Photo Credit: Joe Borek
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.”
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 netted his third goal of the season, and registered two assists yesterday.
He 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.”
Why should he be recalled?
Following last night’s presser with the media. Flyers’ Head Coach Alain Vigneault was asked about the services of Kevin Hayes, to which Vigneault responded with “I haven’t asked.” Now earlier in the day Vigneault was asked about Hayes, and he said he would know more in a few days as it hasn’t been that 72 hour mark, when he originally told the media he would know more about Hayes in 48-72 hours on Thursday during pre-game media availability. To me this all spells bad news for Hayes, and that he will be out here for an extended period of time. The proof is in the pudding with how Vigneault and the Flyers handled Ryan Ellis injury/re-injury, and this Hayes situation is following down the same path. By no means am I roasting the Flyers for such, but I see some of the same similarities.
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, if Hayes is announced week to week or even worse, then it should be Frost time. Frost would immediately give the Flyers a top 9 player to insert into the lineup, until a trade. This is not a knock to Max Willman, but Frost is much more talented offensively. The Flyers are in need of a scoring punch and Frost has the capability to provide that.
Frost has been one of the best skaters for the Phantoms. He has speed, cuts through defenders, plays good defensively (To include the Penalty Kill), but most importantly he has his confidence back.
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Confidence is huge for everyone no matter what you do in life, and he doesn’t score that type of goal above if Frost wasn’t confident. After only playing in a handful of organized hockey games in a year and a half. 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. What will happen next is anyone’s guess.
