RW Matvei Michkov (2023, 7th, PHI) Part 6

[BillDineen]

Turnovers are fine. They are mistakes and part of learning. This wasn't a turnover. This was a lazy flyby.

I feel there is a drastic difference between the two.

It wasn't at all. Michkov thought Couturier would get the puck and send him on a breakaway ... for his team with no goals in two games, generating offense. Perfectly reasonable

 

[Just Linda]

Question: do you think Jack Hughes would be the player that he is today if NJ had benched him for every turnover in his rookie year?

No. Neither one got benched for every turnover.

Do I think Hughes would've developed without the level of accountability the the USDP instilled in him and then the work done by his NHL coaches to turn him into a great player? No, I don't. Especially since so much of his play is built on disrupting transitions.

It wasn't at all. Michkov thought Couturier would get the puck and send him on a breakaway ... for his team with no goals in two games, generating offense. Perfectly reasonable

You still gotta support the breakout.

Michkov cheats. That's not news to anyone, it's not a rare thing for a teenage with his skill to do. He cheats quite a bit, it's a common criticism of his game.

It's not concerning since he's still so young and will develop into a better player still but let's not try to downplay a flaw in his game (especially since noone seems to be catastrophizing it either)