Matvei Michkov met with the media after the Flyers’ rookie game against the Rangers.
VOORHEES, N.J. — The Flyers on Monday held their second-to-last day of 2024 rookie training camp.
Things will wrap up Tuesday before John Tortorella's rope comes out Thursday to commence main camp.
While one signed goalie prospect has been here for rookie camp, another has not. Carson Bjarnason played four of the six periods in the rookie games over the weekend. Alexei Kolosov, also under contract with the Flyers, did not report to camp.
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For Bjarnason, Kolosov's absence hasn't changed his mindset.
"I've never met him but I heard he's a great guy and great goalie," the 19-year-old said Saturday. "I haven't thought too much about it, it's just kind of go out there, play my game and play the way I can."
How does AHL affiliate Lehigh Valley head coach Ian Laperriere view the Kolosov situation? We'll get into that and more with our latest three observations from rookie camp.
'I was as surprised as everybody'
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Laperriere saw Kolosov join his club last season at the start of April. The Flyers felt the 22-year-old Belarusian spending a month-plus with the Phantoms would be an effective way to facilitate his full-time transition to North America in 2024-25.
Kolosov, a 2021 third-round pick and one of the Flyers' top goaltending prospects, had played 53 games, including the playoffs, on loan with Dinamo Minsk in the KHL, Russia's top pro league. There was a gap of about three weeks from when his KHL season ended to when he arrived in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Kolosov played a couple of games for Lehigh Valley, which bowed out of the playoffs on May 11.
Five days later, Belarushockey.com reported that Kolosov would potentially want to return to the KHL in 2024-25 because of problems adapting to North America. At the time, the Flyers believed that he had been homesick, according to a source, but were hopeful he'd be OK next season. Tony Androckitis of InsideAHLHockey.com reported in July that Kolosov felt "isolated."
"I was as surprised as everybody behind [the Flyers'] doors when I read what I read," Laperriere said Monday. "To be honest, like, maybe I'm the worst coach in the world, but I make people around me comfortable. I'm a friendly guy, you guys have known me for 15 years. It was weird to read the stuff. I don't think it's coming from the kid. Stuff gets translated, who said what. ... I really don't know what to believe with what's out there because the kid never told us that.
"It's frustrating because he looked really good in practice. He didn't skate for three weeks or a month, so he had some catching up to do and we were in a playoff race and Cal Petersen played unbelievable down the stretch. It was a tough spot for him, but guys asked him to go out every night for dinner, he said no."
As a French Canadian, Laperriere had to learn English in 1994 coming up through the Blues' organization with the Peoria Rivermen.
"I get it, he doesn't speak English, so that's got to be tough," Laperriere said. "I know my English is not great now, but I didn't speak English when I moved to Peoria (Illinois) when I was 20. So it's part of pro hockey when you go from one country to the other, you've got to learn the language."
To make up for Kolosov's absence in main camp, the Flyers signed Eetu Makiniemi, a 25-year-old with NHL and AHL experience, to a professional tryout offer two and a half weeks ago. Kolosov, who changed agents last month, signed his three-year entry-level contract with the Flyers in July 2023. He would bolster the Phantoms' goaltending picture.
"I wish him luck, hopefully we'll see him soon because he is a talented kid," Laperriere said. "But I'll play the guys that I have."
More: Briere defends Flyers amid Kolosov absence, says time for prospect to 'step up'
'He's doing that with everyone'
A big storyline to Matvei Michkov's arrival in July was the language barrier. As rookie camp has continued, the 19-year-old Russian has often been smiling and chatting with other prospects. He looks comfortable.
"He's doing that with everyone," Laperriere said. "He's in the gym, he goes around, says good morning, high-fives everybody. For me, he wants to be here. That's another example, his English has improved in two weeks I've been around him. When you want something, it goes quickly. That's a kid who wants to learn the language because he wants to be a part of the solution here."
Hunter McDonald, an American defenseman, has enjoyed getting to know Michkov this summer.
"It has been great, we took him out for his first burrito, working on his English," he said. "He has been good, we got to hang out with him in the house, play some video games, just outside that rink, get to know him a little bit. Anytime we're talking, we might not understand, we don't bring out the translator just to kind of keep working on it and force the English."
And Michkov has had help from translators, even Canadian defenseman Oliver Bonk, whose dad Radek Bonk is from Czechia.
"It has been great, he's a great kid," Bonk said. "I speak a bit of Czech, so I'm bit of a translator in the gym for him right now, his gym buddy. He's a great kid, it's fun being out there with him."
Bumper Bonk in Philly?
The Flyers' second first-round pick in 2023 was given a popular nickname of "Bumper Bonk" last season. It was fueled by the 19-year-old's success in the bumper spot of London's power play.
Bonk led all OHL defensemen with 15 man advantage goals and finished with 67 points over 60 regular-season games for the Knights.
So the Flyers put Bonk in the bumper spot for Friday night's rookie game.
"I've never seen that, I've never seen a D in the bumper spot on the power play," Laperriere said. "I was anxious to see that and he looked pretty good. You can tell he's comfortable, his puck retrieval is amazing in that position."
Can he play the bumper role at the next level?
"That's going to be for Torts or if I get him next year, which I wouldn't be surprised if I never see him," Laperriere said. "But if I do, I'll work with him, for sure."
Bonk will be in the Flyers' main camp and is expected to eventually head back to London for his final year of junior hockey. The Flyers love that he's coachable. He credits a lot of that to his father, who played 14 years in the NHL.
"My dad was great, he always pushed me," Bonk said. "I'm used to being pushed, when the coaches are yelling here and they want to get you going, they want to push you, I'm ready for it. It doesn't really intimidate me or anything like that."
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