It looks like Michkov is building up his lower body for a strong sophomore season.
Hockey season is inching closer each day as we get later and later into the month of August. We're now less than a month away from the Philadelphia Flyers Rookie Series games and just over a month away from our first chance to see Matvei Michkov back on the ice in game action.
We've seen bits and pieces of Michkov's offseason thus far, from the lows of a car accident in Dubai to the highs of him showing off in a 3-on-3 tournament and pulling off a Michigan in the NHL-KHL All-Star Game in Russia.
Another video hit social media on Monday, showing Michkov practicing a unique drill to build up his lower body.
Quite honestly, it hurts to even look at it.
The Flyers youngster was a much-needed bright spot during his rookie season. Michkov led all rookies with 26 goals and added 37 assists for 63 points while playing in 80 games, but he still wasn't happy with his season.
"All aspects of my game need to be improved," Michkov said during his exit interview back in April. "There's nothing in the game that I am feeling 100 percent with. There's always room to improve. I will spend a lot of time after the rest, after the vacation, to work on it."
It looks like Michkov is doing just that. After spending time vacationing in Dubai and running the circuit of more-or-less celebrity games in Russia, he's back to building up for the upcoming season.
The sophomore slump can strike even the best of the best young players in the NHL. Connor Bedard struggled a bit last season, and closer to home, we've seen plenty of Flyers sophomores take a step back rather than forward in their development in their second or third years.
Michkov should be able to avoid that, not only because of his work ethic, but also due to Danny Briere's active offseason. Trevor Zegras and Christian Dvorak will add stability and depth to a forward group that didn't live up to expectations last season.
We'll see what happens. For now, take a trip to your local rink and see how you feel after a couple sets of the Michkov stretch.