I don't think it's a bug, I think his player just started with a very low sublevel of experience.
First, I don't think scrimmages really mean much. I doubt they contribute much to experience gains.
Secondly, I have a 20 year old player who needed ~1200 minutes of league, Cup, and playoff games in order to pop from 1 to 2 experience. That would corroborate Manon's recollection of 1300 minutes.