The board of directors of SKA St. Petersburg, the KHL club of Philadelphia Flyers prospect Matvei Michkov, met on Friday and came to the conclusion that chairman Alexander Medvedev and head coach Roman Rotenberg will remain in their posts for the 2024-25 season.
As it relates to the future of the Flyers, this is significant, because Medvedev was the one who originally opened up the possibility of Michkov leaving for the NHL at the end of April. Medvedev had stated in the interview that “. . . we are in contact with Philadelphia,” and went on to explain how a change of scenery could potentially help Michkov deal with and recover from the tragic loss of his father last year.
Conversely, Rotenberg appeared to be the one forcing Michkov out of St. Petersburg, evidenced by the two loans to KHL feeder club HK Sochi and leaving the 19-year-old off of the U25 Russian National Team this past spring.
Rotenberg did not appear to be overly keen on the possibility of Michkov joining the Flyers, but also neglected to deny the possibility. “We want Matvei to get the most support in his family situation. After all, family values are above all,” Rotenberg said in a recent interview. “However, if he does not play in the first team in Philadelphia, he will return to us. That’s all.”
In a recent interview of his own, Michkov rebuffed the possibility that there was a rift between him and Rotenberg, claiming that the two have a “great relationship” and a “complete mutual understanding”.
While nothing has changed between then and now, Medvedev and Rotenberg staying onboard with SKA is actually ideal for the Flyers. This means that there are no structural changes in the organization that would otherwise jeopardize the possibility Michkov comes to North America when the time is right.
If, for example, someone with different views than Medvedev and Rotenberg came in to SKA, the Flyers’ line of communication could change and the situation would go back to square one.
Back to business as usual for the Flyers.
