Matvei Michkov’s arrival in Philadelphia this summer was widely heralded and brought a new level of excitement to the organization not seen in some time. That said, expectations within the organization were a little more subdued than they probably were among outside observers. Michkov certainly featured heavily in the highlights coming out of Russia during his final season in the KHL. But the KHL isn’t the NHL, and the Flyers’ front office and coaching staff knew it.

Flyers front office brass have remained steadfast in their approach to Michkov, knowing there will be bumps along the road during his rookie season. “He’s something in the way he plays that we don’t have a lot of, and that’s why it’s so exciting. At the end of the day, it’s his rookie season. He is 19 years old. He still has a lot to learn. There’s going to be some ups and downs, and he sees them,” Flyers general manager Daniel Briere said before the season started. “On the other hand, he’s been dealing with that pressure for a long time now. It’s almost like -he’d be comfortable in it by now, but it’s our job to protect him as much as we can.”

Michkov’s start has been excellent as he has four goals and five assists for nine points in his first nine games en route to NHL Rookie of the Month honors for October. But things have gone downhill since then, he went four games without a point before getting a pass on Travis Konecny’s goal on the power play Tuesday in Carolina.

However, there’s a lot more to being an NHL player than point production, and they’re some of those things that head coach John Tortorella hopes Michkov will reset as he watches Thursday’s game at Tampa Bay as a healthy scratch.

“He’s a 19-year-old kid playing in the best league in the world,” Tortorella said after the Oct. 31 win over St. Louis. “I think he’s starting to see what the National Hockey League is in terms of speed, time and space. All the things it comes with. There will be some major battles with him 5v5. We expect that, where I will have to teach.”

In that match in St. Louis, Michkov missed a few shifts after Torotorella had a bench talk with him early in the game.

“In that teaching moment, I’m not going to tell you what it is, but if we keep seeing the same mistake and he’s not totally focused on a certain part of the game, and that’s where I was very honest with him about that,” he said. “He will miss some ice, he will watch the game. I’m not the one yelling at him. He tells her no, that’s how it works. If I think other guys are going and struggling in certain situations and being repetitive, you’re going to have to sit and watch a little bit. That’s all it was.”

It’s hard to relate to what a night in the press box can do for a player, but it can be hugely beneficial in certain ways. The game seems exponentially slower when viewed from above; it’s a perspective players and coaches don’t see very often, and when they do, there’s often a quip to the writers and broadcasters that they now understand why we think the game is so easy sometimes. Michkov will be able to see very well what players like Sean Couturier, Scott Laughton and others are doing when they don’t have the puck, how they defend the neutral zone and all sorts of other things that a player certainly doesn’t see when he’s on the ice and can’t really see good when he’s on the bench.

“He’s a great kid,” Tortorella said after the St. Louis game. Louis. “He wants to do so well, but it’s a lot. It’s a lot for him. The power play was good. I think he’s struggled a bit in recent games. But 5-on-5, that line wasn’t so great. And he fought 5 on 5.”

“Again, he’s not playing four games in six nights there. They don’t play against the competition like they play here. There will be some major struggles in his 5v5 game. Power play, I feel very comfortable, he will do some things there. So, I’m going to have to watch him, like any other young player or even any other player in that room. He’s going to be held accountable as we go through these games and we’ll see where it goes…that’s how it will be. He may miss the matches. Who knows. I don’t know what will happen, but that’s part of the development of a 19-year-old.”

So the situation comes tonight. But it’s not a punishment, it’s not a warning shot, nothing like that. Simply put, for one night, the Flyers feel Michkov can develop better watching this particular game than he can playing in it.

“It’s just part of the process,” Tortorella said this morning. “With the young guys, they can watch games as they develop as well. Try to help him.”