Philadelphia Flyers super-prospect, Matvei Michkov, is reportedly attempting to transition from the wing to the centre position this season in a joint decision made by the player and his head coach, Roman Rotenberg, according to Hockey News Hub.
The Flyers’ 7th overall selection in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft has brought about a lot buzz since draft night – you can go back to the offseason for when things got really spicy with Michkov – and the highlights from his first preseason game are just tantalizing.
The 18-year-old split time in the VHL and KHL last year playing 12 games for SKA-Neva St. Petersburg where he scored 10 goals and 14 points, and then added another 9 goals and 20 points in just 27 games in the KHL with HK Sochi. He also appeared in 5 playoff games in the MHL for Kapitan Stupino and added 4 goals and 7 points.
Michkov was rewarded with the primary assist on the game’s opening goal after he set up 2024 draft-eligible Ivan Demidov with a laser of a pass before Demidov roofed one upstairs on the goaltender.
5 minutes later, for whatever reason, Michkov was left unattended at the side of the net on a power play and scored a tap-in of a goal to give St. Petersburg at 2-0 lead.
It has nothing to do with playing the centre position but just for fun, Michkov scored a silky-smooth shootout goal, something the Flyers desperately need being one of the worst shootout teams in NHL history. They are ranked 29th in the league with a 56-97 record and trail the Carolina Hurricanes (121 shootouts), Vegas Golden Knights (37), and Seattle Kraken (8).
Michkov’s transition to the centre position is something he is looking forward to, citing that he enjoyed it in the one instance he played down the middle with Sochi last year. He also mentioned that that he has been studying up on how to play the position by watching Sidney Crosby – a generational talent as we all know, but Crosby also has a 52.7% career faceoff winning percentage, a 59.9 CF%, and a 60.1 FF%.
His linemate in Ivan Demidov is ranked in the top-3 heading into the 2024 NHL Entry Draft alongside Macklin Celebrini and Cole Eiserman. The Flyers aren’t expected to contend, let alone even be in the middle of the pack this year, so there’s a good chance they fall within the range to draft the talented Russian right-winger to pair up with Michkov for years to come. They’ve already showed great chemistry and it’s only been one preseason game.
The Flyers are a little bereft with talent up the middle as Cutter Gauthier was initially drafted as a winger, but he told scouts and teams before the draft that he would be trying to make the transition, which helped his draft stock considerably. Gauthier’s hard work has seemingly paid off so far and if Michkov can be as successful – or more – the Flyers have hit the jackpot with their successive first round picks.
Michkov himself has been excited ever since being drafted by the Flyers, and not only has he improved the Flyers pipeline and depth but the rest of the league has taken noticed as they were recently tanked in the top-10 by the NHL Network. Michkov was also ranked as the second best prospect by The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler with Cutter Gauthier coming in at 13th.
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