Quick Hits: August 13, 2018
1) While Flyers 2017 first-round pick
Morgan Frost was not at his best at the recent World Junior Summer Showcase, I thought some of the consternation over his performance and its broader implications for the World Junior Championships was a bit over the top.
First and foremost, it was a tiny sampling of games. He dressed in three matches, and only received significant ice time in two. I would think his body of work over his entire draft-plus-one season should carry just a bit more weight than a short, off-season tournament. The WJSS was a late-July/early-August exhibition series. While entertaining and spirited, it was also pretty ragged hockey at times. That was to be expected.
While it would have been nice if Frost showed the form he did during last year's OHL regular season and the first two rounds of the playoffs, it's hardly the end of the world that he had one subpar game and two just-OK outings in a summer tournament. There were a few other notable players, such as Canada's
Nick Suzuki (despite scoring a couple of power play goals) and USA forward
Oliver Wahlstrom, who were also underwhelming.
Secondly, this was Frost's first-ever set of games for Team Canada. He was not invited to last year's Summer Showcase or December selection camp -- although he deserved to be, and would have gained some valuable experience for this year. Despite his OHL MVP runner-up season last year, Frost was at a bit of a competitive disadvantage getting up to speed in a short tourney relative to players who've logged previous international experience at different age groups.
Lastly, Team Canada head coach
Tim Hunter wasn't exactly patient with Frost.
During the split squad portion of the tournament, Frost centered the top line and played on the top power play unit in one game for Canada Red against USA White. He had a rough game -- a secondary power play assist, but also several turnovers and three minor penalties. After the rosters were combined, Frost's second game was against Sweden. He played on the top line at even strength but was placed on the secondary power play unit.
In the tournament finale against Team USA, Frost was dropped to third-line left wing. Almost exclusively a center for his entire junior career, Frost was playing a new position. He also received no power play time at all, and roughly about 11 minutes of ice time overall. However, he also saw penalty killing duty (which he regularly does for the Greyhounds) and did fine in that regard.
All in all, the 2018 WJSS was a learning experience for Frost. The only broader implication for Frost is that he will have to continue to work on his pacing -- which is not a new revelation. In for
Frost to become NHL-ready, he will have to display his top speed more regularly. The speed is certainly there for the CHL Top Prospects fastest skater winner but he'll need to keep his feet moving for his game to translate successfully to the higher levels.
This, to me, is an equally big issue to Frost continuing to fill out his frame. As far as physical development goes, Frost will get to where he needs even if take an additional year. In terms of pacing, he won't really need to crank things up during the OHL season (at that level, he doesn't need to change a thing to dominate) but he WILL need to do to have success at the World Junior Championships.
Frost is a very smart hockey player and also a competitive one. One thing I noticed about him last season was that, when he had a rare off-game, he typically bounced right back with a strong game the next time out. I'd have liked to have seen Hunter stay with Frost on the top line against Team USA rather than putting him out of position on a lower line with sparing ice time; not what I would call putting a player in position to succeed, but also a direct challenge to elevate his game.
The bottom line is that Frost will be fine.
Even if he had dominated the WJSS, his chances of making the Flyers' NHL roster this year would not be all that high -- because the organization believes he needs one more year to fill out and fine-tune his game -- but what he does in Flyers Rookie Camp and the main camp will be a more vital gauge. An uneven week of hockey in a summer tournament shouldn't affect his standing on the Team Canada depth chart and it won't affect the Flyers' internal assessment.
2) As noted in the weekend Quick Hits blog, Flyers defenseman
Shayne Gostisbehere, for the second straight year, elected to spend the entire summer in Voorhees, working out at the Flyers' Training Center at the Skate Zone. Last year, his summer training program helped him get ready for what proved to be his best all-around pro season to date.
This year, Gostisbehere elected to turn down an invitation from Team USA to play at the IIHF World Championships following the Flyers' elimination in the Stanley Cup playoffs. He took a few weeks off to rest and enjoy some personal time, and then got cranking on his training regimen.
It is also an encouraging sign that
Oskar Lindblom spent two-plus weeks in Voorhees this summer to continue his focus on improving his skating. Lindblom worked one-on-one with Flyers skating coach
Slava Kouznetsov before returning to Sweden to continue his training for next season. Adding a little more explosiveness to his first stride is the number one obstacle that Lindblom must overcome to translate his SHL and AHL success to the NHL level. He goes to the right spots on the ice but needs to get there just a little faster.
3) On a related note, over on the Flyers' official website, there is an article looking at the state-of-the-art Flyers Training Center in Voorhees: a look at which Flyers and Phantoms players have made use of it this summer, an overview of the complex itself, the rationale behind the extensive renovations to the Skate Zone facilities that were required to build it, and a short (but, I hope, entertaining) history of the Flyers' training venues, from the Class of 1923 Rink to the Coliseum to the current facility. For more,
click here.
4) Forthcoming this week will be a new offseason edition of FlyerBuzz on Flyers Radio 24/7 and a new special guest on "Real Deal Hockey with Bundy and Bill".
5) Happy birthday wishes go out to
Bob Clarke, who celebrates his 69th birthday today.
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