Matvei Michkov is going to be one of the Flyers’ biggest storylines again, and Daniel Briere isn’t ducking it.
At Tuesday’s press briefing in Voorhees, N.J., the team’s general manager made it clear he expects a different version of the Russian forward this season after a rocky follow-up to a promising rookie campaign. Michkov arrived for last season “somewhat out of shape,” according to the team’s view, and never quite dug himself out of that hole. After leading the Flyers with 26 goals in 2024-25, he struggled to get back to the 20-goal mark.
Now he enters the final year of his rookie contract with plenty of attention pointed his way.
“I think we saw him mature as the season went on last year,” said Briere. “You know everybody has a different path. You all wish that guys were like Sidney Crosby - at 16 years old a total pro.
“But the reality is they’re really rare. What I was excited to see was his maturity level increased as the season went on.
In the offseason, seeing him here. He’s got a pep in his step, he feels good, looks good.
I’m excited about Matvei’s season.”
Briere said he’s pleased with where Michkov is physically right now. The winger even asked a member of the Flyers training staff to watch him work out this summer while he was back home in Russia, and Briere said Michkov reportedly shed a meaningful amount of weight during the offseason.
“That’s kind of what you see in the moment,” Briere said. “He just walks around with a different swagger like he had two years ago. He wants to prove that last year was just a little hiccup.”
Briere also called Michkov a “polarizing” player, which fits a young star who draws far more scrutiny than most players.
“His personality and everything, he’s been a superstar since he was 14, 15 years old,” Briere said. “I think he’s comfortable in the spotlight.
That’s just who he is. But definitely things were overblown.
You know it goes both ways. They’re probably going to be overblown when it’s good, overblown when it’s bad.
I think a lot of it is just his personality.”
Even with the disappointment, Briere pointed out that last season wasn’t a total collapse. Michkov’s plus-minus improved from minus-18 in his rookie season to even last year.
“I don’t think it’s all that bad,” Briere said. “He strikes me as one of those guys that when things are good, and he’s in the spotlight, he’s not afraid of the big moment.
I try to see the positive in it. I thought last year was overblown in his case.”
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