Despite collecting 9 points in 11 games since the start of the season, rookie Matvei Michkov of the Philadelphia Flyers clearly still has some food to eat.
Thursday night, in the Flyers’ 2-1 victory over the St. Louis Blues, the 19-year-old forward got his first taste of head coach John Tortorella’s medicine. In fact, he was benched for part of the first period due to his difficulties with equal numbers.
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“He’s a 19-year-old playing in the best league in the world,” Tortorella said after the match. There are going to be big difficulties at five against five. We expect it. Where I’m going to have to teach, and I’m not going to tell you everything, but if we continue to see the same mistakes, he’s going to miss playing time. I was very honest with him about that.
Against the Blues, Michkov spent only 13:56 on the ice, which represents his shortest playing time since his arrival in the National Hockey League.
“It’s showing him how it works,” he continued. If I think other players are doing well and you’re having trouble and it’s repetitive, you’re going to have to sit down and watch for a while. That’s all. He had difficulties.”
Tortorella, however, wanted to point out that he did not want to see Michkov stay on the bench for too long. It was mostly so he could see what was wrong.
“I didn’t want to see him on the bench for a period. I wanted him to think about what I told him. I think he missed two or three rotations, and then we sent him back on the ice. This is how things are going to be. He might miss some games, who knows? It’s all part of the development of a 19-year-old.”
Michkov has been held off the scoresheet in his last three games. He will have the opportunity to recover on Saturday against the Boston Bruins.
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