Despite Flyers’ Restrictions, Matvei Michkov Has Exceeded Expectations – The Hockey Writers – Philadelphia Flyers

The Philadelphia Flyers were swept in the second round by the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday, pushing Game 4 to overtime. Despite a generally cheerful mood after turning 3.8% playoff odds into a first-round upset over the Pittsburgh Penguins, the future of the franchise could change forever this summer.

Matvei Michkov was a healthy scratch twice in the postseason, watching their elimination from afar in Game 4. The Flyers can maintain that he’s not going anywhere and that head coach Rick Tocchet handled things well, but you can hardly be classified as a conspiracy theorist for wondering if a trade is on the horizon. Front offices hate drama, and the 2025-26 campaign was partially defined by it.

With that in mind, Game 3 of the second round—one where he played nine minutes and had one shift in the third period—could very well be the last we see of Michkov in Orange and Black. If so, the narrative shouldn’t be that he failed to live up to expectations. In fact, he surpassed them decidedly.

The 2023 NHL Draft & Michkov’s Brief Flyers Career

Michkov entered the 2023 NHL Draft with comparisons to Alexander Ovechkin. Not necessarily because they’re the same type of player, but because no Russian prospect since “The Great 8” dominated quite like No. 39.

Michkov was considered by some to be the second-best player in the stacked class, but his contractual status in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL)—signed through 2025-26—meant a fall was imminent nonetheless.

The Flyers picked Michkov at seventh overall, but there weren’t going to be seventh-overall expectations. Many saw him as the face of the franchise, a player who could help lead the team to Stanley Cup glory for the first time in half a century. Even if it meant waiting until 2026-27 to see him make his NHL debut, the wait would be worth it.

That wait, fortunately for the Flyers, was short-lived. His KHL contract was terminated in June 2024, allowing him to join the Orange and Black two seasons early.

Since making his NHL debut in 2024-25, Michkov has excelled. In 161 regular-season games, he has 46 goals and 68 assists, finishing second and third on the Flyers in points as a rookie and a sophomore, respectively.

Historically, Michkov is joined by some elite company. Between the 2014 and 2023 draft classes, 25 players recorded at least 100 points in their draft-plus-two and draft-plus-three seasons (in other words, two and three seasons after they were drafted). No. 39’s 114 points tied for 13^th on that impressive list.

Between the 2014 and 2023 NHL draft classes, 25 players recorded 100+ points in their D+2 and D+3 seasons.

Here are those players, ranked by points per 60 (via Evolving-Hockey): pic.twitter.com/zhSW1SZYpp

— Justin Giampietro (@justingiam) April 30, 2026

From a chance differential standpoint, Michkov has been analytically sound, too. Among 2023 draftees with 500 minutes played at 5-on-5 in their careers, his 54.79% expected goal share ranks first. He’s also generating the second-most goals per 60 minutes, only behind Will Smith (who regularly shares the ice with teenage phenom Macklin Celebrini).

All in all, Michkov has lived up to expectations. His overall body of work suggests he is, at the very least, a top-three player in the unusually top-heavy 2023 class. The Russian winger was expected to be a superstar, and so far, he has produced like it.

Breaking Down Michkov’s Unprecedented 2025-26 Ice Time

Alas, outside of winning a playoff series, Michkov was the biggest story of 2025-26 for all the wrong reasons. Whether warranted or not, Tocchet and the media ripped on the 21-year-old all season long, to the point where general manager Daniel Brière had to hold an emergency press conference.

I’m not going to break down the criticisms of Michkov’s season here. Instead, I want to look at his unprecedented usage.

In the regular season, Michkov averaged 14:50 of ice time. In the playoffs, that fell to 11:50, failing to reach the 13-minute mark in a single game that didn’t go to overtime.

Despite the low usage, Michkov recorded 51 points in the regular season, tying for third on the team. Since ice time started being tracked in 1997-98, only three other players have achieved a similar feat: finishing top three on a playoff team in regular-season points while averaging under 15 minutes, then averaging under 12 minutes in the postseason.

The first player on that list is a young Miroslav Šatan in 1997-98. He recorded 22 goals and 24 assists for 46 points in 78 games for the Dominik Hašek-led Buffalo Sabres (who won the Hart Trophy) en route to an appearance in the Eastern Conference Final.

The next was Mariusz Czerkawski for the 2003-04 New York Islanders, who were swiftly dealt with in the first round. The Polish winger had 25 goals and 24 assists for 49 points in 81 games on just 13:02 of average ice time.

Lastly, there’s Yanic Perreault for the 2005-06 Nashville Predators. His production stands out the most, putting up 22 goals and 35 assists for 57 points in 69 contests. The Predators lost in five games to the San Jose Sharks in the first round, though.

This sample includes about 1,400 players—being one of the four is an honor, in a way. But Michkov’s case is probably the most unique.

To highlight this, let’s start with Perreault. As a 34-year-old free-agent pickup for the Predators who previously recorded 31 points in 69 games, you could understand why he might not get a ton of usage (even if he deserved more). When you’re an aging two-way specialist, your ice time might be a bit lower on the priority scale.

Czerkawski is a bit similar. The 31-year-old had 14 points in 43 games with the Montreal Canadiens in 2002-03 before returning to the Islanders. He was an All-Star in 1999-00, which is notable, but he was also bought out in 2003.

Šatan, now an icon in Buffalo, is the outlier. But that wasn’t really the case in 1997-98. He was a 23-year-old coming off 38 points in 76 games between the Sabres and the Edmonton Oilers. That says two teams, because the 1993 fifth-round pick was acquired for late-round prospects Craig Millar and Barrie Moore in March 1997. So, Šatan wasn’t the player we know him as today—a steal for Buffalo even without the benefit of hindsight, but not a legend.

Then, you have Michkov. As mentioned, he was taken seventh overall by the Flyers themselves. Plus, he recorded 63 points in 80 games as a 20-year-old rookie the season prior—25 more than anyone else on the list. He is one of one.

Admittedly, limiting the list to players who finished top three on a playoff team in points and averaged under 15 minutes of ice time in the regular season and under 12 in the postseason is pretty specific. But even if we expand things, Michkov’s usage is still quite extraordinary.

Since 1997-98, only five players aged 21 or younger have recorded at least 50 points despite averaging under 15 minutes of regular-season ice time. They are Jason Spezza in 2003-04 (55 points), David Perron in 2008-09 (50 points), Nikita Kucherov in 2014-15 (65 points), Alex DeBrincat in 2017-18 (52 points), and, of course, Michkov this season, with 51 points.

To summarize, this isn’t standard treatment for a young player. It’s historically unprecedented, whether you agree with the ice time or not.

All Michkov Needs Is a Chance—Wherever That May Be

It’s not all that radical to suggest Michkov could accomplish amazing things with more ice time. Because, in a small sample, he already has.

After the Flyers fired head coach John Tortorella, who had his own gripes with giving Michkov ice time, on March 27, 2025, the then-rookie was finally given a chance. In nine games under interim head coach Brad Shaw, the youngster averaged 19:36 of ice time.

What did Michkov do with this opportunity on a somewhat depleted Flyers team? He ran with it, notching six goals and as many assists. Across every team’s final nine games in 2024-25, he was tied for fifth in points. When he got big-time minutes, he was a big-time driver of the Philadelphia offense.

Before or after the brief Shaw era, Michkov hasn’t gotten the keys to a team in anywhere close to the same way. There’s reason to believe that once he gets that chance again—with the Flyers or elsewhere—the results will be similar. The kid just needs a chance.

With trade speculation heating up, Michkov may be wearing a different sweater in 2026-27. If that ends up being the case, he shouldn’t be remembered as a player who failed the Flyers. He should be remembered as yet another player who was failed by the Flyers.

Stats courtesy of Evolving-Hockey, Hockey-Reference, and QuantHockey