VOORHEES, N.J. — Matvei Michkov’s first dose of culture shock in American hockey hit the teen sensation when he skated in the opening days of Philadelphia Flyers’ training camp.
Flyers fans were already dressed in his No. 39 jersey. Lots of them. Kids. Adults. The Flyers open the doors to the public for most practices, and fans — who haven’t had much to cheer for since 2010 — flocked to South Jersey to catch a glimpse of the talent whose buzz has already drawn comparisons to another franchise great, Eric Lindros.
“It’s an unbelievable feeling to see the fans already showing up,” Michkov said through a translator. “It helps go though the hard training. Sometimes, we’re doing it for the fans and it helps overall.”
The 19-year-old Russian also noted he’d never seen so many fans before wearing his jersey.
He better get used to the early fame.
In a sports city loaded with the biggest athletes in sports — from Bryce Harper to Joel Embiid to Jalen Hurts — the once-mighty Flyers have languished in obscurity with rosters filled with mostly indistinguishable skaters.
Michkov could be the breakthrough star the Flyers desperately craved as they make the climb back into the playoffs — and relevancy.
The hype comes with one critical caveat, per coach John Tortorella.
“It’s not going to be the Mischa show, because I think it’s unfair to him,” Tortorella said. “I’m going to watch that very closely, because I want to give him every opportunity to get his feet planted in here and go about it the right way.”
The Flyers are even still amazed Michkov is in the States to help push the team into the playoffs for the first time since 2020, and in the 50th anniversary season of their last Stanley Cup championship.
His slick playmaking had scouts projecting Michkov might have been drafted right behind Chicago’s Connor Bedard in 2023 had he not been tangled in a long-term deal with his team in Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League.
General manager Danny Briere preached patience when the Flyers selected Michkov with the seventh pick in the 2023 draft, knowing he had three years left on his KHL contract. After tricky negotiations, SKA St. Petersburg instead let Michkov out of his contract over the summer, paving the way for the 5-10, 176-pound right wing to arrive in Philadelphia ahead of schedule.
The early returns impressed the Flyers.
“You could tell he has a lot of confidence, he’ll try some stuff that most guys won’t,”…