Philadelphia Flyers star rookie Matvei Michkov was a healthy scratch for the first time, missing Thursday's 2-1 win at the Tampa Bay Lightning, coach John Tortorella said.
The 19-year-old Michkov is second on the Flyers with 10 points (4 goals, 6 assists) in 13 games, skating to a minus-8. The seventh overall pick in 2023, he is among the favorites to win the Calder Trophy as NHL rookie of the year after leaving his Russian team earlier this year.
During his 23 years as an NHL coach, Tortorella has been infamous for benching top offensive players as a message-sending tactic. He said that Michkov sitting out was part of the process in growing the rookie winger's game.
"With young guys, they can watch games too as far as development," Tortorella said. "It's trying to help him."
Michkov won NHL rookie of the month for October with 9 points in 11 games, but that was frontloaded as he has just one assist in his last five games and has less than 14 minutes of ice time in two of his past three games.
Before the season, Flyers general manager Danny Briere predicted "fireworks here and there" between the rookie and his demanding coach.
"Just like he has with almost every single player," Briere said of Tortorella. "At the end of the day, Torts is the coach and he's going to manage him. He's going to teach him to be a pro. Torts' goal is to make Matvei the best player he can be."
Briere also said it could be a "tough season" for Michkov, despite his offensive potential.
"I'm realistic. This is the best league in the world. It's a big step. It's not going to be easy," Briere said. "So my expectations are actually pretty low. I'm excited to watch him play, but he's going to have to go through a lot before he's the player that he expects to be."
The Flyers are in last place in the Metro Division with 11 points in 14 games (5-8-1).