Michkov’s line, Jett still in flight and more from Flyers training camp originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
VOORHEES, N.J. — After making their first round of cuts, the Flyers whittled down training camp to two groups Wednesday.
John Tortorella warned against reading too deeply into the groups, but these were not a random assortment of players. The Flyers’ decisions clearly have reasoning behind them.
The first group very much resembled the big club, while the second group had a practice led by AHL affiliate Lehigh Valley head coach Ian Laperriere.
“It’s kind of an NHL 1 today, an NHL 2. That’s for today,” Tortorella said. “Don’t get locked into all that because that could change the next day.”
That’s true. Almost everything is in pencil. The Flyers are only two games into their seven-game exhibition slate, which picks back up Thursday when the club welcomes the Islanders to the Wells Fargo Center (7 p.m. ET/NBCSP).
The Flyers have until Oct. 7 at 5 p.m. ET to submit their season-opener roster, which can be at a max of 23 players. Jett Luchanko, Olle Lycksell and Adam Ginning were among the 25-player big club group Wednesday.
Let’s get into that and more with our latest three observations from Flyers Training Center.
New look for Michkov
Interestingly, Matvei Michkov was on a line with Sean Couturier and Tyson Foerster. The 19-year-old top prospect had opened camp and the preseason with Morgan Frost as his center. But, as we noted last Friday, nothing is set in stone, especially at the start of camp. That also applies here with Michkov’s new line.
Last month, we looked at the benefits of Couturier being Michkov’s center. Not only could Couturier provide the Flyers a Selke Trophy-level security blanket for what Michkov may not grasp yet in the defensive zone, but having those two together might give the team better balance throughout the lineup.
“He has got a lot of offensive skill, he competes hard with the puck, he wants to make plays, looks to make plays and seems to be good at it,” Couturier said. “Hopefully we can build some good chemistry, play in the offensive zone and make it easy.”
The Flyers started to implement some coverages Wednesday in practice. It doesn’t seem like the coaching staff has had issues communicating with Michkov. The Russian teenager has been aided by defenseman Egor Zamula, who can translate if something is not comprehended at first.
“He’s very attentive,” Tortorella said of Michkov. “He’s a hockey player, he loves being on…