Top rookies Macklin Celebrini & Matvei Michkov get into headed confrontation on the ice

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Austin Kelly
November 12, 2024 (1:16)

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The first viewing of top NHL rookies Matvei Michkov & Macklin Celebrini made sure to leave an impression, although without either player's tenacity for flashy moments.

Michkov & Celebrini, both two of the most highly touted prospects in the NHL, and both likely favorites for the Calder Trophy as the league's best rookie, got into a different type of battle both are used to, getting into near blows on the ice.

In the final period of the game between Michkov's Philadelphia Flyers and Celebrini's San Jose Sharks, the two players attempted to play an airborne puck before Michkov's stick was knocked out by Celebrini's while trying to gain control. Michkov, clearly taking offense to the play, shoved Celebrini, with the Sharks forward responding with a stick to the chest.

The two would go on to give each other scraps before refs broke the pair up, neither coming to an actual fight on the ice, but with clear tension between the two.

It isn't clear if there was any sort of build-up prior to the incident that may have caused the reaction that it did, or if there was an effort to get under each other's skin being paired to one another for the top rookie honor. Michkov was given a penalty on the play.

Michkov and the Flyers won out in the end, with the Russian star youngster netting a highlight shootout goal.

Michkov, a top prospect for the 2023 NHL Entry Draft who slipped to the Philadelphia Flyers seventh overall over concerns about his NHL timeline and previous Russian contract, currently has 5 goals and 12 points in 14 games for the Flyers this season. Michkov had 19 goals and 41 points in 48 games in the KHL last season with Sochi & SKA.

Michkov spent the last two games as a healthy scratch, a move Flyers head coach John Tortorella treated as a learning experience for Michkov rather than a demotion, having the 19-year-old take in the NHL game from the press box.

Celebrini, drafted first overall by the San Jose Sharks in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft, has a goal and 4 points in 5 games since a return from an early season hip injury. Celebrini spent last season in the NCAA with Boston University, netting 32 goals with 64 points en route to winning the Hobey Baker Award as the league's top player, the youngest player in college history.