Flyers' Daniel Briere heaps praises upon 'special' Matvei Michkov, shines light on 'being challenged' during benching

Discussing Philadelphia Flyers forward Matvei Michkov, the team’s general manager Daniel Briere was impressed by how the former had reacted to being taken off the ice. The 20-year-old has been benched by coach John Tortorella multiple times this season.

Speaking to the hosts of TSN 1050 OverDrive on Monday, Briere said he admires Michkov’s confidence and response to “being challenged in front of his teammates.”

“He responded, he's got a special character in a good way," Briere said. "He's ultra-competitive – when he was younger, we heard rumors that he was a bad teammate. But I think part of it is that he didn't know how to channel it, how to tell his teammates they needed to work harder at the same level as him.”

He added that Michkov is a big-game player who thrives under pressure.

“Already at his age, he's not afraid of the big moments. He actually welcomes the big times in a game where he can make a difference, and he believes he's there to make a difference. That's not something you teach, you have it or you don't. You're afraid of the moment or you're not,” Briere added.

Apart from talking about Matvei Michkov with Bryan Hayes, Jeff O'Neill and Jamie McLennan on OverDrive, Briere discussed the stress of the GM job, John Tortorella’s dress code and why he’s the right coach for the Philadelphia Flyers.

Flyers coach Tortorella explains benching Matvei Michkov

The Russian player is playing in his rookie NHL season with the Flyers. In 38 games this season, he has scored 12 goals and 17 assists. Speaking to the media after the Dec. 28 game against the Anaheim Ducks, John Tortorella talked about why Matvei Michkov was benched in the third period.

"The skating, energy, it’s just not there,” Tortorella said via flyersnittygritty.com. “You could see him struggling before the break. If I have to take him out I will, or bench him during a period. It was my call.”

Michkov has also been a healthy scratch a couple of times this season. Tortorella had said after one such occasion via The Athletic:

“If he doesn’t react the right way, he’ll keep sitting. I’m not talking about Matvei, if (any) player doesn’t react the right way. … I’m not in the business to babysit. I’m in the business to teach."

Michkov’s performance chart shows that he has responded with better performances on returning to the ice after being benched. Briere said on OverDrive that Tortorella has his full confidence and his handling of the younger players on the team has been impressive.