Photo Credit: Ricky Brown
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.”
Morgan Frost was sent back to Lehigh earlier in the season to build confidence, confidence after missing an entire developmental season the year prior. It’s tough to just come back and perform at a high rate after missing an entire developmental season for a young Prospect. Veterans may be able to do that, but seeings that Frost is such a young prospect it’s much easier said than done.
“I think it helped a lot, getting the opportunity to play that much,” Frost said. “I think towards the end of the year was probably where I was playing my best and starting to feel good. I’m happy with that and I think it’s a good building block going into next year.”
The good thing is Frost got much more confident as the season wore on, especially towards the latter part of the season where he started to produce. Following the trade deadline it looked like frost played with a chip on the shoulder, he was making plays, he saw the ice well. To be honest, he looked loose and that the pressure of succeeding was off his shoulders. It appeared that he wasn’t concerned about making a mistake, “Definitely took some weight off my shoulders, I think for sure,” Frost said at exit interviews. “It’s definitely not easy when you can have that in the back of your mind if you’re playing a couple bad games you’re going to go back down. That was really nice and I think from then on, I started to elevate my game and feel a lot better about it.”
Frost was assertive with his decision making, and he was quite effective right before the All-Star break even though the production wasn’t there. His line of Max Willman and Gerry Mayhew were effective for the orange and black, and they formed one of the most consistent lines for a team that was struggling to win games before the break. He was oozing with confidence, physical, and more often than not making tape to tape passes. This conference continue to form a line, a young line of Noah Cates, Frost, and Owen Tippett. This line wreaked havoc on opponents, as they were buzzing more often than not on a nightly basis. I don’t know if this is a good thing or not, but it was one of the more consistent lines for the Flyers towards the latter parts of the season.
“I’m probably a little more offensive,” Frost said about his game. “Like I said before, I think I’ve rounded out my game a lot more. I was trying to learn and pay attention in all the penalty kill videos and kind of just watch and see what guys do. Hopefully in the future, that can maybe be somewhere I step in, even if it’s just a little bit. You want all the ice time you can get and you want to help make a difference. I’d be excited to keep learning about the PK and hopefully at some point get back on there.”
One area that Mike Yeo and excelled at was communication with the youth. The youth appeared to take another step, especially towards latter parts of the season with all the new college kids. Frost actually gives credit to yo for helping him take his game to another level, “He (Mike Yeo) was really great with me. I think he really helped me a lot, and he kind of knew when to challenge me and when to help bring my confidence up. I think a lot of it was just for me learning to play more of an NHL style, like using my body more. Like I said, moving my feet because sometimes I think I was kind of relying on instinct or hands before and a lot of it is more reactive. Using my body was the big thing. I watched a lot of video with him and the other coaches. They helped me a lot so I’m thankful for that.”
Frost is a prospect that has top six abilities. 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, well, well, he was treated like a yo-yo at times, so much for that. In hindsight what it did was give Frost more experience, and that’s something that frost didn’t take lightly, “Obviously, there’s highs and lows during the season where maybe you’re not really sure if you feel that way, but I think towards the end of the year, definitely I’m starting to feel a lot more comfortable,” said Frost. “I think at this point, I can say I feel confident saying I feel like an NHL player. I’m happy about that.”
“I just think there’s a lot of times we rush these kids and we don’t give them a chance to fully develop.” – Chuck Fletcher GM of the Flyers said earlier in the season
Frost was one of the best skaters for a depleted Phantoms team, who were decimated by injuries and recalls to the big club. It’s not easy replacing Tyson Foerster, Linus Sandin, and Wade Allison on a nightly basis. His confidence is back, and confidence is key 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 appears to be a thing of the past for Frost. He embarks on his biggest offseason yet, and hopefully Frost kills it next season.
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