Matvei Michkov could've been playing more, something deeply personal is holding him back

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Sam Hutch
September 2, 2023 (7:53 PM)

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The Philadelphia Flyers drafted Matvei Michkov 7th overall in this years draft and the youngster didn't play for his KHL club CSKA St Petersburg today in their season opener, but it seems like he could've been playing more had he been able to play for a different club.

According to Hockey News Hub on Twitter, Michkov knew CSKA would be deep and he would've had more of an opportunity to play had he signed with Sochi, but there was a reason why he couldn't; take a look.

This is what I eluded to with the team being so deep with veterans in my recently deleted tweet.

He's gotta earn his spot with them.

If he were in Sochi - he'd get more minutes guaranteed, but he doesn't wanna play there because everything there reminds him as his father.

The reason he couldn't sign in Sochi was because of the loss of his father, which is honestly more than understandable. Grieving the loss of your father or any family member for that matter is a deeply personal experience and if he felt like he couldn't play in Sochi, that's perfectly okay.

With that being said, Michkov signing in CSKA knowing the amount of veterans on the team, he likely knew he wouldn't play every day and was okay with that.

Sometimes, there's more to a story than meets the eye.