The Flyers blogs on Hockey Hot Stove are powered by Phans of Philly, Liberty Valuation Group, New Balance of Mount Laurel, The Mens and Boys Store, Carl’s Cards and Collectibles, Team Toyota, Brian Propp’s Guffaw Cigars, Summit Public Adjusters, Marat Ioshpa’s State Farm Insurance agency and our newest sponsor, Joe Rivera of Coldwell Banker Realty.
Twenty-one days remain until the Philadelphia Flyers open their main training camp on Thursday, September 17, 2026. Key upcoming dates
Rookie Camp Opens: Friday, September 11, 2026 (15 days)
Rookie Series vs. Rangers: September 12–13, 2026 at the PPL Center
Main Training Camp Opens: Thursday, September 17, 2026 (21 days)
First Preseason Game: Monday, September 21, 2026 vs. Washington Capitals
Regular Season Opener: Wednesday, September 30, 2026 vs. Pittsburgh Penguins
Michkov to return next week
According to a Flyers organizational source, third-year winger Matvei Michkov will return from Russia to the Philadelphia area over the next week. Michkov faces a critical season ahead of his first foray into restricted free agency.He is coming off a rollercoaster second season in the National Hockey League.
Last season, the Flyers brass expressed hope that Michkov would spend the summer working out in the team’s training complex in Voorhees. This was for two reasons.
First, they want to ensure that he reported to training camp in peak physical condition after he came to camp out of shape last September. The second aim was to give Michkov as much time as possible to gain further fluency and comfort in speaking English on an everyday basis. They want him to feel comfortable and participate.
On the first front, there is every indication that Michkov took his training seriously over the summer. At least based upon videos posted to social media, Michov appears to be in good condition. He followed the prescribed training plan, and met with a Flyers representative. Physically, he should be fine to hit the ground running for the start of the 84-game regular season. That work could be done in Russia — or anywhere. It didn’t have to be in Voorhees.
On the other hand, the planned ETA evolved from “most” of the summer in the U.S. to the latter few weeks of August to the tail end of the month or the start of September. However, it should be said that Michkov now understands a decent amount of English. He converses without translator/ skating coach Slava Kuznetsov with coaches and teammates. He greets the media in basic English. Michkov still prefers to have Slava with him for press conferences. Even so, he seems to grasp the questions and sometimes even gives short replies — a couple basic words — in English.
In summary, there is no cause for alarm. If the player has a true breakout third NHL season, no one will remember (or care) when he arrived. That said, Michov was scratched twice in the playoffs on merit. It’s important for him to get off on the right foot with his coaches and his teammates. He starts out with a clean slate, but there are still adjustments he has to make on and off the ice.
There is no more or less to the “controversy” than that.
Team Toyota Prospect Spotlight: Carter Amico (#9)
Carter Amico
Position: Defense
Selected: 2025 2nd Round, 38th overall
Listed Height: 6-foot-5
Listed Weight: 225 pounds
Shoots: Right
2025-26 team: Boston University (NCAA), Muskegon Lumberjacks (USHL)
2025-26 NCAA stats: 18 GP, 0 G, 0 A, 0 PTS, 12 PIM, -7
2026-26 USHL RS stats: 27 GP, 1 G, 10 A, 11 PTS, 41 PIM, -3
2026 USHL PO stats: 16 GP, 3 G, 4 A, 7 PTS, 12 PIM
The skinny: Just as he did at the Flyers’ Development Camp, the 2025 second-round pick jumped out with his combination of size, exceptional mobility, and competitive presence. He’s not known for his offensive game, but Amico even had a strong tourney with the puck on his stick. He did not seem to be ready for NCAA hockey early last season. Fortunately, that no longer seems to be the case.
Amico struggled mightily at BU last season. However, keep in mind that he was coming off a broken kneecap that limited him to just four games in 2024-25. It cost him a projected first-round selection slot in the 2025 NHL Draft. That made the tough direct jump from the USNTDP even tougher.
However, Amico turned the corner once he took a temporary step down to the USHL level with Muskegon. He showed marked improvement with each passing month. Meanwhile, he saved his best hockey (including offensively) for the USHL playoffs. Amico subsequently carried it over to Development Camp and the Summer Showcase.
Now that he’s healthy and gaining momentum, the Flyers brass are once again very excited about Amico’s potential.
He’s one of the best pure athletes from his Draft class; a rare combination of mobility for someone his size and high competitiveness level. The expectation is that he has barely even scratched the surface of his abilities. Over time, he’s also expected to grow his game with the puck on his stick, too. The Flyers drafted a similarly huge (even bigger, in fact) and athletic — but very raw — defenseman in the first round of the 2026 Draft.
The organization has high hopes that, between Maksim Sokolovskii, Amico and 2024 second round pick Spencer Gill, they can ultimately develop one or two legit top-four NHL defensemen within a few years. They cannot rush the process, unfortunately.
Cold War in Philly: Streaming and in person
The Cold War in Philly documentary is available Amazon Prime, Apple TV. YouTube TV and Fandango.ank
Meanwhile, on September 23, the National Liberty Museum is hosting a screening, Q&A panel and reception. Join filmmaker Joe Amodei, Joe Watson Hockey, Reggie Leach and Brad Marsh.
Win a free ticket to meet Dan Vladar
On August 29, 2026, Flyers goaltender Dan Vladar will be do an in-store appearance at Carl’s Cards and Collectibles. Through our friends at Carl’s, Hockey Hot Stove arranged for one Hockey Hot Stove member to receive a free autograph ticket for the event.
Congratulations to the random drawing winner, Kevin Burgess.
Vladar will be in the store from 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. EDT.
