After a rocky start against the St. Louis Blues, Philadelphia Flyers’ superstar rookie Matvei Michkov found himself benched by head coach John Tortorella as part of a learning experience. Michkov, who made several defensive mistakes early in the game, was replaced by Owen Tippett and Joel Farabee for subsequent shifts. Although he remained on the top power-play unit, it was clear that Tortorella was attempting to send a message regarding Michkov’s performance. Kevin Kurz of The Athletic noted in a recent article that things might be fine between the two, but that’s not a given. In fact, Michkov’s reply to questions about the decision suggests he might not have been pleased and that there could be a problem.
Tortorella explained that sitting Michkov was a response to the consistent errors he was making during five-on-five play. Acknowledging the challenges of adjusting to the NHL’s pace and schedule, the coach understands that mistakes are going to be part of Michkov’s development. “He’s a great kid. He wants to do so well,” Tortorella said. “But it’s a lot for him… part of sitting him was that I don’t think he really understood.”
Tortorella expressed his continued belief in Michkov’s potential, but he knows he might have to do some damage control with the young forward. Even though he might have made the call he felt was needed so that Michkov could reflect on his play, the idea is to find teachable moments to help Michkov grow, not punish the Russian star. However, the language barrier remains a challenge, complicating communication between them.
Can Michkov and Tortorella Find Common Ground with Flyers?
When asked about Tortorella’s efforts to improve his off-puck play, Michkov abruptly pivoted the line of questioning in a post-game interview. Google Translate noted his response was something to the effect of “Can we skip that one?” and”Give me the next question”. Tortorella isn’t surprised. When asked if he expects there to be some frustration there, he responded, “Sure.” Still, he noted, “It’s not me screaming at him. It’s telling him this is how it works.”
Michkov being frustrated, if he is, might be a good thing. It speaks to the forward’s competitiveness and drive. “He wants to carry a team. He wants to be the guy. That’s what we love about him,” said Tortorella. At the same time, Tortorella needs to walk a fine line with a player who may not always understand why something is happening.
Some readers of Kurz’s article suggested he was making something out of nothing. But, when Kurz was questioned about creating this narrative between the coach and the player, he stuck to his guns. He responded, “The point remains: we have no idea how he took the benching, and his refusal to even talk about it leads to further questions.” He added, “We have no idea how things are going to go with these two fiery personalities.”
To argue that this one incident should lead fans to question this relationship might be a stretch. But, this isn’t the first time Tortorella has been questioned about his approach. It doesn’t look like he did anything wrong here and he probably would have treated most of his players the same way. Then again, Michkov isn’t like the rest of the players on the Flyers.
This relationship might require kid gloves.
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