Photo Credit: Wikipedia
New Lehigh Valley Phantoms head coach in Ian Laperrière said after a game earlier in the season of Morgan Frost, “He (Morgan Frost) was physical,” Laperrière said. “I just talked to him before I got up here and he felt great. He was a little bit tired, like I gave him quite a bit of ice-time, which I wanted to test him in different situations I would like to see him in, and management would like to see him too. I thought he looked great…He’s such a smart player, he can adjust. I’m just happy for him that he put the work in.”
One of the reasons Morgan Frost was sent back to Lehigh was to build confidence, “I think having him go down to Lehigh Valley and play, play a lot and play every situation for Lappy will benefit him,” Flyers’ General Manager Chuck Fletcher said. “Allow him to get his timing back and his confidence back. The next time you see him, he’ll be a vastly improved player.”
Making A Case For A Recall
Frost has been assertive with his decision making, and he has been quite effective. His defense has been spot on like it was at Flyers Training Camp, but this time he has been decisive on the offensive side of the puck. For his efforts, he has registered 13 points in the last 10 games played. He is oozing with confidence, as he cuts between defenders like he did when he played for the Soo Greyhounds for so many years.
He has really made nice crisp tape to tape passes, and his shot was highly accurate, to which that is exactly what Fletcher wants to see, “I think we wanted to give Morgan every opportunity to show what he could do,” Fletcher said. “We played him with good player. We played him in important situations. I think the best thing for him long term is to play and play in an environment where he can get his confidence. It’s the best thing for him. It’s the best thing for us. We went into it in good faith and wanted to give him that opportunity.”
Following yesterday’s presser with the media. Flyers’ Head Coach Alain Vigneault was asked about the services of Kevin Hayes, to which it was revealed that Hayes is now week to week with a re-injury to his abdominal area. It appears Hayes will just rehab and get treatments, as opposed to to surgery since he is just week to week. Hayes is currently on this two-game road trip with the Flyers in the great state of Florida, as Vigneault indicated he was getting some sort of treatments in Tampa yesterday.
The Flyers are currently receiving excellent Goaltending, and their defense is vastly improved even without the services of Ryan Ellis for an extended period of time. They should not let this season go to waste (Every point is valuable), rather recall Frost sooner rather than later to make this team harder to play against. This is not a knock on Max Willman, but Willman is a bottom six player, whereas, Frost has top six capability.
Fletcher originally said he didn’t want Frost to be a yo-yo, and if he was recalled to the Flyers then Frost would be up for good. Well, Hayes is week to week, so there is a know exact timeline on his return. Frost would immediately give the Flyers a top nine player to insert into the lineup, until a trade can possibly occur. Moreover, the Flyers are in need of a scoring punch, and Frost has the capability to provide that. Frost currently has 15 points (3g,12a) in 16 games played, which is good enough for an average of .93 points per game with the Phantoms this season.
Frost has been one of the best skaters for a depleted Phantoms who have been decimated by injuries. It’s not easy replacing Tyson Foerster, Linus Sandin, German Rubtsov, and possibly Wade Allison on a nightly basis, but the Flyers are in need of help as well right now. Injuries are killing the organizational depth the team has.
The young 22-year-old in Frost has speed, cuts through defenders, plays good defensively (To include the Penalty Kill), but most importantly he has his confidence back. He has his swag back, and Frost is smiling immensely.
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Confidence is huge for everyone no matter what you do in life. After only playing in a handful of organized hockey games in a year and a half due to his prior injury. It was understandable for Frost to tighten his stick, or put a lot of pressure for him to succeed offensively. The lack of confidence days appear to be a thing of the past.
