Michkov to be healthy scratched tonight

[Beau Knows]

Well now we're talking about Torts, he loves that...

 

[jackjohnson]

Is McDavid scratched as well ? They have pretty much the same production

Michkov: from the NHL Rookie of the Month to a healthy scratch in a week

Funny how that works. I think they are ruining this kid. Hope he asks for a trade

 

[JiricekSaveUs]

Doesn’t really seem to be a big deal. Torts was always going to give him some much needed tough love. It will be good for him.

 

[jackjohnson]

Sounds like an armchair quarterback to be sure. It's easy when you have no skin in the game.

Well we will see about how this play will go. But Russian players tend to not take this treatment well or respond to it. One example: Kuzmenko

 

[ViD]

Doesn’t really seem to be a big deal. Torts was always going to give him some much needed tough love. It will be good for him.

It doesn’t even make much sense, they have the so called shooter Tippett with 2 goals this season and no repercussions. Michkov at the very least brings life to Flyers PP

 

[jackjohnson]

Doesn’t really seem to be a big deal. Torts was always going to give him some much needed tough love. It will be good for him.

I think he could have handled him differently. But he was one of the best players last month and should have had a longer leash due to his performance last month.

 

[Trade]

How soon til Michkov forces his way to Anaheim?

 

[Jacob]

Stamkos got HSed in his rookie year too. Not a big deal.

 

[ViD]

Stamkos got HSed in his rookie year too. Not a big deal.

The question is why scratch him if he’s still their best PP guy. Move him to the bottom six and limit his 5v5 time if you need to punish him

 

[CatOTails]

Torts does what Torts does. Nothing new.
As far as I recall, kid specifically wanted flyers to pick him, so he pretty much knew what's coming.

 

[norrisnick]

Stamkos got HSed in his rookie year too. Not a big deal.

Melrose and Torts are both morons...

 

[Juxtaposer]

This is complete nothing-sauce. Teenager catching the press box for a day is a tale as old as time.

 

[Barrie22]

The question is why scratch him if he’s still their best PP guy. Move him to the bottom six and limit his 5v5 time if you need to punish him

Because even there he is struggling, you can't be a bottom 20 defensive player in the league and not producing anywhere to stay in the games. After starting with 9 points in 8 games he now has 1 point in his last 6 games.

The good side to his last 6 games is he is only a -3 (all 3 came in a 3-0 loss to boston)

 

[Prettyisland]

Should have just gave him the keys to the city instead

 

[Rebels57]

Pretty standard Torts treatment. He said he would be scratched at times before the season even started. He feels it gives young players a chance at a difference perspective. Dude scratched Konecny last season while he was their leading scorer and Couturier a week after making him captain. He's a weirdo.

 

[SomeDude]

The question is why scratch him if he’s still their best PP guy. Move him to the bottom six and limit his 5v5 time if you need to punish him

This isn’t a black and white area, there is a lot of gray with the development of young players.

I can understand why Torts is scratching him and it can be very beneficial if handled the correct way.

On one hand, the Flyers are crap and he is their best player so there is the argument to just let him play through it.

On the other hand, he is their best player and you do not want him to develop bad habits playing on a crap team.

He’s had a stretch of bad games. The rookie wall is a real thing. It not the worst thing in the world if Torts came to him and explained it can be helpful for him to watch a game from the press box and take a breather. Not necessarily because he’s playing bad, but just to hit the reset button.

 

[Barrie22]

This isn’t a black and white area, there is a lot of gray with the development of young players.

I can understand why Torts is scratching him and it can be very beneficial if handled the correct way.

On one hand, the Flyers are crap and he is their best player so there is the argument to just let him play through it.

On the other hand, he is their best player and you do not want him to develop bad habits playing on a crap team.

He’s had a stretch of bad games. The rookie wall is a real thing. It not the worst thing in the world if Torts came to him and explained it can be helpful for him to watch a game from the press box and take a breather. Not necessarily because he’s playing bad, but just to hit the reset button.

San jose is doing the same with Smith and Celebrini also (would of been if he hadn't missed the 12 games in a row).

Smith has had i believe 4 days in the press box already due to development days as grier calls them. And said Celebrini would have been on the same type of schedule.

 

[StreetHawk]

Old school coach sending an old school message not all that surprising. Whether it will have the desired impact with the player remains to be seen.

Most HC are not going to let a kid go out there and be bad defensively. Keep sending them out and there and those bad habits will become the norm moving forward. Like giving a kid a Tablet and trying to take it away several months later. Good luck with the temper tantrums then.

 

[Rich Nixon]

not really surprising tbh. He’s been awful at 5v5 for a while. I guess it’s a learning experience for him.

I mean, the entire team is garbage at 5 on 5. They lack talent and Torts coaches them to play an unambitious "shell defense + dump and chase" style of game. They hang on for dear life every time they play and establish minimal offensive zone pressure no matter who is on the ice.

Michkov is one of the few players who is actually a decent 5 on 5 player. He's hardly been "awful", particularly compared to his teammates.

 

[Evergreen]

Not really unexpected. Tortorella is not the guy for a rebuild, and the Flyers management and fanbase are surely aware of this.

Ownership and mgmt actually believe, rightly or wrongly, that Torts is an integral part of the rebuild because he will instill in their youth the right attitudes.

Michkov has been struggling a bit defensively and at 5-on-5 and has seen his minutes reduced in the past few games, including a couple of stints stapled to the bench. So the scratching is not a complete surprise. Also, Torts has a history of benching guys so they can watch a game or two from a bird’s eye view.

Hopefully Michkov takes this is stride and improves because of it. Will be a test of his attitude and of his relationship with the coach.

 

[RANDOMH3RO]

Torts going deep into his coaching bag for this one. But for real this is probably very helpful for a young guy playing a harsher schedule than he would be used to.

 

[SirPaste]

Of course it's Torts so it will be blown out of proportion but it's pretty common for a rookie player to be scratched a for a game to get a message sent across.

 

[Pavels Dog]

Seems like he’s a bust, better trade him to detroit

 

[Koivu11]

 

[LOFIN]

Ownership and mgmt actually believe, rightly or wrongly, that Torts is an integral part of the rebuild because he will instill in their youth the right attitudes.

Michkov has been struggling a bit defensively and at 5-on-5 and has seen his minutes reduced in the past few games, including a couple of stints stapled to the bench. So the scratching is not a complete surprise. Also, Torts has a history of benching guys so they can watch a game or two from a bird’s eye view.

Hopefully Michkov takes this is stride and improves because of it. Will be a test of his attitude and of his relationship with the coach.

I guess "Tortorella is not the guy for a rebuild the way most teams would do it". Because usually you give the kids big opportunities and accept their mistakes as part of the learning process. The team is not competing anyway. New York Rangers did this somewhat the Tortorella way, and Lafreniere is only now breaking out 4 years after his draft. Kakko has not reached his draft expectations at all, but is a solid NHL player now. These two were at first given somewhat the Torts treatment by Quinn, and the opportunity to play up the roster has not really been the same it usually is for top picks.