Training: The Flyers Are Keeping a Closer Eye on Matvei Michkov This Summer

Félix Forget
Training: The Flyers Are Keeping a Closer Eye on Matvei Michkov This Summer
Credit: Richard T Gagnon/Getty Images

The 2025-26 season wasn't particularly easy for Matvei Michkov. The young Russian scored 20 goals and 51 points… but that was a lower total than in his rookie year.

And in the playoffs, he was even benched by the Flyers.

And over the past few months, there's been a lot of talk about his physical condition. Rick Tocchet took some of the blame off him, stating that the player didn't arrive at training camp in shape.

That's why it's interesting to read, in an article by Kevin Kurz (The Athletic), that the Flyers are keeping a closer eye on his summer training this year. The team is limited in what it can do due to the collective bargaining agreement, but it's making use of the options available to it.

For example, a strength and conditioning coach familiar to the Flyers—and with whom Michkov is comfortable working—visited the young player for a few weeks in Russia.

Kurz rightly points out that the upcoming season will be pivotal for Michkov and the Flyers. The young player is entering the final year of his entry-level contract… and he'll need to prove he's capable of taking his game to the next level as he looks ahead to the future.

The team is looking to turn a corner: it can't afford another year in which Michkov becomes a distraction, as has been the case over the past few months.

The Flyers intend, as the reporter notes, to try to better integrate Michkov into their locker room next year. Because clearly, that wasn't (enough?) the case in 2025–26.

So it feels, more than ever, like we're reaching a turning point in the relationship between Michkov and the Flyers. We'll have to wait and see how things play out for a player who, let's not forget, could be eligible to sign a hostile offer in a year…


Quick Notes

– That's right.

– News about Alex Ovechkin.

– It starts at 8 p.m. Will you be tuning in?

facebook icon Share twitter icon Tweet linkedin icon Share
Copied!