As it turns out, even players on the Philadelphia Flyers are aware of the external narrative surrounding Matvei Michkov and apparently showing up to last year's training camp in not good enough shape, and Rick Tocchet's response to that throughout the season.

On a new episode of the "What Chaos!" podcast with Pete Blackburn and DJ Bean, newly signed Flyers defenseman Jamie Drysdale, who appeared as a guest on the show, was given the hard-hitting and somewhat uncomfortable question from Bean, and delivered his answer like a pro.

Bean asked, "I did want to ask, in the sake of being a good teammate, if any of you guys have considered showing up to camp out of shape so Tocchet can go easier on Michkov this year?"

Drysdale spent several seconds laughing at the question and rubbing his hand into his face, perhaps his honest reaction or just buying time to come up with an answer.

"Ugh, hey, he was working his tail off to get back. At the end of the day, I think it's just everyone's responsibility to show up into camp, you know, you got the whole summer to workout, train, and I expect everyone to come in flying in training camp, and it'll be real exciting here for us," Drysdale answered expertly.

As for the actual external pressure itself, coming from someone who dealt with that himself after being traded to the Flyers by the Anaheim Ducks in the Cutter Gauthier deal, Drysdale had some good perspective to share, too.

"That's kind of part of the gig as well. You're under a microscope. Things get blown out of proportion all the time, and at the end of the day, all the guys in the locker room know what's up, know the character behind everyone. You just gotta be behind your teammates at the end of the day. No one wants to be in a position where. . . there's so much stuff out there all the time. That's the one thing you have, is each other in the locker room, and you push away everything, all the negativity outside of it," Drysdale added.

Quietly, training camp 2026 is now just slightly over a month away, and Michkov has indeed been busting his tail back home training in preparation of his third NHL season: a contract year all parties involved hope will be his best yet.

The 21-year-old scored 20 goals, 31 assists, and 51 points in what was widely considered to be a disappointing year for him despite the production and the Flyers reaching the  playoffs.