Latest news with #MatveiMichkov
Al Arabiya
2 hours ago
- Sport
- Al Arabiya
Will the Broad Street Bullies be back? Flyers go big at the NHL Draft
By the time the Philadelphia Flyers are legitimate contenders again a few years down the road, they could have a lineup that makes the 1970s Broad Street Bullies proud. Five of their eight selections in the NHL draft stand 6-foot-3 or taller, including first-rounders Porter Martone and Jack Nesbitt. They overlooked smaller talent to get a hulking winger in Martone at No. 6 and traded up for Nesbitt, a 6-5 center, with the 12th pick. 'It's a nice bonus that they're both tall and will bring us size as well,' general manager Daniel Briere said. 'It just kind of worked out that way. It wasn't a plan that we had in mind going into the draft that we wanted to get bigger. It just happened that way.' Philadelphia's second-rounders were 6-6, 232-pound defenseman Carter Amico and a trio of nice-sized forwards: Jack Murtagh, Shane Vansaghi, and Matthew Gard. Murtagh described himself as a 'high-end workhorse.' Their second fifth-round pick, Luke Vlooswyk, called himself a 'big defensive defenseman.' He said Gard, a teammate with the Western Hockey League's Red Deer Rebels, is 'a big kid like me.' Bulking up the prospect pool makes sense for the Flyers, who have a lot of smaller talent in the system, from budding star Matvei Michkov already on the roster to 2024 first-rounder Jett Luchanko, who played four games for them last season. They also just traded for 6-foot center Trevor Zegras and could use some size in their not-too-distant future. After William Horcoff, whose dad Shawn spent 15 seasons in the NHL, went 24th to Pittsburgh in the first round, Day 2 of the draft was full of the sons and nephews of retired players hearing their names called. It started with Seattle trading up to get Blake Fiddler, son of Vernon, early in the second round. Eric Nilson, son of Marcus, went a handful of picks later to Anaheim. There were more familiar names picked in the third round: Artyom Gonchar, nephew of 2009 Stanley Cup champion Sergei Gonchar, to the New York Rangers and Blake Vanek, son of Thomas, to Ottawa. After Simon Wang became the highest-ranked China-born NHL draft pick when San Jose chose him at No. 33, Matous Jan Kucharcik made some Italian hockey history. Taken by Buffalo 103rd, Kucharcik is a Czech national but became the fourth player born in Italy to be selected.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
BREAKING: Flyers Take Porter Martone At Sixth Overall
The Philadelphia Flyers have selected Porter Martone at No. 6 in the 2025 NHL Draft. Martone, a right winger, brings size and intelligence to the Flyers' offense, and it's suggested that he could be ready for an NHL roster come October. Advertisement The 6'3" forward brings plenty of energy, and has proven himself capable of scoring and driving possession. The hope is that he can balance out an offense with equally high-motor players like Matvei Michkov and Trevor Zegras. He's drawn comparisons to players like Florida Panthers star Matthew Tkachuk and Dallas Stars standout Mikko Rantanen. Martone also grew up a Flyers fan, revealing that he had a poster of former Flyers captain Claude Giroux in his basement. General manager Danny Briere also said with a smile on his face that they had pictures of Martone in Flyers gear.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Flyers Mock Draft 4.0: Final Musings and Ruminations
The Flyers will almost assuredly pick a center for Matvei Michkov in the 2025 NHL Draft. (Photo: Christopher Hanewinc, Imagn Images) It's time for our fourth and final rendition of our 2025 Philadelphia Flyers mock draft, complete with all 32 first-round selections from every team. The perpetually changing rumor landscape has changed our selections over time, with names like James Hagens, Porter Martone, Ivan Ryabkin, Joshua Ravensbergen, Jackson Smith, and more all making their ways into the first round for the Flyers. Advertisement So, what's ultimately going to happen? It's hard to say, but there are now only so many hours before the draft for things to change. Let's talk Flyers and the NHL Draft, yes? 1. D Matthew Schaefer, New York Islanders 2. C Anton Frondell, San Jose Sharks 3. C Michael Misa, Chicago Blackhawks 4. C Caleb Desnoyers, Utah Mammoth 5. RW Porter Martone, Nashville Predators 6. C James Hagens, Philadelphia Flyers Rationale: Under GM Danny Briere, the Flyers have developed a reputation for deception around draft time. But you can only perform the same trick so many times before you become a one-trick pony. Advertisement That's why I believe the Flyers are genuinely interested in James Hagens, once the consensus No. 1 player of this draft class, and believe he can be Philly's No. 1 center of the future alongside Matvei Michkov. Hagens confirmed Thursday that he met with the Flyers an additional time following the NHL scouting combine. 7. C Jake O'Brien, Boston Bruins 8. F Brady Martin, Seattle Kraken 9. D Radim Mrtka, Buffalo Sabres 10. D Kashawn Aitcheson, Anaheim Ducks Flyers Have New Trade-Up Possibility in NHL Draft Flyers Have New Trade-Up Possibility in NHL Draft If the Philadelphia Flyers wish to move up in the first round of the 2025 NHL Draft, the Los Angeles Kings have presented them a golden opportunity to do so. Advertisement 11. C Roger McQueen, Pittsburgh Penguins 12. RW Victor Eklund, Pittsburgh Penguins 13. F Carter Bear, Detroit Red Wings 14. D Jackson Smith, Columbus Blue Jackets 15. F Benjamin Kindel, Vancouver Canucks 16. LW Lynden Lakovic, New York Islanders 17. D Logan Hensler, New York Islanders 18. LW Malcom Spence, Calgary Flames 19. RW Justin Carbonneau, St. Louis Blues 20. C Braden Cootes, Columbus Blue Jackets 21. D Cam Reid, Ottawa Senators 22. C Cole Reschny, Philadelphia Flyers Rationale: Should they draft Cole Reschny, the Flyers will have drafted a center with each of their last three first round picks after Hagens and Jett Luchanko. Advertisement But that's not a bad thing. We don't know what Luchanko's true ceiling is as a promising player playing on awful teams, and the Flyers were basically the only team to value him as highly as they did. Adding Reschny to the mix gives the Flyers a much better chance of having two potential top-six centers in the pipeline and helps further take the pressure off Luchanko to become some offensive maven. Reschny is a versatile forward and was dynamite in the WHL this season, especially in the second half of the year. He'd be a great fit in Philadelphia. 23. G Joshua Ravensbergen, Nashville Predators Advertisement 24. D Blake Fiddler, Los Angeles Kings 25. LW Bill Zonnon, Chicago Blackhawks 26. C Jack Nesbitt, Nashville Predators 27. RW Alex Zharovsky, Washington Capitals 28. C William Horcoff, Winnipeg Jets 29. D Max Psenicka, Carolina Hurricanes Flyers Draft 2025: Who Are the Best (and Worst) Trade-Up Targets for Philly? Flyers Draft 2025: Who Are the Best (and Worst) Trade-Up Targets for Philly? With seven picks in the first two rounds of the 2025 NHL Draft, the possibilities are endless for the Philadelphia Flyers. They could use all seven picks, trade up once, trade up twice, or even trade down like they did in 2024. 30. D Henry Brzustewicz, San Jose Sharks 31. LW Cullen Potter, Philadelphia Flyers Advertisement Rationale: Another small forward Jon, really? Look, Cullen Potter is one of my favorite forwards in this draft class. He's a monster skater and has a full offensive toolkit, and he's a left-shot left wing, which the Flyers really need more of. Alex Bump and Nikita Grebenkin are probably NHL contributors, but do they have the skating and upside of Potter? No, not in my opinion, at least. Potter will need to put on some weight and strength, but the Flyers already have guys (Bobby Brink, maybe Maxim Shabanov) smaller than the 5-foot-10, 172-pound Potter. Add the talent first, worry about size later. Last year, the Flyers had the inverse strategy, though, so there's concern they again look for the tallest centers they can find within reason at this draft slot. Advertisement 32. D Haoxi "Simon" Wang, Calgary Flames Potential Flyers picks to watch on Day 2 With that all out of the way, there's a surprisingly considerable amount of talent left on the board, including some of my mocked first-rounders from past attempts at this thing. The Flyers need left defensemen, so names like Kurban Limatov and Sascha Boumedienne should be in play at 36. Later in the second round, I could see the Flyers take one, or even two, goalies. Russians Semyon Frolov and Alexei Medvedev (already plays in North America for London, teammate of Oliver Bonk and Denver Barkey) are the two best options there. Advertisement I lean Medvedev. Taking the Russian-playing-in-North-America pipeline worked well for the New Jersey Devils last year with Mikhail Yegorov. Other names I like for the Flyers, in no particular order: RW Vaclav Nestrasil, C Ivan Ryabkin, LW Jack Murtagh, LW Kristian Epperson, D Maddox Labre, D Mace'o Phillips, D David Bedkowski, C Milton Gastrin, RW Jakob Ihs-Wozniak.
New York Times
4 days ago
- Sport
- New York Times
Flyers' Tocchet: ‘We'd be idiots' not to try Michkov, Zegras on a line together
It was probably the first thought that went through every Flyers fan's head the moment they learned Trevor Zegras was coming to Philadelphia. Is this the center that can mesh with talented young winger Matvei Michkov, giving the Flyers a high-end top line that will frustrate opposing teams for, say, the next decade or so? Advertisement Naturally, new coach Rick Tocchet has pondered that possibility, too. 'We'd be idiots not to explore it and talk about it, and try to manifest it where it can work,' Tocchet told The Athletic on Tuesday afternoon from Las Vegas, where he was wrapping up Olympic meetings with the Team Canada coaching staff. 'Can it work? I don't know.' Tocchet, 61, has been around a little while. He personally knows a few of the game's all-time greats and what they preferred from linemates. So, when asked what has to happen for a Zegras-Michkov (and an unspecified left wing) line to have success, he drew from that base of knowledge. 'I always use (Wayne) Gretzky and (Mario) Lemieux as benchmark guys — they never liked playing on a line with guys that went east-west all the time. They felt it was really hard for them. Just as long as the chemistry with (Zegras and Michkov), if it does happen … you want them to be creative, but there's also certain things you have to do to become a good line — retrievals, driving the middle (of the ice), net-front — all that stuff. Creativity is great, but if you're just on the outside spinning your wheels, I don't think that's effective. 'You look at Florida, they play straight-line hockey. Is there a hybrid of doing both? Absolutely. We've just got to make sure we find that sweet spot.' The suggestion is perhaps Michkov and Zegras are a little too similar in their approaches. It has merit; both like to hang onto the puck and make plays, and both could probably use a little more north-south in their games, too. Regardless, Tocchet echoed what general manager Daniel Briere said on Monday — he is going to give Zegras an opportunity to return to playing center, where he posted back-to-back 60-point seasons early in his career. Tocchet and Zegras spoke 'at length' on Monday after the trade, said the coach, who was encouraged by Zegras's self-assessment and enthusiasm for the chance the Flyers are primed to give him. 'I definitely think it's our obligation to see if he can play center,' Tocchet said. 'He really wants to give it a shot. … He's talented making a play off his forehand or backhand, and those guys are hard to find. 'He shared a couple things with me that he was pretty honest about, where he had struggles in boxing out guys down low, and things that he wanted to work on. I thought that was really mature from him. So there's some things that I can really help him (with) in being a center. We'll see how it goes. But, yeah, I'd like to definitely give him a shot up the middle.' Advertisement And Zegras, too, voiced his delight to returning to what he called the position he played his entire career before former Ducks coach Greg Cronin shifted him to the left wing at the start of the 2023-24 season. 'I've always felt more comfortable (at center),' Zegras said in a fairly abbreviated video conference call on Tuesday. 'I think there are definitely areas I need to work on, whether it's in the faceoff circle or below the goal line, or in front of the net in the D zone. I think it was good to play the wing and learn that position and responsibilities. (We'll) see, I guess, where it goes with the new coach and the new team, but definitely will be exciting to be back in the middle for sure.' Tocchet, of course, will have other options with Zegras if he doesn't see a fit with Michkov. Perhaps Zegras will end up better suited to a line with someone like Owen Tippett, who never really seemed to find chemistry with any of the Flyers' centers last season. Or maybe Zegras helps Travis Konecny take his game to a new level, with Konecny serving as the wrecking ball on that line and providing Zegras more time and space to do what he does best. What is undeniable is that Tocchet has more options to fuel his offense than he did a couple days ago. 'I talked to Danny about (Zegras) for a week or two, if there was a possibility with a player like him. I told him I'd be excited if this happened,' he said. 'I coached against him all those years with Arizona and Vancouver so I kind of know his game. There's a lot of upside with Trevor. I love that he's got a good personality. I think guys like that are great in the room. But there are some things that he knows that he has to do to get back to the player he wants to be. Myself and my coaching staff, we really want to help him achieve those things.' (Photo of Trevor Zegras: Maddie Meyer / Getty Images)
New York Times
5 days ago
- Sport
- New York Times
What will Trevor Zegras' arrival via trade mean for the Flyers' need at center?
The Philadelphia Flyers were always going to have to get creative in order to fill the substantial weakness straight through the middle of their line chart. General manager Daniel Briere essentially suggested as much last week when he said that 'calling around the league and finding centers is almost impossible. You're not going to find a first-line or second-line center.' Advertisement So, enter a guy who has spent the vast majority of the past two seasons actually playing left wing for the Anaheim Ducks, but who the Flyers presumably hope can shift back to his natural position of center when he was drafted at No. 9 overall in 2019: Trevor Zegras. The Flyers almost certainly made this trade — dealing Ryan Poehling, a 2025 second round pick (No. 45 overall) and a 2026 fourth round pick — with the idea that Zegras can skate as a center on one of their top two lines. Perhaps they envision him with budding star Matvei Michkov, forming a duo that can dazzle in the offensive zone with a particular flair and ingenuity. Or, maybe Michkov remains with Sean Couturier, giving Zegras an opportunity to fully unlock and connect with someone such as Owen Tippett, who took a step backward in his production this season but still has a substantial tool box. Training camp in September will give new coach Rick Tocchet ample time to mix and match, and see what sort of chemistry develops. Speaking about the trade on Monday afternoon, Briere said that ultimately it will be up to Tocchet to determine which position Zegras plays. But, Briere acknowledged, 'we hope he can help in the center position, because that's obviosuly an area that we could improve.' After Zegras skated in the middle for the early part of his career — including during his rookie season, when he finished second in Calder Trophy voting for rookie of the year, with 61 points in 75 games as a 20-year-old — now former Ducks coach Greg Cronin moved him to the wing to start the 2023-24 season, in order to make room for up-and-coming centers such as Leo Carlsson and Mason McTavish. Zegras's production dipped. He managed only six goals and 15 points in 31 games in 2023-24, while tallying 12 goals and 20 assists for 32 points in 57 games this season. To be fair, there were some notable injuries to Zegras' groin, ankle and knee the past two years that likely contributed to his drop in offense, while his name was in persistent trade rumors, too, which probably didn't help (Briere admitted they had discussions with the Ducks about Zegras in the past.) Advertisement But, that drop in scoring is 'why he was available in the first place,' Briere said. 'Top-six talents are very rarely available around the NHL. We felt that was a risk worth taking for us. We've seen him in the past. He had those really good seasons at 20 and 21 years old. Yes, injuries were a factor the last couple years. Other than that, it's tough for us to tell on the outside. We're not in the room, we're not with the coaching staff, the other players. Sometimes it can be chemistry, as well.' Briere said that he spoke with Zegras on Monday, although they didn't get into specifics regarding where he might play. Still, it seems inevitable he'll get an opportunity to thrive in his preferred position, at least according to Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek, who mentioned the player's desire to skate in the middle again. 'Ultimately, Trevor, he's been wanting to play center,' Verbeek said. 'And I think he'll be given that opportunity in Philadelphia to play center. I think he's more creative in the middle of the ice than having to play from the wing. We're fortunate there's Leo and there's Mason. We find that they're two pretty good centermen. Trevor has to kind of get pushed to the wing, and that probably doesn't suit his best attributes, being able to play and create from the middle.' As others have already mentioned, this isn't much of a high-risk transaction for the Flyers. In fact, It could be considered a blueprint in asset management. Briere acquired what was a distressed property in the 2023 offseason in Poehling, saw him turn into a more than serviceable fourth-line center, and made him the centerpiece of a deal that could — emphasis on could — pay off terrifically if Zegras can get back on track. Further, the second-round pick the Flyers surrendered, originally property of Columbus, was a part of the Ivan Provorov trade two years ago, a deal that also netted them defenseman Sean Walker, who was flipped last season for the No. 22 overall pick in this year's draft. Further, Zegras has just one more year left on his contract at a $5.75 million AAV, after which he'll be a restricted free agent under team control. The Flyers can re-up him a year from now (or earlier) if he proves his worth, or walk away if he doesn't. Advertisement So, will he? One pro scout familiar with the Pacific Division believes the Flyers taking a chance on Zegras is sensible. 'I didn't mind the swing here,' said the scout. 'Obviously, Z has his warts, areas that need work, but can't deny his skill set/talent. … First time changing organizations, and a new scenery could help. See it as a low-risk, high-reward type deal for a 24-year-old player with point-per-game potential.' A current Eastern Conference assistant coach was a bit more skeptical, saying that Zegras has 'skill that is undeniable,' but questioning whether his style would fit on any of the four teams that advanced to the conference finals this year. Added a Western Conference assistant coach: 'Very skilled and talented. His issue has been that he doesn't value play without the puck. Will continue to be an issue until he decides it is important.' It's fair, also, to note that while Briere didn't surrender a lot to acquire Zegras, that might also reflect the player's diminished value around the league. Still, if Zegras reaches his potential, he could be just what the Flyers need: an infusion of elite-level skill who can create something about of nothing, and who can get the organization moving in the right direction again next season, as is the plan. Briere still has some work to do if that's going to happen — finding another experienced goalie remains at the top of the list, and they also now need to fill the fourth-line center void left by Poehling — but there's a good chance that the acquisition of Zegras ends up being their most notable transaction of the still-early offseason. 'We feel good about it because of what he's shown in the past,' Briere said. 'We hope he can find that magic again, and take it to another level.' (Photo of Trevor Zegras: Steph Chambers / Getty Images)
