The Philadelphia Flyers' shortened preseason appears to have made the opening stretch of the NHL season more difficult for their younger players, with Matvei Michkov among the group still trying to find his footing.
That matters because preseason is usually the time when young players make the jump from promise to readiness. With fewer than the usual three or four preseason games to settle in, the Flyers were left asking more of players who still needed reps against NHL speed and physicality.
Why the preseason mattered so much
For a team with several young players trying to establish themselves, the preseason is not a throwaway period. It is part of the development process, especially for players learning how to handle the pace and demands of the NHL.
That is why the reduced schedule felt significant. Matvei Michkov, Porter Martone, Denver Barkey and Oliver Bonk are all still adjusting, and the shortened runway gave them less time than usual to build rhythm before the games started to count.
The pressure rises once the season starts
The Flyers also opened the season in difficult fashion, which only increases the pressure on younger players to contribute. When a team is inconsistent early, the margin for patience gets smaller, and the learning curve becomes steeper.
In that sense, the issue is not just individual development. It is the combination of a compressed preparation period and a team that is already struggling to find consistency. For young players, that can make every shift feel like part of a bigger test.
Michkov is one of the names at the centre of that conversation, but he is not alone. The broader point is that this group may simply have needed more time together before being asked to help carry the load in the NHL.
