Flyers marvel at playmaking of rookie Matvei Michkov: ‘You don’t teach it. He can make plays’

Morgan Frost wouldn’t mind getting a second chance on a two-on-one he had with Owen Tippett in Thursday night’s preseason game.

Sure, he’d like to have made a better pass to Tippett or taken the shot quicker, but he really wouldn’t mind rectifying things because of the play Matvei Michkov made to get him the puck.

Skating across the neutral zone, the Russian phenom knocked a long, bouncing outlet pass by Adam Ginning down, not with his hand or his stick — with his knee … on the ice. And the best part was (this will make every youth hockey coach show the clip to their kids hundreds of times) the 19-year-old had two hands on his stick the whole time, so he could backhand a pass to Frost right as he popped up.

» READ MORE: Matvei Michkov’s elite skills and other takeaways from the Flyers’ preseason win vs. the Islanders

“It was just a great read,” Frost said. “I think that’s one of the things about him, too, is he works really hard and gets into those spots and can make those plays. He’s not just relying on his hands or whatever. I think he works super hard and is able to find those plays. And, yeah, that was a good one.”

And in case you were wondering, yep, it even impressed the grizzled Flyers bench boss.

“You don’t teach it. He can make plays,” John Tortorella said. “When you start getting into the speed of the game, and the width, the corners, I think that’s something he’s going to have to get used to. He played against more National Hockey Leaguers last night, I think it’s exciting. You can see he has skill. And he’s going to get closed out, he’s going to run into some obstacles along the way; that’s the feeling out process for him. But we’re really excited [about] how he’s gone about his business in camp.”

Tortorella is known to be hard on his players, especially when it comes to defensive-zone responsibilities and coverages. So how will he balance Michkov developing his play in the Flyers’ end with letting him let loose offensively?

“I’m not interested in turning him into a checker,” Tortorella said. “We want to lay the foundation, and it’s going to take time. It’s my job as far as play away from the puck. Are we going to beat him over the head with it? No, because we are starving for the type of plays that he can make, the instinctive plays that he can make. I do not want to overload him.

“We’re certainly going to teach him along the way, especially situational play. I think that’s the key thing when you’re dealing with offensive players. There’s certain times in the game that you’ve just got to be simple. You may have to fight another day to make that play between someone’s legs. That’s something I know we’re going to have to teach him. But I want to let him go. We’re not going to try to stifle him in any way as far as his creativity.”

Tortorella may have been watching from the Flyers’ suite in the press box, but he loved watching Michkov celebrate his empty-netter Thursday night. Michkov jumped into the glass, gave big hugs, and handed out fist pounds everywhere. “It’s like it’s Game 7,” he chuckled, regarding Michkov’s first goal in a preseason game.

» READ MORE: Flyers’ Emil Andrae trying to elbow his way into a spot on the blue line

“You get happy for a 19-year-old kid, coming from overseas, trying to figure it all out here, spotlight on him a little bit, high pick, and he just goes and plays. That’s fun for me to watch, to watch a kid be able to handle it,” Tortorella said. “I think of myself when I was that age, there’s not a chance I could be doing the things that he’s doing, and I look at Jett [Luchanko], and there’s not a chance. I was never mature enough to be doing something like that. So it’s fun for an older person to see a young kid enjoy himself and be able to handle the situation the way he has.”

After much speculation and drama, Alexei Kolosov reported to the Flyers training camp and was on the ice with Group 2 on Friday.

Sharing the net with Eetu Mäkiniemi and Cal Petersen, Kolosov took reps in the same gear he wore last year when he played with the Phantoms.

Listed at 6-foot-1, the 22-year-old Belarusian showed the quickness and agility he is known for as he faced shooters, including against his teammates last season, and got fist bumps from special adviser to hockey operations Patrick Sharp and goaltending coach Kim Dillabaugh. Kolosov and Dillabaugh appeared to chat a few times during the practice.

His appearance in Voorhees comes 10 days after Flyers general manager Danny Brière announced that Kolosov would not be reporting to training camp. It also comes after the Flyers signed Mäkiniemi to a one-year, two-way contract. The Finnish netminder was in camp on a professional tryout agreement.

Kolosov’s agent, Dan Milstein of Gold Star Sports Management, told The Inquirer via text on Thursday: “Alexei is enthusiastic about joining the Flyers for the upcoming training camp. All previous concerns have been thoroughly addressed and are now resolved.”

The Flyers announced on Friday they have signed 2024 draft pick Spencer Gill to a three-year entry-level contract.

Gill, who was reassigned to Rimouski of the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League earlier in the week, had an impressive camp three months after being drafted in the second round. He also turned 18 in August.

» READ MORE: The making of the Flyers' ice at the Wells Fargo Center

Is he inexperienced? Yes, but he showed off a cool, calm approach to games when he skated in the Rookie Series against the New York Rangers and made his preseason debut with the Flyers on Sunday against the Washington Capitals. He logged 19 minutes, 16 seconds of ice time, including the penalty kill, and blocked two shots.

When asked about the players cut on Wednesday, Tortorella brought up Gill.

“I thought Gill had a good camp,” Tortorella said. “A big, tall, 5-year-old that needs to grow into his body. A right-handed defenseman. I thought he equipped himself very well.”

The Flyers announced their next round of cuts on Friday.

Defensemen Ronnie Attard and Louie Belpedio and forward Rhett Gardner were placed on waivers. If they clear, they will be loaned to Lehigh Valley of the American Hockey League. JR Avon, Elliot Desnoyers, and Massimo Rizzo were assigned to the Phantoms, and Brendan Furry and Jacob Gaucher, who are on AHL contracts, also were returned to the club.

There are 37 players remaining in camp, including Jett Luchanko, Hunter McDonald, Oliver Bonk, Emil Andrae, and Adam Ginning.