Matvei Michkov finishes fourth in Calder Trophy voting for the NHL’s top rookie

Matvei Michkov’s rookie season was an overwhelming success in almost every sense, even if he didn’t become the first Flyer to win the Calder Trophy.

The 20-year-old Russian, who arrived in North America two years earlier than expected, led the Flyers — and all NHL rookies — with 26 goals and finished second on the team with 63 points. He also won Rookie of the Month twice, becoming the first Flyer in 30 years to do so.

» READ MORE: Matvei Michkov isn’t satisfied despite an impressive rookie season: ‘I could have scored more’

According to general manager Danny Brière, Michkov surpassed all expectations that he and the team had for him, and he did so while adjusting to a new country, language, and league.

“I’ll be honest with you, I didn’t think he would score even 20 goals this year,” Brière said at his end-of-season interview in April. “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.”

But in a strong rookie class, Michkov was the odd man out when the three Calder Trophy finalists were named on May 5. On Tuesday, Montreal Canadiens defenseman Lane Hutson was presented with the award as the NHL’s top rookie.

Hutson, who led all NHL rookies with 66 points (six goals, 60 assists) and finished tied for sixth among all defensemen in that category, beat out Calgary netminder Dustin Wolf and San Jose center Macklin Celebrini for the honor. Michkov, as expected, finished fourth. The Inquirer’s Jackie Spiegel had Wolf, Hutson, Michkov, Celebrini, and San Jose’s Will Smith, who finished sixth, on her ballot in that order.

The award proved to be a runaway in Hutson’s favor, as the former Boston University star received 165 of the 191 first-place votes and was ranked No. 2 on the other 26 ballots. First-place votes were worth 10 points, seconds worth seven, thirds worth five, fourths worth three, and fifth-place votes counting for one point, so Huston accumulated 1,832 of a possible 1,910 points.

Wolf, who went 29-16-8 with a .910 save percentage and nearly led the Flames to an unlikely playoff spot, received 15 of the other 26 first-place votes and finished second with 1,169 points, while 2024 No. 1 overall pick Celebrini earned 11 first-place votes and finished third with 1,104 points. Michkov received no first-place votes, eight second-place votes, 26 third-place votes, 151 fourth-place votes, and six fifth-place votes for 645 points. Former Flyer Cutter Gauthier finished fifth with 92 points.

While Michkov hinted that he would have liked to win the award, he said he was more focused on team goals. He also wasn’t satisfied despite putting up a top-10 rookie season in Flyers history.

“Everything, every aspect of the game needs to be improved,” Michkov said at his exit interview through a translator. “There’s no skill, nothing in my game that I’m 100% on yet.”

» READ MORE: Flyers draft: Matthew Schaefer and Danny Brière’s little-known connection and other notes from the NHL combine

That’s a harsh self-evaluation for someone who started the season as a 19-year-old and finished it by scoring the most points by a Flyers rookie since 1993-94 (Mikael Renberg).

“I could have scored more, not happy with my result,” he said.

Throughout the season, Michkov also impressed his teammates, many of whom think the best is yet to come from the Russian winger.

“He’s probably the one guy that I’ve played with in my career that he wants to be the best player in the NHL,” winger Travis Konecny said of Michkov in April. “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.”

The Flyers and their fans will hope Konecny is right.

There were rumors Friday that the Flyers were closing in on a deal to sign Russian winger Maxim Shabanov. It turns out those rumors were just that, as Shabanov’s agent Alexander Chernykh has dismissed those rumblings as premature.

“We’re still in the process of talking with teams,” Chernykh told RG.org. “Right now, we’re waiting for the draft because that’s when trades happen and team situations change. Then, the free agency will open. We want to see how the league landscape looks. It’s not a fast process.”

When asked about the connection to the Flyers, Chernykh said: “Just having a conversation doesn’t mean anything yet.”

This falls in line with what a source told The Inquirer last week.

Shabanov, 24, was one of the top players in the Kontinental Hockey League this past season and finished third in the league with 67 points (23 goals, 44 assists) in 65 games for Traktor Chelyabinsk. He added another 10 goals and 20 points in 21 games to help Traktor reach the Gagarin Cup final.

Known for his speed and wizard-like puck handling abilities, the 5-foot-9, 157-pound Shabanov is a free agent. While Shabanov has been linked with the Flyers and Vegas Golden Knights, among other teams, it sounds like he will not be making his final decision until after the draft and once free agency opens.

The NHL draft is June 27-28 in Los Angeles, and free agency opens July 1.