Matvey Michkov is on every Flyers fans mind these days. The breaking news over the Summer was that the 19 year old has come to the U.S. much earlier than expected, and fans are excited to see him play. [If you don’t get the byline go to Michkov’s Instagram reel of him shooting the basketball} Before I get down to the facts, I want to discuss the spelling of his first name as there are two technical ways to spell it. In Cyrillic, it is spelled Матвей, and although some Cyrillic letters have exact translations, й does not have a simple translation in English, but it is kind of a [yot] or J sound. Spelled in anglicized letters it is a plain old Y, or an I. Players such as Artemi Panarin fall under this, which is why you may see his name written as Artemiy.
On Michkov’s Instagram, he spelled his name Matvey, so although I am not referring to him by his first name– I just want to state the discrepancy, or why it would not come up if you looked up Matvei, if you google either it will both show Michkov. Both spellings are technically the same names, and versions of the American name Matthew, but it is still a spelling preference.
I divulge. Michkov is one of the Flyer’s most promising prospects, and coming over earlier than most fans would have expected given his KHL contract. I know some about him, and like him as a player– but to get the Flyer’s fan’s side of things, I got the chance to Interview Journalism classes favorite Flyers fan Matthew Talucci, on his opinions and knowledge of this player.
What do you think of Michkov’s play?
He’s very aggressive in the offensive zone and very creative. [And] I’m excited to see him score lots of goals, and get lot’s of assists.
How Many Goals Will Michkov Score in his Rookie year?
20.
How do you think he’s gonna fill some of the gaps in the Flyers?
I think he’s gonna vastly improve the powerplay, and I think he’s gonna be a legitimate scoring threat, that should really boost the top six.
What was your favorite Michkov moment?
When he got drafted to the Flyers– or when the Montréal Canadiens didn’t draft him.
Going into some general Flyer’s thoughts, what do you think of the team, going into the 2024-2025 season?
So I think the Flyers may or may not have the chance of making the playoffs. They probably shouldn’t because they should be in the draft and develop cycle. I think they need to do a good job of placing their younger players, and teaching them the sport of hockey. I think they need to do everything in their power to develop more top end talent, and this team will top out as a middling team for the playoffs, and not a true competitor.
So should your team acquire a bunch of old players?
No.
Has that been a problem in the past?
[Silently agreeing]
Back to Michkov what do you say about anybody who calls Michkov undersized? (I’d like to clarify I don’t believe this) Are you one of the people who think he’s undersized?
Is this like a personal question? Are you asking me to [like] trash someone else’s height? I don’t think 5’10 is short. I don’t think it will necessarily be a problem or impede him. How tall is Crosby?
Five Eleven. (Don’t ask how I knew this off my head)
I don’t think hight matters in hockey, I think, it’s not all it’s made out to be? Who’s the shortest hockey player?
Cole Caufield, or DeBrincat. Side by side Caufeild looks smaller.
How tall is he?
Listed as five seven.
“I’m five seven. I just say I’m five eight.
So do you think the really tall players should get longer sticks?
I think every player should be able to chose their stick length out of any length, and set one minimum or maximum.
Do you think they should go back to wooden sticks?
No.
Do you think they should go back to mental sticks?
No.
But what if you want to crosscheck somebody?
It was a metal stick right? That’s my point, I’d rather the stick break then someone’s sternum break.
Thank you
Thank you
