Dan Hilferty, chairman of the Flyers’ parent company, Comcast Spectacor, smiles broadly when talking about right winger Matvei Michkov, the dynamic prospect who figures to make his NHL debut in less than three months.
In all honesty, when the Flyers drafted Michkov last year, they figured he wouldn’t play for the Orange and Black until 2026-27 because of his three-year contract in Russia’s KHL.
But Michkov, 19,was released from his contract for “humanitarian reasons,” and the Philadelphia Flyers hope their rebuild is now ahead of schedule.
“Torts likes to say we’re going to do this the right way,” Hilferty said last week, referring to head coach John Tortorella. “And we’ve been trying to do that. We’ve been thoughtful about draft picks, thoughtful about developing young players. You throw Michkov into that mix (and it’s progress). When we drafted him last year in Nashville, we assumed it would be a three-year wait.”
That was before SKA St. Petersburg generously allowed him out of his contract last month. Michkov wanted to go to the NHL, and his KHL team, knowing Michkov’s father, Andrey, died unexpected last year, felt the young man deserved a break. According to Matvei Michkov, his father, who died at 51, couldn’t wait to watch him reach the NHL.
‘Humanitarian Reasons’ for Release
“For humanitarian reasons, they decided to release him, and we’re excited about that,” Hilferty said. “He joins a crop of real exciting young players — Tyson Foerster, Cam York, Joel Farabee, Jamie Drysdale and others, so it’s exciting to add another really great young player to the mix.”
Hilferty didn’t want to speculate on what would be a good season for Michkov.
“As I’ve said before, I’m a fan. It’s hard for me to gauge,” Hilferty said. “If Jonsesy (club president Keith Jones) was standing here, he’d say he’d like to see X number of goals. We’d like to see him fit into the locker room. I would just say, for me, (we want him to) be part of the team concept. It’ not only as a player, but he’s moving to a whole new country and a whole new language and adapting and making this his long-term home.”
Farabee has watched video highlights of Michkov and heard glowing reports from some Russian players about the right winger’s talent. “It seems like he really controls the play down low and can make a lot of plays from behind the net,” said Farabee, who figures to be Michkov’s linemate at some point in the season. “We’re really looking forward to having him and hopefully he can help our power play.”
The Philadelphia Flyers should have made the playoffs last season as they surprisingly over-performed for most of the year. But a late eight-game losing streak, and their abysmal power play, cost them a spot.
Goal for Season?
Is the goal to make the playoffs in 2024-25?
“I think it’s more about taking positive steps,” Hilferty said, “and seeing these young players continue to develop. … It’s about maximizing the potential of each individual guy. Hopefully that leads to the playoffs, but the big thing is successfully moving this team in the right direction.”
Without goaltender Carter Hart, there are questions at the game’s most important position. Sam Ersson and Ivan Fedotov will try to replace Hart, but there are no guarantees that will happen.
Other than signing Michkov, the cap-strapped Flyers didn’t do much in the offseason.
“Not a lot of moves were made in terms of new players,” said Drysdale, a promising 22-year-old defenseman whose 2023-24 season was slowed by injuries. For the defense, his development is the biggest key to the upcoming season. “But we have a great group in that locker room. I found that out from the first day I was there. It’s exciting.”
