Flyers rookie Matvei Michkov snubbed as NHL announces Calder Trophy finalists

There is no denying Matvei Michkov is a star on the rise. Heck, even Flyers general manager Danny Brière finally used the taboo term “superstar” to describe the Russian winger at his end-of-season presser.

But while he put together one of the best seasons by a Flyers rookie in more than 30 years, Michkov fell short of being a Calder Trophy finalist. On Monday, San Jose Sharks center defenseman Macklin Celebrini, Montreal Canadiens defenseman Lane Hutson, and Calgary Flames goalie Dustin Wolf were named the three finalists for the award given to the NHL’s best rookie.

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Michkov may have missed out on the top award, but he earned several stick taps during the season from the league. He was named the Rookie of the Month in October and February; his selection in October was the first by a Flyer since James van Riemsdyk in November 2009. No Flyer has ever won the Calder Trophy.

“He’s probably the one guy that I’ve played with in my career that wants to be the best player in the NHL,” winger Travis Konecny said after the season ended. “He believes that he can be, and you can’t teach that. That’s just something that he wants and he believes in, and that’s a powerful thing.”

And just because he wasn’t named a finalist doesn’t mean Michkov didn’t light a fire — although he would be the first to tell you, “I could have scored more, not happy with my result,” which he did at his end-of-season chat with the media through a team translator.

Arriving in Philly two years earlier than expected after SKA St. Petersburg of the Kontinental Hockey League allowed him to leave, Michkov dazzled with his vision, creativity, and skill. He said there were some “difficulties” this season, but he still finished the season as the NHL’s rookie goal leader (26), first in even-strength points (46), and tied for second in points with Celebrini (63).

“I’ll be honest with you, I didn’t think he would score even 20 goals this year,” Brière said. “I didn’t think he would get to half a point a game. And there’s so many facets of his game that are not quite there yet. It’s really, really exciting what happened with him this year.”

Were there difficulties? For sure. Coming to a new team is difficult in itself, but the Russian also had to adjust to a different culture while dealing with a language barrier.

The fact that Michkov topped the rookie even-strength scoring list is impressive considering his uneven performances at five-on-five. An offensive-minded talent, he was a healthy scratch for a pair of games and was benched several times during games by former Flyers coach John Tortorella because of defensive miscues and playing out of structure.

“I think it was a tremendous experience for Matvei to learn from a hard, passionate coach. He coached him hard, and I think he’s done a fantastic job,” Brière said after firing Tortorella. “Now, Matvei is one of the most competitive hockey players I’ve been around, so that fit well, too. Not everybody is able to take the hard coaching that John Tortorella put on Matvei. I’ve been amazed by how he’s responded to it.

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“You’ve seen him get benched, you’ve seen him get scratched, and what does he do? He comes back, and all he wants to do is stick it back to you or stick it back to Torts. It was really impressive. Every time he was challenged, his competitiveness just rose to the top, and he took over games.”

There was no denying Michkov’s ability to create offense and score on the power play — his first NHL goal came with the man advantage against Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers on Oct. 15 — but he didn’t score an even-strength point until his sixth game and a goal until his eighth.

Part of that was Tortorella’s love of the line blender. But in the last few weeks of the season, during Tortorella’s swan song and interim coach Brad Shaw’s impressive nine-game audition, Michkov found some chemistry after being reunited with Sean Couturier and Konecny.

And it felt good.

While Couturier will say there are things the line needs to work on, in the last nine games of the season, the trio combined for seven goals while allowing four. According to Natural Stat Trick, across the entire season, the Flyers outscored opponents 17-12; eight of those resulting from high-danger chances.

“I would describe [Michkov] that way, where he’s a kind of a step-ahead offensive player,” Shaw said toward the end of the season. “He’s a tough guy to check because he usually knows where he’s going with it before the defender does, and that’s a big advantage. He really trusts what he sees, his confidence level is sky-high. It doesn’t really matter [if] the breakaway goes in or it doesn’t go in, what he sees, he feels like he can make that play.

“Does it get him in trouble at times? A little bit, and that’s all part of the learning process for him.”

Michkov knows he has to make changes this offseason. He’ll go back to Russia for a bit and will train for the grueling NHL schedule — something his countryman Ivan Fedotov also noted was quite different from the KHL — to avoid a sophomore slump.

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“I’ve been around a few superstars, and he’s got that mindset,” Brière said. “He came in [to our end-of-season meeting], he has a detailed plan of all the things he wants to do. I was actually shocked by how prepared he was for his meeting, and he knew exactly what he needed to do and how he wants to conduct himself.

“He’s a special athlete and person. Extremely intelligent. He’s got a different mind. It’s part of the reason that makes him who he is. There’s something special around him, just his approach. …

“I left the meeting laughing to myself like, well, if he accomplishes half the things he has on his list to do, we’re in really good shape.”

Michkov shouldn’t be deterred by not being named a finalist for the Calder Trophy. Recent Hart Trophy winners Sidney Crosby, Nikita Kucherov, Leon Draisaitl, and McDavid all failed to take home the rookie of the year award. Kucherov, whom Michkov is often compared to, managed only 18 points in 52 games as a rookie, while McDavid finished third behind Artemi Panarin and former Flyer Shayne Gostisbehere in 2016.

Those four have turned out just fine.