THE EDUCATION OF MATVEI MICHKOV

Flyers rookie Matvei Michkov arrived in the NHL two years sooner than was expected, and he immediately turned heads with his offensive exploits. The defensive side of the game? OK, yes, there’s still work to do. But it’s all part of the learning curve for the hyper-talented puck prodigy

BY KEN CAMPBELL

YEAH, SURE, SOME GUYS sashay into the NHL as teenagers and immediately start skating around like they own the place. Gretzky, Ovechkin, Crosby, Lemieux, Hawerchuk, Orr, Murphy, Barrasso. Freaks, every last one of them. For the vast majority of them, though, it’s a constant battle to continually prove they belong in The Best League in the World™. They learn pretty quickly why former-NHLer-turned-broadcaster Ray Ferraro thinks they should simply change the name of the sport to “hard.” Joe Thornton had seven points in his rookie season, eh? Jacques Martin once referred to a 19-year-old Jason Spezza as “a boy playing a man’s game.” One time during Brendan Shanahan’s rookie season, he lined up for a faceoff and the opposing winger asked the 18-year-old how things were going. “Not too good,” Shanahan…

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The Hockey News (Digital) - 1 Issue, Rookie Issue 2025

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