It won’t be long until we have some actual hockey to cover. In less than two weeks, the Philadelphia Flyers and New York Rangers prospects will gather in Allentown, Pa., for a pair of games on Sept. 12-13 in what has become an annual tradition.Until then, let’s work through some mailbag questions (Part 2 will drop later this week).(Note: Some questions have been lightly edited for length and clarity.)Some of your stories over the summer implied that Matvei Michkov was working on staying in shape and training for the upcoming season. Is there any intel from coaches or elsewhere on what Michkov has actually been doing this summer to prepare for camp? — AnonymousI don’t think there’s much doubt that Michkov is taking his training more seriously this summer, something that he acknowledged he was going to have to do. As I reported earlier, he was visited in Russia by a trainer that he and the team are both comfortable with for about three weeks early in the offseason, and team personnel — including coach Rick Tocchet — have been in touch with Michkov from time to time, too.That said, Michkov isn’t expected to return until this week. Originally, the Flyers expected him back early in August, but it’s going to end up being late August/early September. That might not end up being a huge deal from a physical standpoint, as long as he shows up prepared. Michkov’s Instagram feed has been filled with photos and videos of him working out, something that may be a bit deliberate on his part. But the Flyers are also hopeful that Michkov improves his English and better integrates himself into the team and with his teammates. Not coming back to the area sooner feels like a missed opportunity to get a head start on both of those things, particularly with such a short camp.Still, it’s not worth kicking up a storm about at this point. Training camp is a time when every player deserves a fresh start, and Michkov is no different. No one will remember or care where he was in August if he plays well in October and the team wins games.Will Michkov play on one of the top two lines? — John G.I don’t think labeling the lines is all that useful when it comes to this team. When you look at what they have down the middle, Noah Cates, Christian Dvorak and Sean Couturier are all somewhat interchangeable, particularly if Couturier shows up playing the way he did in March and April. Denver Barkey could get a look in the middle, too, after Tocchet tried him there in the playoffs when Cates got hurt.We’ll inevitably see some experimentation with the lines throughout camp, and even in the early part of the season, as Tocchet figures out what to do with his abundance of talented young wingers.The coaching staff is intrigued by putting Michkov and Trevor Zegras together, and I expect that to be early in camp. That could just be on the power play, meaning one of them will have to move off of the right flank, but expect to see that in an early practice or a preseason game. I doubt that means Michkov will suddenly be playing 18 minutes per night. His defense and decision-making is still going to be a work in progress. But, if he’s prepared to do more offensively, he’s going to earn more shifts. Any suggestion otherwise is silly.