chose to keep him off the ice today as a result.
The hope, Sotheran noted, is that he’ll still be able to participate in the weekend’s rookie games, though his status remains up-in-the-air.
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