Russian phenom Matvei Michkov benched for inappropriate comment on the bench

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Finnegan Frost
November 15, 2024 (9:43 PM)

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According to hockey insider Elliotte Friedman, Russian phenom Matvei Michkov was benched by Philadelphia Flyers head coach John Tortarella for inappropriate comments made on the bench.

Russian forward Matvei Michkov is getting his first taste of being in the dog house as he was benched last week by head coach John Tortorella.

Drafted 7th overall in the 2023 NHL entry draft, Michkov came into the the 2024-25 season with a certain degree of hype.

So far, Michkov has been off to a hot start with the Philadelphia Flyers, notching 13 points in just 15 regular season games.

Recently, Michkov was involved in an off-ice altercations with one of his teammates, stemming from a competitive disagreement over a ping pong game -- despite how crazy that may sound.

He was so mad at losing at table tennis to one of Philadelphia's other Russians that he refused to talk to whoever it was for a day or so. He's super-competitive and wants to do the right things, so you wait to see how a young player handles being sat - and more importantly, how his teammates react
-Eliotte Friedman

Michkov's brief removal apparently had something to do with an exchange on the bench the Flyers wished to address. It wasn't anything enormous or concerning, more like a «let's deal with it now and move on» teaching moment.
-Eliotte Friedman

Rumours are circulating that his inappropriate comment was directed towards the player that beat him in the ping pong game, but that is yet to be confirmed.

Regardless, being benched will undoubtedly give Michkov the attitude check needed to ensure this type of outburst doesn't happen again.