Flyers Coach Rick Tocchet Makes His Thoughts Clear on Matvei Michkov
Photo credit: Broad Street Hockey
Flyers head coach Rick Tocchet, in his first year on the job behind the Philadelphia bench, has called out second-year forward Matvei Michkov for not being in shape.
Philadelphia Flyers forward Matvei Michkov, who was taken with the seventh overall pick in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft, was in the running to be named the rookie of the year last year.
But there were times that he clashed with fiery head coach John Tortorella, who was dismissed near the end of the season when it became clear that the Flyers would miss the playoffs again.
Former Flyers forward Rick Tocchet, who won the Jack Adams Trophy as the NHL's best coach with the Vancouver Canucks in 2024, is now behind the Flyers bench. And Tocchet isn't shying away from calling out Michkov for apparently not being in shape and for not making the right decisions with the puck.
I know he's the lightning rod for everybody around here. He's got to relax. He's got to get himself into shape. He's got to be in positions... you can't just leave the zone. And it's okay, he's gotten better at it. But there's times when (as a coach), you just have to make decisions. Against Minnesota, at that time, for us to win the game, I went with the nine, and we did, we flipped the switch. And that's not an indictment of him. But he's been working hard, supporting the puck. - Rick Tocchet
So far this year, Michkov only has a goal in his first five games.
Flyers Coach Rick Tocchet Recently Benched Michkov
During the Flyers' 2-1 OT win over the Minnesota Wild earlier in the week, Michkov made a critical mistake with the puck that led directly to a Wild goal.
Michkov would play barely only 12 minutes in the game after Tocchet limited his ice time, which included not playing him at all in overtime.
Michkov's talent is clear, as he had 63 points (26G, 37A) in his rookie year. But Tocchet obviously wants him to shore up his game defensively and also to get himself in better shape.
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