Matvei Michkov: A look at the Flyers' top prospect from inside the KHL locker room

It is almost 32 years to the day that the Russian tricolor flag was first raised over the Kremlin. Christmas Day 1991 marked the dawn of a new era for the largest nation on earth, as the Hammer and Sickle flag was lowered for the final time, and a new Russia emerged.In the coming months, many of the institutions synonymous with the Soviet Union were dismantled, dissolved, or forced to evolve. And from a sporting perspective, nothing represented the Soviet Union and its might more than the “Red Machine."

Making its debut in 1954, the Red Army Team asserted its dominance for the next 37 years: 22 World Championship victories in 34 appearances, seven Olympic gold medals in nine attempts, 73...