Overview
- Michkov says he skipped vacation and trained up to three times a day this summer, using gym, on-ice and evening conditioning sessions to correct last season’s conditioning shortfall.
- The Flyers sent coach Slava Kuznetsov for a compressed two-week program in Russia to oversee Michkov’s daily triple-session routine and accelerate his physical preparation.
- Michkov worked with high-profile NHL players, including Artemi Panarin and Mikhail Sergachev, using those sessions to sharpen passing, shooting and playmaking skills.
- He plans to return to the Philadelphia area in early August to continue ramping up ahead of the team’s rookie camp and the Flyers’ September 17 training-camp opener.
- Contract-extension talks have not begun and the work is intended to address Rick Tocchet’s public concerns that Michkov arrived to last camp out of shape and lost the coach’s trust.