Pre-season hockey usually consists in shaking rust, breaking new systems and giving prospects a chance to show if they can manage the NHL rhythm.
But sometimes, a coach trips on something that makes the whole building lean forward in his seat. Occurred in the Philadelphia flyers’ First pre-season match against Icelanders, when Rick Tocchet deployed a Machkov Matvei line, Trevor Zegras, and Nikita Grebenkin.
On paper, Michkov’s call and Zegras together is obvious. The two are large -scale players who thrive in the creative pockets of the game. Michkov sees pieces that do not yet exist; Zegras has flair and precision to execute them.
This is the kind of twinning that fans dream of because it alludes to the chemistry of reflections. But the real intrigue came with the third piece of the line – Grebenkin, a prospect that made noise at the camp and suddenly found itself to flank two of the brightest stars of the flyers.
And he didn’t look moved.
Grebenkin’s chemistry with Zegras and Michkov was transparent, natural. He patinated with a rhythm, recovered slices and found intelligent ways to keep the games alive, whether by extending possession along the wall or making the small fast passes that allow Michkov and Zegras to do what they do best. (Without forgetting, Grebenkin kept the interesting game by stirring the pot with the Icelanders several times.) The chemistry was surprising not because the first two sat – which was expected – but because Grebenkin raised the line instead of weighing down.
This detail counts in a camp like this, where internal competition was one of the dominant themes. Tocchet and the veterans of the flyers were clear: jobs are not guaranteed. Prospects are growing. The list points are won, not distributed. In this context, Grebenkin’s ability to maintain stride with Michkov and Zegras was more than a good change or two in a pre -season match – it was a tangible step in his case to list flyers in the NHL.
It is also indicative of the type of player that Grebenkin could become at this level. He has an NHL experience of his time with the Toronto Maple Leafs, but it is a key opportunity for him to really show what he is capable of.
With Michkov and Zegras, Grebenkin does not need to be the driver of the line, and he also does not need to reinvent himself as a grinding specialist. Instead, its value lies in being the facilitator who can adapt to different situations and raise talent around him. It is not always easy for a young player who was still acclimated to the NHL’s rhythm and physicity, but Grebenkin managed to find this balance in his first showcase alongside two of the team’s most gifted offensive minds.
Of course, a pre-season look does not write the story. The flyers have other attackers who make strong thrusts – Alex Bump, Jett Luchanko, to name a couple – and the competition will only intensify over the camp. Tocchet will continue to mix combinations, looking for balance and sparks. But what the Michkov-Zegras-Grebenkin line has offered was an overview of the possibility, and the possibility is exactly what the camps like this are supposed to reveal.
For Michkov and Zegras, there is no doubt that the organization wants to see if it can train something lasting. For Grebenkin, the question is whether he can fit into this image for more than just a try. Nights like this help make the case.
In the end, a pre-season hockey game is not a sample size large enough to determine if this line can really work. However, this is a promising start in the trip to identify the pieces that adapt – build the scaffolding of chemistry, giving players to prove where they belong. During one night, Michkov and Zegras did what they were supposed to do-and Grebenkin showed that perhaps, perhaps just, it is right with them.
