Star rookie Matvei Michkov took flight for the Philadelphia Flyers last season, but he wasn't able to adapt and do it all on his own.

Some of that responsibility was left up to Flyers European player development and scouting consultant Oleg Znarok, a four-time KHL coach of the year and Olympic Gold medalist as the head coach of the Olympic Athletes of Russia.

Znarok, 62, has worked with many of the NHL's Russian stars before Michkov and the Flyers, including Ilya Kovalchuk, Igor Shesterkin, Ilya Sorokin, Kirill Kaprizov, and Pavel Datsyuk, who all featured on that 2017-18 Olympic Gold team.

In a recent interview with ЛЁД (Translated: Ice) Special, Michkov took a moment to praise Znarok and his work with him thus far, and offered a little insight into what Znarok contributes to the Flyers.

"Oleg Valerievich is a separate story. He is a very legendary person, a great one. And you should always listen to him, because he is a person with a lot of experience," Michkov said of Znarok.

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"He has been through a lot and, of course, helps the players a lot and gives advice in different moments. And we are talking not only about hockey now, but also in life. He works with European players, including Russian ones."

At the time of this writing, the three-time KHL Gagarin Cup winner is still listed in his consultative role on the Flyers' staff directory, which would indicate that the veteran bench boss will reprise his role overseeing Michkov and the other foreign players for at least another season.

"He is in the locker room, constantly in this kitchen, and knows everything about everyone," added Michkov.

Znarok, like Michkov, will be dealing with some change in the locker room this year, too, at least as it relates to the people he'll have to work with every day.

New head coach Rick Tocchet will be the third head coach the two have dealt with at the NHL level, at least if ex-interim head coach Brad Shaw is included in that equation.

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But that's partly why Znarok is here, right? To be around the group and provide stability and mentorship to Michkov, Egor Zamula, Ivan Fedotov, and other European players.

And, according to Michkov, Znarok's appointment has been a big positive so far.

After being acquired by the Pittsburgh Penguins from the Winnipeg Jets last off-season, Rutger McGroarty signed his entry-level contract with the Metropolitan Division club. The 2022 first-round pick appeared in his first eight NHL games last season with Pittsburgh, where he had one goal, three points, and 12 hits. All three of his points came across his final four NHL appearances with the Penguins in April, so he ended the year on a high note. 

However, McGroarty spent the majority of the 2024-25 season down in the American Hockey League (AHL) with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Overall, the 21-year-old forward showed promise with the AHL squad, recording 14 goals, 25 assists, and 36 points in 60 games.

McGroarty had a nice start to his professional career, and there is no question that he is a clear breakout candidate heading into next season. The 6-foot-1 winger has all the tools to emerge as a legitimate top-six forward, and it would not be surprising in the slightest if we see his offense improve at the NHL level with Pittsburgh next season because of it. 

McGroarty should also be put into a position to succeed. When looking at the Penguins' current roster, there is a real chance that he could get a chance in their top six and on their power play. Yet, even if he has a top-nine role with the Penguins, the prospect of him giving them some much-needed secondary offensive production should not be ruled out.

It will be fascinating to see what kind of season McGroarty can put together in 2025-26 from here, but it is hard not to feel excited about the youngster's future.  

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Photo Credit: © Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

The Anaheim Ducks have missed the playoffs every year since 2017-18 and in doing so, have drafted in the top ten for seven consecutive seasons and procured one of the NHL’s deepest and most potent prospect pools.

Despite several young players having graduated and become full-time NHLers, such as Leo Carlsson, Cutter Gauthier, Mason McTavish, Pavel Mintyukov, and Olen Zellweger, the Ducks still have an impressive pipeline of potential impact and depth prospects yet to make the jump.

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For this exercise, only players who haven’t lost rookie status are eligible for a ranking, and to be clear, these are my (Patrick Present) subjective rankings.

Honorable Mentions: Yegor Sidorov, Herman Traff, Tarin Smith, Lasse Boelius, Calle Clang

10. Nathan Gaucher, 21, C, San Diego Gulls (AHL)

It was a difficult decision to cut Sidorov from the list and rank Gaucher in the tenth spot. Ultimately, it came down to path and projectability. Based on his position demand, brand of hockey, and draft pedigree. It’s a near-certainty that Gaucher will play NHL games, likely well over 100, in his career, beginning within the next couple of seasons. Though having shown more electricity and offensive upside to this point in their careers, the same cannot be said for Sidorov.

Gaucher is a straight-line, tenacious, and defensively detailed right-shot center who plays a heavy brand and is difficult to play against on a shift-by-shift basis. He’s an explosive skater, which he uses to cover a great amount of ice to eliminate time and space, whether that’s in defensive zone coverage, on the backcheck in the neutral zone, or on the forecheck in the offensive zone.

He utilizes his 6-foot-3, 207-pound frame to establish body position, protect pucks, and bully his way to the front of the opposing crease.

The Ducks selected Gaucher (22nd overall in 2022) in the first round of the 2022 draft, Pat Verbeek’s first draft as GM of the franchise, with a pick acquired in the trade of Hampus Lindholm to the Boston Bruins at the 2022 trade deadline.

Before his pro career, and in his four seasons playing in the CHL for the Quebec Remparts of the QMJHL, he scored 158 points (80-78=158) in 199 regular season games and added 29 (11-18=29) in 36 playoff games, en route to QMJHL and Memorial Cup championships in 2023.

He won two World Junior Championship gold medals with Canada in 2022 and 2023, playing a shutdown, checking role and totaling six points (2-4=6) in 14 games between the two tournaments.

Offense has not been easy to come by since beginning his professional career in 2023-24 as a member of the San Diego Gulls, as he’s only produced 44 points (18-26=44) in 128 AHL games over the last two seasons. He is, however, making his trademark 200-foot impact on every game, and he quickly found his “B-game” when failing to find scoresheets.

“Nathan has had to deal with a couple of really important injuries that have set him back a little bit since we drafted him. And unfortunately, he hurt himself right before camp, so it took him a while to get going this year because of that,” Ducks assistant general manager and director of amateur scouting Martin Madden told The Hockey News: Anaheim Ducks, when asked about Gaucher’s progression. “And then, unfortunately, ended the season with injury as well.

“But he grew a lot in terms of his confidence with the puck, offensively. Overall, his offensive play grew as he gained confidence, establishing himself as a hard player to play against on the defensive side. They were using him in a checking role, PK. But as the season went on, his skating got better and better, and I think that helped with time and space, so he had more confidence in his hands. He had more confidence to look around and make plays.”

The offense was coming around for Gaucher toward the final stretch of the 2024-25 season, as he scored 11 points (5-6=11) in his final 12 games before suffering a season-ending shoulder injury.

Unfortunately, Gaucher bookended his 2024-25 campaign with injuries: first, he missed a significant percentage of rookie and training camps with a lower body injury, and then sustained the aforementioned shoulder injury to end his season, requiring surgery.

He was given an estimated recovery time of 4-6 months after sustaining the injury in March and is expected to be fully healthy by rookie and training camps in September.

It’s plausible to believe Gaucher will rediscover what made him offensively successful at the end of last season, compound it with his defensive prowess, and hit the ground running in 2025-26, which will be his third season in the AHL. If he can continue to polish his two-way game and explore the reaches of his offensive capabilities, he will likely be playing NHL games within the next two seasons.

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Photo Credit: Stan Szeto-Imagn Images