Flyers prospect Matvei Michkov has finally arrived in North America.
The seventh-overall selection from last year’s NHL Draft was met at New York’s JFK Airport on Tuesday by Flyers GM Danny Brière and team president Keith Jones, with the team tweeting out photos of the Russian forward wearing a Phillies ball cap and Flyers golf shirt.
Michkov’s arrival in North America is one that has dealt with its fair share of obstacles since the 19-year-old donned a Flyers jersey for the first time at last year’s NHL Draft.
Brière and the Flyers were not expecting the forward to join the group ahead of the 2026 season, let alone their upcoming campaign set to kick off in October, with Michkov’s rights still belonging to the KHL’s SKA St. Petersburg at the time of the 2023 NHL Draft.
Yet after being granted a release by his Russian club in June, Michkov immediately inked his three-year entry-level deal with the Flyers and will now be finally making his trip to the Wells Fargo Center to officially start what the fanbase has already labelled as “Michkov Mania.”
It is expected the Flyers’ top prospect will be available for the team’s pre-season schedule later this fall as well, despite missing out on Philadelphia’s development camp earlier this month.
Michvov’s presence will be a massive boost to Philadelphia’s offensive corps next season after coming off a year that saw the team finish 27th in the league in scoring.
Born in Perm, Russia, Michkov has garnered comparisons to fellow Russian great Alexander Ovechkin during his steady rise to becoming one of the league’s most talented scoring prospects in recent years.
Nabbing eight goals and 13 points during the 2022 Hlinka-Gretzky Cup, Michkov potted a trio of goals in two games for Russia during the eventually cancelled 2022 World Junior Championship before being selected by the Flyers the following summer.