How Flyers prospect Matvei Michkov’s rise was evident in ‘a title fight’ – NBC
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Gordie Dwyer saw the Matvei Michkov meteor in Lausanne, Switzerland.
It was careening toward stardom.
A freshly-turned 15-year-old had carved up the 2020 Winter Youth Olympics, leading Russia to convincing wins and a gold medal at the six-country event. With his nine goals and five assists in four games on the international stage, the Michkov hype was no longer concealed.
“That was my first glimpse of him and that talent,” Dwyer, who was the head coach of Team Canada, said. “That first impression of him was impressive, definitely.”
The tournament served as a launching pad for Michkov’s ascent into a mythical-like prospect at the 2023 NHL draft, a player of great intrigue that fell to the Flyers at No. 7 overall last summer.
“I’m confident that Philly’s got one of the top talented players of his age group in the world,” Dwyer, the general manager and head coach of the QMJHL’s Acadie-Bathurst Titan, said in a December phone interview with NBC Sports Philadelphia.
With Team Canada, Dwyer watched Michkov up close not only at the Youth Olympics, but also for a Round 2 in the 2021 IIHF U-18 World Junior Championship. That was when the Russian winger had a star-studded Canadian team — headlined by Connor Bedard and Shane Wright — on the ropes in the final.
Despite a game-opening goal and two assists from Michkov, Canada rallied twice to beat Russia, 5-3. Dwyer, as an assistant coach, and the Canadians left Frisco, Texas with gold medals.
And immense respect for Michkov.
“If you look at that game, you kind of compare it to a title fight, how the momentum would go back and forth, shift in and shift out,” Dwyer, the former NHLer, said. “He was a threat every time he touched the ice. He was able to kind of push the momentum in their favor at times and we had the star power to be able to counter.”
In the first period, Michkov pounced on a loose puck and laced it home for a 1-0 lead.
“It kind of put us back on our heels a little bit,” Dwyer said. “The hype was real, he had arrived and he was obviously a very dominant player in that tournament.”
Over 10 minutes later, Bedard evened the score with a dazzling backhander top shelf.
“That was our counter punch to Michkov and the Russian team,” Dwyer said. “When you look at it, they’re special players. Michkov has been on the scene for a while internationally, whether it was the start of the Youth Olympics; I think his coming out party was at the under-18s, especially considering the fact that they had their own pool, we had our own pool and then we met in the final.”
Not even two and half minutes after Bedard’s goal, Michkov helped Russia regain its lead. From the slot, he flipped a pass behind his back to Dmitri Buchelnikov for the go-ahead marker.
“He’s multidimensional, he’s a multiple threat offensively,” Dwyer said. “Even with a smaller frame, he’s strong on his skates, he’s got great edges, he’s not afraid to bring his game to the net and play on the…
Read More: How Flyers prospect Matvei Michkov’s rise was evident in ‘a title fight’ – NBC 2024-02-08 03:18:47