No Matvei Michkov Doesn’t Have Character Issues, He’s Just Competitive

The last few days on Flyers Twitter have been eventful to say the least. The clip below has been circulating with very limited context and has been blown out of proportion a little bit.

This clip is from a recent episode of the Barstool Sports Spittin Chiclets podcast with former NHLers Ryan Whitney and Paul Bissonnette, as well as Barstool Personalities Rear Admiral and Mike Grinnell.

First things first, I like the Chiclets guys and enjoy the podcast and think they have been getting too much criticism for this clip especially for the lack of context.

No, they shouldn’t have reported something without having confirmed the source info and getting all the details. However, at the same time this wasn’t them putting out a news story to slander Michkov. If you actually listened to the episode you would know that. This was simply them bringing up rumors they had heard from people and clearly their sources were people that were in or around other organization that Michkov interviewed with before the NHL Draft and told them he wasn’t going to come over to the NHL if they drafted him.

Yes, they should have probably looked a little more into the stories they were told before bringing it up on the podcast but they didn’t and it happens. These guys constantly admit they aren’t perfect and they do the podcast to try and provide entertainment and give their opinions on things. Also, if you listen to the podcast they go on to say great things about Michkov and how they think he can end up being a great NHL player.

Now, onto the actual story that they were referring to in the clip.

This should clear up any doubts about Michkov that anyone might have had after seeing the clip. Clearly this kid’s only problem is that he is ultra competitive and hates losing as much if not more than he wants to win.

I for one don’t see this as a bad thing at all, we need guys like that going forward for the Flyers. Guys that play their ass off every night and do everything they can to win. There hasn’t been enough of that around here as of late and for all the fans that want a culture change, Michkov seems like just the guy to bring that winning attitude to Philadelphia.

It’s very easy to forget that he is only 18 years old and was playing in one of the most competitive leagues in the world. He clearly is still maturing and will continue to do that as he continues to age. There have been countless stories about plenty of elite athletes that are ultra competitive and only care about winning. Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, Tom Brady, Nathan MacKinnon just to name a few. It is not uncommon for young elite athletes to have moments where they let their emotions takeover but 9 times out of 10 it is only to try and help make their team better. I believe that is the type of player Michkov is and will be for the Flyers and it will only be helpful for the future of the Flyers organization.

My feeling is that a lot of this slander is coming from teams that wanted to draft him but were told by him that he basically did not want to play for them and wouldn’t leave the KHL to come to the NHL if they drafted him. Michkov wanted to be a Philadelphia Flyer and now he is.

Side note; people really need to stop jumping down others throats when these short clips come out and it’s completely out of context. It’s not hard to do research one way or another and yes, the Chiclets guys should have vetted their sources but people shouldn’t be slandering them after watching a 30 second clip.

Follow @FlyersFanLife on Twitter for all of your Flyers coverage

-Walsh

Featured Image

By Keith Walsh | July 12, 2023
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,