Q&A: Flyers president Keith Jones talks Matvei Michkov, prospects, the goalie situation, and more

In the “new era of orange,” Keith Jones’ second season as the Flyers team president is off to an interesting start.

Although he said there haven’t been too many surprises or anything shocking in his short tenure, the former Flyers player-turned-TV-analyst-turned-front-office fixture is being humble. The team got a big surprise and shock this past summer when Matvei Michkov came to the NHL two years earlier than expected.

Jones recently sat down with The Inquirer to chat about Michkov, the Flyers’ prospect pool, and much more.

Here is Part 1 of our two-part interview with Jones from last week in Nashville. It has been edited and condensed for clarity.

A: It’s a pleasure. I just love the way his brain works. Both [GM] Danny [Brière] and I were lucky enough to play with some great players, and Danny was one of those players, but to see how their minds work and how driven they are to be the best that they can possibly be, the competitiveness that they bring is exciting. So yeah, it’s a lot of fun to come watch him play and just envision what things are going to be like in the future as he kind of navigates his way through his first season in the NHL.

A: What’s most, I guess, comforting to us is that he’s come so far in one year. Last year he wasn’t ready for it, but he went down and worked on his game. He had a lot of bumps along the way in the American Hockey League and it wasn’t the smoothest of seasons for him. He came into camp, kind of wobbled a bit, and then went back down with a great attitude. He got his chance to come up and show that number one, he’s talented, and, number two, he has the inner strength to want the moment and has no fear. So those are all things that are going to serve him well in his career. So, yes, it’s been a really pleasant surprise how he has excelled, and that’s a great sign for us and our development.

We’ve got a lot of resources put into player development right now. We have a lot of people who are working hard to have these guys prepared when they come up, including our coaching staff with Lehigh Valley. So it’s nice to see those guys get rewarded. And then even with Helge Grans coming up, too, and looking the part. Sometimes players take time, especially defensemen, so it’s also a big bonus to see that depth in our talent pool start to grow from within — which is going to be really important for us as we move forward.

A: Hunter McDonald has had a very good start. His training camp wasn’t perfect. He looked like he was drinking water through a garden hose because they’re taking on so much knowledge, right? So to see him slow things down, figure out the pace of play, figure out his balance, how to use his strength, how to take advantage of all the work he put in this summer — and that kid works — that’s really important for us. But also it’s rewarding for everyone who’s working with him too, that’s a team effort.

A: I think Danny did a great job of just staying patient and letting things play out. And, eventually, it was in Aleksei’s best interest to come here, and the opportunity was most likely going to present itself; there are always injuries or bad games for goaltenders. And there’s always opportunity, especially on a developing team that’s not in their playoff window just yet.

» READ MORE: The Flyers have a good problem with both Ivan Fedotov and Aleksei Kolosov finding their game in goal

So he made the right decision. He’s come in with a great attitude. He is a very athletic goaltender as we can all see, and that part’s exciting. He’s super competitive, too. So on a team that’s going to have some defensive issues at times, it’s pretty cool to see a goaltender with the potential to clean up some of the mistakes with spectacular saves, because he can do that.

A: I think the players believe that they’re better than their record, and we’re always going to encourage that. We’ll never be a team that’s looking to drop. We’re going to be a team that tries to win every game. And I believe that’s the way that you have to be, and I think that’s going to help our younger players moving forward. So where we’re at, I’d like to be a little better. I think we had opportunities to play some better hockey, but we’ve had some injuries, obviously, to Sam Ersson in goal, which isn’t perfect. With those injuries, there’s been opportunity. I think our guys have responded well. So I’m not really looking at it like that. Our expectations are for our guys to give everything they have every night, and for the most part, we’ve got that. but I think we have another level to get to yet.

In the “new era of orange,” Keith Jones’ second season as the Flyers team president is off to an interesting start.

Although he said there haven’t been too many surprises or anything shocking in his short tenure, the former Flyers player-turned-TV-analyst-turned-front-office fixture is being humble. The team got a big surprise and shock this past summer when Matvei Michkov came to the NHL two years earlier than expected.

Jones recently sat down with The Inquirer to chat about Michkov, the Flyers’ prospect pool, and much more.

Here is Part 1 of our two-part interview with Jones from last week in Nashville. It has been edited and condensed for clarity.

A: There haven’t been many surprises for me, which I think, from being around as much as I was in doing TV after I played, and paid attention to things, there’s nothing that has been shocking to me. It’s been a lot of fun. We have a great group of people to be around, including the guy at the top, Dan Hilferty. It’s been like a family-like atmosphere, which I think is really important, so maybe that’s one thing I’m very happy about.

A: No doubt. When you’re looking for a specific value compared to something that you have — and, obviously, what you’re looking at elsewhere to try to improve your team — you do look deeper into it. I do think it helps to have the different angles or views that I had of players. There’s still a lot that I take from when I was doing my previous job, in my previous life, that does carry over; that will only last for probably a couple of years, and then you’re going to have to really dig, and try to find different angles to view things. But, there is a benefit to coming from the positions that I was in, including at times beside the benches; there is an advantage to being around there to see certain things that you can help carry forward and try to improve your team.

A: Believe me, it crossed my mind as I was walking into the arena today. It was such a huge day in our franchise, our history, and our potential future. I know, and I can speak for Danny [Brière] as well, we were very nervous that he was not going to drop to us. In fact, at pick No. 6, which was Arizona’s at the time, I purposely went to the restroom because I did not want to hear his name called. It was almost like a mini-superstitious type of thing. So when Coyotes GM Bill Armstrong, or whoever was making the announcement, I could hear it, I was listening, and it started with a Russian team name, and I was like, Oh. I dropped for a second because I thought they were going to call his name, but it turned out they took Dmitriy Simashev and I was just so happy. If you look back at it, and if you watch the tape, I’m saying some nice words about David Poile, because it was in Nashville and the last time he was going to be a general manager for the team, and at the end of it, I say something along the lines of, “Now we’re gonna have some fun. Danny ...” So, yeah, that was a big day for us. It’s a day that I won’t forget.

A: It’s a pleasure. I just love the way his brain works. Both Danny and I were lucky enough to play with some great players, and Danny was one of those players, but to see how their minds work and how driven they are to be the best that they can possibly be, the competitiveness that they bring is exciting. So yeah, it’s a lot of fun to come watch him play and just envision what things are going to be like in the future as he kind of navigates his way through his first season in the NHL.

A: I think they just have a natural way of having that come to the forefront themselves, which is what you appreciate so much about them. It’s one thing to be great, potentially, it’s another to embrace it. There’s a lot of special players, and we’re hoping that’s what he ends up being. So far, the early indications are that’s where it’s headed.

A: Whether he ends up winning it or not, I don’t think that is the most important part. I’m sure it matters to him because he’s very focused on that, which is awesome. But for us, it’s just seeing the progression and knowing that if he continues on the same path, everything’s going to end up being a very positive thing for our fans and our team.

A: It looks pretty bright. I’m encouraged by the direction that we’re going. Obviously, I’m sure we are going to have some hiccups along the way. But an example, like Travis Sanheim is going to bring a smile to a lot of people’s faces. The projection on him probably didn’t put him where he is today. He has excelled and exceeded expectations and I couldn’t be prouder of him. It’s just been really fun to watch him take it to another level. He showed signs of it last year and then, to just grab it and go, yeah, those are the types of things you love to see. And that helps us as we try to insulate our younger players as they come into the fold, to have veteran players excelling at their positions and leading by example. So he and TK are doing their job and doing it well. I’m happy that we have them in the positions that we have them in.

A: He shows the potential to be one, right? The way he has played in a small sample size is really encouraging. What’s most, I guess, comforting to us is that he’s come so far in one year. Last year he wasn’t ready for it, but he went down and worked on his game. He had a lot of bumps along the way in the American Hockey League and it wasn’t the smoothest of seasons for him. He came into camp, kind of wobbled a bit, and then went back down with a great attitude. He got his chance to come up and show that number one, he’s talented, and, number two, he has the inner strength to want the moment and has no fear. So those are all things that are going to serve him well in his career.

So, yes, it’s been a really pleasant surprise how he has excelled, and that’s a great sign for us and our development. We’ve got a lot of resources put into player development right now. We have a lot of people who are working hard to have these guys prepared when they come up, including our coaching staff with Lehigh Valley. So it’s nice to see those guys get rewarded. And then even with Helge Grans coming up, too, and looking the part. Sometimes players take time, especially defensemen, so it’s also a big bonus to see that depth in our talent pool start to grow from within — which is going to be really important for us as we move forward.

A: Hunter McDonald has had a very good start. His training camp wasn’t perfect. He looked like he was drinking water through a garden hose because they’re taking on so much knowledge, right? So to see him slow things down, figure out the pace of play, figure out his balance, how to use his strength, how to take advantage of all the work he put in this summer — and that kid works — that’s really important for us. But also it’s rewarding for everyone who’s working with him, too, that’s a team effort. I think that’s where, down the road, we’re going to continue to see benefits because of the amount of resources that we’re allowed to use to help these guys become better players.

A: Yes, Alex Bump is another top prospect for us at Western Michigan. He’s a talent. That’s another player that we’re really excited about in the near future. He does a lot of things that we need. He’s a very smart player on the forecheck. He’s great on the wall. He’s great at getting pucks to the net at the level that he’s at right now. It’s still going to take time to have that translate to the National Hockey League, but he shows all the signs of being the type of player that we can count on in the future.

A: I think Danny did a great job of just staying patient and letting things play out. And eventually, it was in Aleksei’s best interest to come here, and the opportunity was most likely going to present itself; there are always injuries or bad games for goaltenders. And there’s always opportunity, especially on a developing team that’s not in their playoff window just yet. So he made the right decision. He’s come in with a great attitude. He is a very athletic goaltender as we can all see, and that part’s exciting. He’s super competitive, too. So on a team that’s going to have some defensive issues at times, it’s pretty cool to see a goaltender with the potential to clean up some of the mistakes with spectacular saves, because he can do that. So I’m encouraged by what he’s done, and I like his attitude. He’s fit in well with Matvei, and Ivan Fedotov, and Egor Zamula. They’ve got a nice group of kids there that Zamula plays a big role in, because of his awesome demeanor, his attitude, just a really good person. So, yeah, I think it’s worked out well. I’m really happy with the way that has turned out so far.

» READ MORE: The Flyers have a good problem with both Ivan Fedotov and Aleksei Kolosov finding their game in goal

A: Yeah, that’s been great because Ivan is also a really good person and cares a lot, and was really distraught with the way he had performed early on. But he took it upon himself, when the opportunity presented itself, to grab it and compete and come up with some saves. I think it’s been encouraging to see that the Ivan who was playing over two years ago is starting to return. He was a very good goaltender before he had to miss playing hockey for a year, and I think that rattled him. It’s taken time to get him back on track, but he’s showing signs of being that goaltender again. So that’s also something that we’re feeling good about at this point right now.

A: It does, and whenever our players face adversity, the good news is a lot of them have come out on the other side. We have a coach that’s very demanding and holds everybody accountable to the same standard. But it’s done in an honest way, and I think that has been really beneficial to the growth of our players. When it’s not done consistently for every player, it doesn’t work. But when everybody is receiving the same type of treatment or coaching, it seems to have a better result in the end. Although it’s not perfect, I think it’s been proven over time that that’s going to help these players as they move forward.

A: I think the players believe that they’re better than their record [12-10-3], and we’re always going to encourage that. We’ll never be a team that’s looking to drop. We’re going to be a team that tries to win every game. And I believe that’s the way that you have to be, and I think that’s going to help our younger players moving forward. So where we’re at, I’d like to be a little better. I think we had opportunities to play some better hockey, but we’ve had some injuries, obviously, to Sam Ersson in goal, which isn’t perfect. With those injuries, there’s been opportunity. I think our guys have responded well. So I’m not really looking at it like that. Our expectations are for our guys to give everything they have every night, and for the most part, we’ve got that. but I think we have another level to get to yet.