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)

 

[Kshahdoo]

There’s a middle ground between what Michkov was doing and playing defense. Michkov literally skated away from the play and bailed on his team before they had any chance of gaining control of the puck. Michkov wasn’t making an offensive-minded play, there. He was making a stupid play.

I’m not a Torterella fan, but if you’re going to say Michkov hockey is smarter than the NHL coach who’s been in the league for two decades and won. . . I don’t know that the discussion is worth having.

If Richard went to Holmstrom and Seeler to Cizikas, then Holmstrom would have had just two options: to try to stickhandle around Richard with a chance to lose the puck and get 2 vs 1 breakaway or to pass to the defenseman. And the latter wasn't even in the zone so passing to him would have been equal to killing the attack. That's what high IQ plays mean. Alas, other Flyers aren't that smart...

 

[PenguinSuitedUp]

If Richard went to Holmstrom and Seeler to Cizikas, then Holmstrom would have had just two options: to try to stickhandle around Richard with a chance to lose the puck and get 2 vs 1 breakaway or to pass to the defenseman. And the latter wasn't even in the zone so passing to him would have been equal to killing the attack. That's what high IQ plays mean. Alas, other Flyers aren't that smart...

So now you’re asking the Flyers to play defense as a 4 v 5 so that Michkov can do whatever he wants, ie play irresponsibly. Teams play systems, and every player needs to buy in, otherwise the goal that happened because of Michkov will reoccur over and over again.

 

[Kshahdoo]

So now you’re asking the Flyers to play defense as a 4 v 5 so that Michkov can do whatever he wants, ie play irresponsibly. Teams play systems, and every player needs to buy in, otherwise the goal that happened because of Michkov will reoccur over and over again.

It was 4 vs 4 because one defenseman was in the neutral zone to cover Michkov...

 

[BillDineen]

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.


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)

He does cheat too much, but this was the right time. TK would have done the exact same thing. It was the right choice with the team not scoring.