Tortorella: ‘It’s part of the process’

Matvey Michkov’s arrival in Philadelphia this summer was widely publicized and brought a new level of excitement to the organization that had not been seen for a long time. However, expectations within the organization were a little more moderate than perhaps among outside observers. Michkov certainly had some highlights coming out of Russia in his final season in the KHL. But the KHL is not the NHL, and the Flyers’ front office and coaching staff knew it.

The Flyers Brass front office remains steadfast in its approach to Michkov, knowing there will be bumps in the road during his rookie season. “Judging by his performance, we don’t have a lot of him and that’s why it’s so interesting. After all, this is his rookie season. He is 19 years old. He still has a lot to learn. There will be ups and downs, and he sees that,” Flyers general manager Daniel Briere said before the season. “On the other hand, he has been facing this pressure for a long time. It looks like he’s comfortable there for now, but our job is to protect him as much as possible.”

Michkov’s start was excellent, as he scored four goals and five assists for nine points in his first nine games en route to winning NHL Rookie of the Month honors in October. But things have gone downhill since then, as he went four scoreless games before getting an assist on Travis Konecny’s power-play goal in Carolina on Tuesday.

There’s a lot more to being an NHL player than just scoring points, though, and head coach John Tortorella is hoping Michkov gets some of a reset by watching Thursday’s game in Tampa Bay as a healthy scratch.

“He’s a 19-year-old guy playing in the best league in the world,” Tortorella said after an Oct. 31 win over St. Louis. “I think he’s starting to understand what the National Hockey League is in terms of speed, time and space. Everything that is in it. It’s going to be a tough 5-on-5 fight with him. We’re expecting that because I’m going to have to teach.”

It was in that game against St. Louis that Michkov missed several shifts after Torotorella talked to him on the bench early in the game.

“At this teaching moment, I’m not going to tell you what it is, but if we keep seeing the same mistake and he’s not concentrating at all on a certain part of the game, and that’s where I was very honest with him about it,” he said. “He will miss being on the ice, he will miss watching the game. It’s not me yelling at him. He tells him: no, this is how it works. If I think other guys struggle in certain situations and repeat themselves, you’ll have to sit back and watch for a bit. That’s all it was.”

It’s hard to imagine what a night in the press box can do for a player, but in certain ways it can be extremely beneficial. When viewed from above, the game appears exponentially slower; it’s a perspective that players and coaches don’t often see, and when they do, it’s often a jibe made at writers and broadcasters that they now understand why we sometimes think the game is so easy. Michkov will be able to get a very detailed understanding of what players like Sean Couturier, Scott Laughton and others do when they don’t have the puck, how they defend the neutral zone and many other things that a player probably needs. doesn’t see on the ice and really doesn’t see well when on the bench.

“He’s a great guy,” Tortorella said after the St. Louis game. “He wants to succeed, but it’s a lot. This is a lot for him. The power play went well. I think we’ve had some problems in the last few games. But in a 5v5 game this line wasn’t that good. And he fought 5 on 5.”

“Again, he’s not playing four games in six nights there. He doesn’t play against competitors like he does here. His 5v5 game will be a tough fight. Power play, I feel very comfortable, he’s going to do something there. So I’ll have to watch him like I would any other young player or any other player in this room. He’ll be responsible for us getting through these games and we’ll see where it goes…it will be. He may miss games. Who knows. “I don’t know what’s going to happen, but it’s part of the development of a 19-year-old.”

So this situation will come tonight. But this is not a punishment, not a warning shot, nothing like that. Just for one night, the Flyers felt that Michkov could develop better by watching this particular game than by playing it.

“It’s just part of the process,” Tortorella said this morning. “The young guys can also watch the games as they develop. He’s trying to help him.”