With the 27th Pick in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft the Philadelphia Flyers Have Selected Morgan Frost From the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds in the OHL.
About Morgan Frost
Morgan Frost was the pick selected by the Flyers after swapping selections with the St. Louis Blues. He’s a left-shooting, 6 foot 170 pound center from Barrie, Ontario. He needs to round out his game and get stronger but he’s excellent at stripping pucks, smart on the defensive side of the game and good at leveraging his body. He’s sound offensively, he just needs to improve his overall play to be an effective NHL’er.
After a rookie season that saw him score seven goals and 27 points, Frost’s offensive game got drastically better. In 2016-17 (year two), he scored 20 goals and 62 points in 67 games. For him to get to the next level, it’s a matter of rounding out his game even more.
The @NHLFlyers wanted @_morganfrost_10, and they got him at No. 27. #NHLDraft pic.twitter.com/smi6TgE4nY
— NHL (@NHL) June 24, 2017
THW Prospect Profile Excerpt:
The thing that stands out about Frost on tape and in person is how smart he is. He’s got a knack of seeing a play one to two steps ahead of everyone else. He can put the puck in places for his teammates to make plays. Even if a play doesn’t work, Frost is relentless and can force second and third chances by creating turnovers.
His acceleration is vastly improved. This has helped take his game to another level, especially on the power play. Eight of his 20 goals this season came on the man advantage. He can use his speed to create chances and isn’t afraid to make his own plays if the opportunity presents itself.
Frost has also improved in the faceoff circle. He went from 47.5% in his rookie season to 53.1% this past season. He does need strength for the next level as do most players at this stage. He also needs more deception in his game. He has an underrated shot but doesn’t use it enough…
Full player profile can be found here
How This Affects the Philadelphia Flyers’ Plans
Frost projects at the high-end to be a second-line center in the NHL. He could potentially play the power play and penalty kill for the Flyers but at this point, he is all potential. If his game reaches that potential, he’s a player in the mold of Vincent Trochek from the Florida Panthers.
The Flyers have Travis Konecny and Cooper Marody on their existing depth chart. Both Konecny and Cousins are smaller players so Frost will have prospects to contend with that play a similar style and are of a similar size. He’ll need to find a way to stand out.
Interesting to note, Frost was unkind on Twitter to the Flyers when he called the team $H!t in 2013. Flyers fans can have a long memory, so if he wants to be accepted, Frost will need to do so on the ice. While the Flyer faithful can be brutal, they can also be accepting and forgiving if you bring your “A-game”.