- The Flyers are watching Matvei Michkov’s summer training more closely after a down second season
- Michkov has been skating in Russia alongside Artemi Panarin, Mikhail Sergachev and a group of NHL regulars
- Read below for what Kevin Kurz reported about Philly’s plan and when Michkov gets back
The Flyers aren’t leaving Matvei Michkov’s offseason to chance this time.
Kevin Kurz of The Athletic reported Monday that Philadelphia is keeping a much closer eye on their young winger’s summer training, even sending a strength and conditioning coach he trusts over to Russia for a few weeks.
Here’s Kurz laying out the plan:
The extra attention tracks after the year Michkov just had. He piled up 26 goals and 63 points as a rookie under John Tortorella and Brad Shaw, then slipped to 20 goals and 51 points last season under first-year coach Rick Tocchet, with his conditioning taking heat along the way.
Michkov didn’t hide from it either. He ripped his own fitness after the season and promised to show up in better shape.
The footage coming out of Russia backs that up. He’s been skating with a loaded group this month, including Panarin, Sergachev, Andrei Kuzmenko, Vasili Podkolzin, Ilya Lyubushkin and Marat Khusnutdinov, under trainer Dmitry Yashankin.
Earlier he was running drills at Molot’s new arena in Perm, where management handed him full locker room access and all the ice time he wanted.
Watch Michkov cut through the cones:
He isn’t rushing back across the ocean. Michkov is set to play in the Match of the Year in St. Petersburg on July 25, and the Flyers expect him in Voorhees sometime in early August.
The stakes are real. Michkov is heading into the final year of his entry-level deal, and a bounce-back season would line up a huge payday. Philadelphia already knows what he can do when he’s right.
