Philadelphia Flyers winger Matvei Michkov finished his first day of training camp doing another first: speaking in English from start to finish in his first press conference of the 2026-27 season. And much like what he did on the ice in the practice earlier in the day, Michkov sounded as good as he looked.

“I know now a little bit better English, my first year was so hard for me,” the Russian forward said, not quite fluent, but far better than at any point in his time with the Flyers. “I stayed in Philly with zero level English. Second year a little bit better, now a little bit better more. Now this is my first interview in English. This is hard for me. Guys, sorry. I think now much better. I think Philly is my second home. I feel the same about my first home and my second home. I feel the same, so good. Thank you everybody for support. And the atmosphere.”

“Yeah I think that’s a big step for him,” Flyers head coach Rick Tocchet said after Thursday’s team’s practices and drills. “We encouraged him to come out, I don’t think he needs a translator all the time. It’s good to have a safety net with him, but I think he did a hell of a job. He’s going up to coaches on his own and stuff like that. We’ve got to create that culture for him. He doesn’t need people around him. I think he knows. It’s the only way to go. He wants it, and he wants to learn that way too. It’s good for us too.”

Michkov clearly looked lean and in top shape, and realized the work he put in during the summer is already paying dividends in his first day on the ice.

“I feel good, good summer,” Michkov said. “I worked all the time, work and fun, 50/50. I feel really good right now, I feel I’m already in season (shape).”

The practice saw Michkov paired with Denver Barkey at center and Zach Aston-Reese on a line. But it’s what Michkov did — and how it did it — that put a smile on a lot of his teammates’ faces, including the captain.

“You can definitely tell he’s put in the work, he’s put in the sacrifices,” Sean Couturier said on Thursday. “He looks in good shape. He’s skating well out there, making plays. So it’s exciting to see. He’s always been a big part of our team. We expect that out of him and he seems to want more. So that’s encouraging and it’s fun to see.”

Michkov appears as ready to go as ever

“Yeah he looks quick out there, him and Barks were buzzing around,” Tocchet added about Michkov. “We were doing the concepts that we talked about. But he did look very quick out there. He really wanted to work on his shot this summer, he spent a lot of time working on his shot. And he was pushing the pace on the laps, I love that. Just not him, but Barkey, other guys, it’s good to see.”

Michkov said he spent part of the summer working and training with Los Angeles forward Artemi Panarin and Utah defenseman Mikhail Sergachev in Russia. Michkov said they messaged him to join them. “They are so good guys, so good NHL players, NHL guys,” he said. “In Russia we worked the same, on our hands, our skills, and a little bit of skating. This is good for me too.”

The Russian said roughly a two-week visit by Flyer Performance and Development coach Lorne Goldenberg was also valuable. “We had one day to the gym and plus one practice on the ice. It was a total of three practices in one day,” Michkov said. “It was a hard two weeks, but it was good for me.”

Part of the summer saw him concentrate more on his shooting, particularly his one-timers. Tocchet informed Michkov he needed to work on that aspect of his game, and work he did. The work should pay off with Michkov having more quality scoring chances, and thus more production.

Michkov feels willing to take the next step

However, the biggest difference both the player and the coach see is in Michkov’s fitness. And both parties seem to be relishing the difference the summer and training has made.

“I think this is so good for me,” Michkov said. “I feel right now lighter on the ice, more speed, every skill I have more speed, better speed. This is hard work too (doing the interview). I eat right now just good food, but no fast food, no sugar. Well, maybe a little bit maybe on a day off. I like chocolate, but just on day off.

“This is hard work too, this is hard work not only on the ice, but in life too, hard work. But in total this is new to me, new (way of) eating. But good. I want to play better for the team, for the Flyers. But my first option is to support everybody on the team who plays with the Flyers.”

Tocchet said he agrees Michkov his lighter, and the result — albeit one day of training camp — seems to be looking faster and stronger in terms of his skating.

“His strides are longer,” the coach said. “When you watch the laps when guys start to tire, their stride gets choppier, but his was still long. That’s a good sign. And not just him, anybody, you can’t be a good rush player if you can’t separate. The defense gap up so quick in this league. If you add that separation with the speed, he’s able to make that decision and make the next play. So I think him working on that, and some of the other guys like Porter, his skating has really improved from the start of last year. It’s really good to see as a coach.”

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