East Notes: Michkov, Marchand, Sillinger, Giles

If preseason is any indication, there won’t be many growing pains for Flyers prospect Matvei Michkov as he adjusts to playing in North America. The 2023 seventh overall pick put his stamp all over the Flyers’ first home win of the exhibition schedule last night, recording a secondary assist and scoring an empty-net insurance marker in a 2-0 victory over the Islanders, quite literally making all the game’s offense go through him one way or another.

“He’s been working really hard,” assistant coach Rocky Thompson said Thursday (via The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz). “You can tell within our practices and with our skating, he’s made a diligent effort. So, that’s good. He’s backchecking hard, he’s doing all those things. But, you can see his ability to make plays. He generated opportunities for his teammates, he scores himself tonight with a goal and an assist. Played good.”

Many worries about how Michkov might adjust to the NHL centered around a potentially rocky relationship with bench boss John Tortorellaregarding his all-around play. But he’s been complimentary of Michkov’s effort and willingness to go into one-on-one puck battles, calling him “certainly willing to be in the areas to go get the puck.”

More from the Eastern Conference:

• If Bruins captain Brad Marchand has his way, Morgan Geekie will open the season on his right flank in second-line duties. “I love playing with Geeks,” Marchand told Fluto Shinzawa of The Athletic. “He’s so great in some of the different areas, the way he can hold onto pucks and makes plays. Shoots it. Great in the corners. I think he really complements our line as well. We haven’t had a ton of reps together, so we’ll continue to work on it. But I’ve always really liked his game.” His assessment about not having a ton of reps together is correct – Geekie logged just 25 minutes of ice time last season with Marchand and Charlie Coyle, per MoneyPuck. The 26-year-old is on the upswing after a career-high 17 goals and 39 points for Boston last year but faces competition from 2021 first-round pick Fabian Lysell, whose preseason showing Marchand called “encouraging” but added there’s room for improvement.
• The Blue Jackets might have a second Sillinger on their opening-night roster. 27-year-old Owen Sillinger, Cole Sillinger’s older brother, is among the leading candidates to snag a spot with Justin Danforth potentially not ready to start the season while recovering from wrist surgery, writes The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline. Sillinger spent the last two seasons with the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters on minor-league deals and finished third on the team in scoring last season with 40 points (11 G, 29 A) in 69 games. That showing earned him a promotion to a two-way deal with Columbus this summer. He could briefly factor into a bottom-six role before likely landing on waivers when Danforth is ready to return.
• Panthers prospect Patrick Giles finds himself in a similarly unexpected situation. The 24-year-old has been getting reps on Florida’s fourth line over the past couple days with Tomáš Nosek set to miss a few weeks and has a shot to open the campaign in the NHL, David Dwork of The Hockey News relays. An undrafted free agent signing out of Boston College in 2022, Giles stands at 6’4″ and 203 lbs and posted a career-high 13 goals and 23 points in 63 games last season for AHL Charlotte.