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Earlier this week, Flyers Daily host Jason Myrtetus sat down with Flyers president of hockey operations Keith Jones. The two engaged in a multi-faceted discussion about the organization: the current outlook for 2024-25, the future potential as Jones sees it, individual players and more. Before speaking with Jonesy, Jason gives final thoughts on the opening home win on Monday against the Florida Panthers. He discusses Sean Couturier, Trevor Zegras, Dan Vladar and more. Other topics include Emil Andrae’s quick NHL recall, and Matvei Michkov’s early struggle.
A beautiful — and tenacious — play
This is worth another look. revor Zegras’ magnificent set up of Couturier for the game winner was a thing of beauty. He battled for space behind the net, accepted a hit to make a play, and made a perfect pass out to Couturier in the circle.
Charlie O’Connor said it best: “It was a high-skill play but it was also a hard play.” That play took guts and tenacity before the finesse part took over.
Flyers hope York can return on Thursday
Cam York (lower-body injury) is close to being ready to play. He missed the first three games of the season while on Injured Reserve. However, York participated in Saturday’s morning skate. He’s skated in practice so far this week.Wednesday’s practice is big. It will determine if the team’s LD1 is ready to play against the Winnipeg Jets or if he has to wait a little bit longer.
When York returns, look for changes on all three defensive pairs. York will take his normal spot on the left side of the top pairing with Travis Sanheim. Nick Seeler, most likely, will return to a pairing with Jamie Drysdale. Meanwhile, it remains to be seen how the Flyers arrange Adam Ginning (who played north of 20 minutes on Saturday), Andrae and Noah Juulsen.
The Flyers will hold an 11:30 a.m. EDT practice at the FTC in Voorhees on Wednesday.
Tocchet discusses Michkov’s slow start
Flyers head coach Rick Tocchet spent a major portion of Tuesday’s post-practice discussing Michkov. The main topics: the player’s performance, ice time, and conditioning.
Matvei Michkov suffered an ankle injury in the off-season. According to a team source, it happened while playing in a summer hockey event in Russia. The injury set the player back several weeks in his off-season training. He’s fine now but started out behind the 8-ball in his conditioning. Michkov is physically fine now.
Michkov is undeniably off to a slow start. He has made several low-percentage decisions with and without the puck. Tocchet noted that all the penalties the Flyers have taken are a factor in the player’s modest ice time since he is not on the PK. However, Michkov didn’t skate a shift in the final eight minutes of Saturday’s game. Likewise, he did not see the ice in overtime against Carolina last Thursday.
Tocchet said that he does not believe in scratching a player to “send a message”. He wants Michkov to play through his early struggles. Tocchet noted that Michkov did make a few high-skill plays on Saturday and had a strong practice (perhaps his best since training camp) on Tueday.
The 20-year-old Russian is trying to make the adjustments Tocchet and his staff want. The adjustments are related to going to the right places when the situation dictates puck support. They relate to knowing when to leave the defensive zone and certain risk-reward decisions in trying to make a play. Lastly, they relate to tweaking — not overhauling but picking his sports — for when to go north versus when to prove. It will click, hopefully soon.
No sugar-coating it: Michkov is trying to get on the same page and it’s a work in progress. That said, he’d made some good plays. His elite skill set and ice vision didn’t just abandon him. He’ll be fine. This, too, shall pass. The Flyers just need it to pass to the next stage sooner rather than later.
Who do you waive to bring York onto the roster??Zamula or Ginning? Do return Luchenko back to Guleph or Abols back to LV if not a defenseman wavier?