Philadelphia Flyers general manager Danny Briere can relate to top prospect Matvei Michkov.
Briere was also 19 years old and didn’t speak English when he arrived in the United States to begin his NHL journey back in the late 1990s.
From his own personal experience, hockey terminology helped Briere navigate the language and he believes it’ll take Michkov a couple of months to feel comfortable.
“The hockey terms are very similar,” Briere told the media on Wednesday. “I’m not worried about that, especially with him being here two months early. He’s going to feel more and more comfortable and with [coach John Tortorella], sometimes words are not necessarily have to be spoken. … I think by the time training camp starts and the regular season starts, he’ll feel comfortable and it won’t be an issue.”
Since landing at JFK airport in New York on Tuesday — where he was greeted by Briere — Michkov has already felt support from the fans in the City of Brotherly Love.
“It’s unreal how the fans are reacting and how welcome he felt here coming in,” said interpreter Slava Kuznetsov. “At the same time, the main idea right now is getting ready and show really good hockey for the fans and play the best game he can play.”
Michkov arrives with high expectations after he was drafted in the first round, seventh overall, in 2023. The Flyers knew it could take a few years for Michkov to fulfill his KHL contract with SKA St. Petersburg.
“Part of the reason why he fell to us — because he would have gone a lot earlier, we knew that — we felt we were in a position to be able to wait the three years for him to come,” Briere said. “To have this opportunity is amazing. To get him early at 19 years old, to learn under a coach like Torts and the coaching staff that we have, it’s a great opportunity for him and for us to have him early.”
Michkov appeared in one game with SKA this past season before he was loaned to Sochi, where he recorded 41 points (19 goals and 22 assists) in 47 games.
Briere started hearing rumblings toward the end of the season that there was a possibility Michkov would be available, and reached out to his representatives and agent. Michkov was granted a release from his KHL contract on June 25 and signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Flyers six days later.
“I didn’t expect it, to be honest. It’s pretty amazing,” Briere said. “When we drafted him, we had no expectation of him coming in until his contract was done. Like I said earlier, it’s the reason why he fell because he would have gone in the top probably two or three, at the most. It’s a great break for us, for the organization, to have him early and to have him at 19.
“I know I’ve said this a few times before, but the chance to have him learn under Torts, we all know know that he’s gifted offensively, very, very talented, but he’s going to have the chance to learn under Torts to play the other side of the ice as well, and that gets me excited. He’s going to get that base early on. I think it’s just going to make him better for the rest of his career.”
The Flyers finished this past season with a 38-33-11 record and missed the playoffs for fourth consecutive season. Although some might be clamouring for Michkov to be the next great superstar for the franchise, Briere isn’t putting that kind of pressure on him.
“We don’t see him as a saviour,” Briere said. “That’s certainly not what we’re putting on his shoulders. He’s 19 years old. He’s coming in to learn, to expand his game and, obviously, we hope that the sky’s the limit for him, but we’re certainly not expecting him to be the saviour of this team. We’re building a team that’s going to have many pieces to work together and we’re hoping that he becomes one of them.”
Michkov echoed those sentiment that he’s here to play a part.
“The main idea always was to win, drive to win, and he’s here to help the team to win,” Michkov said via Kuznetsov. “Just to play not his style and he’s here to win.”
The Flyers re-signed Russian defenceman Egor Zamula and have goaltender Ivan Fedotov on their roster, but Briere is also counting on the veterans to help ease Michkov into the group.
“We also have a pretty tight locker room,” Briere said. “Guys like Nic Deslauriers and Garnet Hathaway, just to start with those two guys, Erik Johnson, that are great veterans that understand, that have been around for a long time, make sure that he fits in and they’re going to help him out, they’re going to go out of their way. That’s why having good veterans is a key when you bring in young guys out of their comfort is really important. Those are little things and everything we’re going to find or be able to help him along the way, we’re going to try to do our best.”
Added Briere, with a laugh: “We also showed him a video of a fight between Nic in a Rangers game last year. We told him it’s his new best friend.”