Exit Interview: Phil Myers wants to hit the reset button after hitting a wall this season

Phil Myers had the potential to step into a larger role this season for the Flyers. With Matt Niskanen gone, Myers was left as the most talented right-handed defenseman on the roster. He played well with Travis Sanheim for portions of the 2019-20 season, but that progression didn’t continue this past season.

Myers hit a bit of a wall this season and was one of many young players that either plateaued or took a step back. He had a few opportunities to take advantage of the top-pair minutes, but his consistency was an issue.

Myers addressed his overall play this season, how the injuries and COVID season affected him, his plans for a normal offseason, and more in his exit interview last week.

Phil Myers Exit Interview

How would you kind of assess your play with Travis Sanheim as he kind of was your primary partner this year?

Obviously, it’s disappointing we’re not making the playoffs and season didn’t go as planned. There was some good things. All we got to do is kind of build off that and hit the reset button this summer. Have a good summer training and come back ready to go for camp. I think that’s all you can do.

Was it hard to really get engaged with the season after having limited training camp and then just being injured early in the season?

Maybe a little bit, but at the same time, everybody’s in the same situation. That’s not really an excuse.

This season, when you’re going through a struggling stretch as a player, what was it more challenging mentally to kind of get away from the game and maybe not think about it as much?

Yeah, definitely a little bit. You can’t do what you usually do on days off, days when you don’t play. It’s a little more of a mental grind. Just got to learn from it and move on. Hit the reset button this summer and come back ready to go next year.

Do you think that having a normal offseason will help?

Definitely. For a while last summer, I had to work out from my house. We didn’t really have the ice time we usually do. I’m just looking forward to see my family and friends this summer. Forget about it for a while and just hit the reset button. Reset mentally and obviously getting get back in shape there and gain some of my jump back for next year. I’m looking forward to the summer. I’m obviously really disappointed we didn’t make the playoffs. I got a lot of motivation this summer. I’m going to put the time in and I’m going to be chomping at the bit for training camp next year.

Are you able to disclose any other injuries, besides the early rib injury, throughout the year?

Yeah, that and had an AC joint sprain at one point there too. That’s it.

Transcript via Philadelphia Flyers