John Tortorella talked about challenges coaching 19-year-old Matvei Michkov (image credit: IMAGN)
Philadelphia Flyers coach John Tortorella shared his challenges with coaching 19-year-old Matvei Michkov due to language barriers. Michkov was drafted seventh overall in 2023 and joined the Flyers in the 2024-25 NHL season after terminating his contract with KHL club SKA St. Petersburg.
During an interview on NHL on TNT on Wednesday, Paul Bissonnette asked Tortorella how he coaches Michkov. Tortorella confirmed that the language barrier is the biggest obstacle.
"It's been a little difficult for me, because the way I like to coach is, if something happens, I'm hitting that right away on the bench in practice, whatever it may be," Tortorella said. "It's spontaneous coaching. I can't do that with Mich because he just doesn't understand."
