Flyers' John Tortorella Healthy Scratching Top Rookie Matvei Michkov Is Perfectly OK

If Philadelphia Flyers coach John Tortorella is anything, he’s consistent in terms of never being afraid to sit down a player.

Tortorella benched Flyers captain Sean Couturier last season – and on Thursday, Tortorella decided to make highly touted rookie Matvei Michkov a healthy scratch for Philly's game against Tampa Bay.

Michkov began his NHL career on a high, winning rookie of the month for October. But despite Michkov’s early production – he posted nine points in his first eight games – Michkov’s production has fallen off of late, with just one point in his last five games. His ice time has fallen from a high of 21:54 in his fourth game of the year to just 13:57 in his most recent game on Tuesday. He’s clearly not doing something right.

Tortorella is within his rights to put out any lineup he sees fit, even if there is skepticism around whether Philadelphia really in a position to scratch their top rookie. Remember, Michkov played in the KHL last season, and at 19 years old, he’s more experienced than many of his freshman counterparts.

But true to form, Tortorella wasn’t shy about justifying his decision to scratch Michkov.

"With young guys, they can watch games too as far as development," Tortorella said Thursday of the move to scratch Michkov. "It's trying to help him."

We don’t always agree with Tortorella, but in this case, he has a fair point.

Michkov shouldn’t be too comfortable in his current role, and sitting in the press box will keep him humble. The fact that the Flyers have stumbled out to a 4-8-1 record and sit eighth in the Metropolitan Division is a reminder the team is still in the midst of a major rebuild.

There’s no sense of urgency that this team is in win-now mode. And Michkov doesn’t have to play 20 minutes a night or every game for him and the team to develop the right way.

To be sure, there have been moments this season where Michkov looks like a front-runner to win the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s best rookie. However, his lack of production right now, combined with his defensive play – or lack thereof – opened up the possibility to learn by watching.

Tortorella has never been afraid of challenging all of his players to ratchet up their games by taking opportunities away from them when he doesn't like what he sees.

Michkov is now battling through his first taste of adversity in the world’s best hockey league, and it will be intriguing to see how he handles it. We suspect Michkov will be back in the lineup in relatively short order, but at the moment, he has to demonstrate he can handle the coach’s heat and come out the other side of it as a more complete player.

If Michkov doesn't respond positively to his current playing situation, the Flyers are going to have a bigger problem on their hands. But it’s much more likely he takes this shot across the bow in stride and figures out how to play to Tortorella’s standards.

Tortorella is always going to be a demanding bench boss, and it’s now up to Michkov to adapt to Tortorella’s expectations.

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