Morgan Frost is a Future Star of the Flyers

TSN"s Bob McKenzie had speculated that the center from Ontario was going to be drafted just outside the first round at 38th overall. As a result, Frost fell down on draft boards. Despite this, he was the Flyers" second first-round pick; he followed Nolan Patrick, the second overall pick.

The scouting report on Frost at the Draft was:

Positives: Competitiveness, Hockey IQ

Weaknesses: Physical play

NHL Potential: Bottom Six Forward

Frost has always had that underdog mentality. As the 81st overall pick in the 2015 OHL Priority Draft, the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds product isn"t shy from being overlooked. He worked his way from a being a kid who scored 27 points as a rookie in the OHL, to an elite scorer who scored 100+ points in 2017-18 and 2018-19. Under the radar guy that was picking up some heads in 2016. Including the head of now-former Philadelphia Flyers GM, Ron Hextall.

Not the most exciting scouting report, giving how we view Frost now. Despite this, Hextall saw something in the kid from Aurora, Ontario. Frost proved him right his draft plus year.

Draft Plus One Year

Frost was second in the OHL in total points with 112 in 2017-18. He scored 42 goals and dished out a league-leading 70 assists. His smart hands and hockey IQ which NHL scouts raved about, led to a league-leading eight insurance goals.

Looking to Improve

Although you want your prospects to get better each year and improve, in certain areas to become better overall hockey players. Frost did that and more. A man amongst boys, he racked up 112 points in 67 games putting him on pace for 1.67 points per game. Almost two points a game coming out of your draft plus year isn"t too shabby for an 18-year-old kid.

The Greyhounds got eliminated in the 2017-18 playoffs in the second round, Frost had eight points in 11 games, scoring two goals and dishing out six assists. A good season for Frost to get a year of OHL playoff experience and learn what it takes to win and eventually, get back there.

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Draft Plus Two Year

Established as one of the top players in the OHL, Frost went into his draft plus two year confident after being sent back. Not physically ready for the NHL weighing 184 pounds, he was set for another year of playing in the OHL. He didn"t disappoint.

Start of 2018 OHL Season

Right out of the gate, Frost posted 15 points in 10 games. Potting five goals and 10 assists. He was the catalyst of the Greyhounds" offense. Leading SSM to a 44-16-7 record. Lighting up the league, he never looked back. Frost finished with 37 goals, and a league-leading 72 assists, totaling 109 points in 58 games played.

Frost is special in many ways. For example, he"s deceivingly fast, shifty and knows what to do with the puck before he gets it. There are many reasons I love Frost as a prospect. The way he can control a game and calm down everything around him is elite. He"s the perfect player to be the quarterback on your power play. Again, from his high hockey IQ and nasty cross-ice snap passes, Frost would be dangerous whenever he touches the puck.

He put up monster numbers in his second year since being drafted but he was also scoring 1.87 points a game (up from 1.67 in 2017-18).

OHL Exit

Frost leaves the OHL with a total of 106 goals. He had 204 assists for a total of 310 points in 257 games. Turning pro this year, Frost is looking to make the leap and make the Flyers out of camp. He has some competition in Joel Farabee, German Rubtsov and Mikhail Vorobyov, who are all looking to take the same spot. If Frost doesn"t make the Flyers he"ll go up to Allentown and play for the Phantoms. There he"ll get used to being a pro and get comfortable with the everyday grind of the pro game.

Turning pro is a different experience for each player, some handle it better than others. He was sent back to the NHL by Hextall who was the GM at the time, to work on his game. Scoring 100+ points in back to back years after being selected “early" is an amazing accomplishment. You can definitely say Frost worked on his game alright.

WJC U-20

Frost has been running rampant through the OHL, as a result, he played with the U20 Canada team in the World Juniors and didn"t stop his dominating play. In five games played, Frost scored eight points. Scoring a hattrick against Denmark. His playmaking abilities and smooth silky mitts were on full display in the tournament.

If you didn"t know who #26 for Team Canada was before these games, you sure do now.

NHL Comparison

Now, I don"t usually like comparing a prospect to an active NHL player. I"m simply comparing the playing styles, skating and hockey IQ, based on my observations.

Niklas Backstrom has 873 points in 895 games played. Over the years he"s netted 231 goals and assisting 642 goals. A career point a game player, he"s everything you want in a second-line center. He"s quick, agile, smart and one of the best passers in the league, if not the best. He plays an underrated two-way game.

Why Do They Compare?

Frost"s game reminds me of Stanley Cup winner, Backstrom of the Washington Capitals. No, I"m not saying Frost is going to be Backstrom. He is an established NHL player. I am saying I can see him becoming a player similar to Backstrom"s nature.

To start, the one area right now where it"s hard to compare the two is Backstrom"s two-way play. He is one of the best two-way players in the league. Frost has a lot of work to do to be as good as Backstrom from the defensive side of the game. Not surprisingly, he has scored over 70 points each year he"s been in the NHL, besides his rookie year where he played half the games.

The perfect guy to put on the wing of a player like Backstrom would be somebody like Alex Ovechkin or T.J Oshie. Scorers who can finish passing plays with ease. The Flyers have multiple goal scorers that can do that in 30 goal scorer James Van Riemsdyk and captain Claude Giroux. If Frost can be anything like Backstrom, the Flyers have something special on their hands.

Development Camp 2019

Going into this camp you"re looking for guys like Frost to take control and show why they should be on the team. For him, this was a very important summer, as there"s a right-wing spot open on the Flyers" third line and there"s a lot of other guys competing for the same spot.

Impressing

Frost"s development camp performance in my eyes, was everything you needed to see from him before the conversation of him making the NHL team continues. You needed to see him feel comfortable in his third development camp. Frost looked much more comfortable making plays all over the ice. If he didn"t go into the summer and impress me in development camp, what makes me believe he"ll be able to do it against NHL proven talent? He was smart with the puck, his passing was outstanding and his shootout goal was even better.

As a matter of fact, his two-way game was night and day from last year. Making little plays off the puck, defensively and becoming a better all-around hockey player.

Frost really impresses me in tight spaces and along the boards. In alone on the goalie, his soft hands are a pure joy to watch. Pay attention to how he comes off the boards with the puck and gets a beautiful pass under the defenseman stick, ultimately for a goal.

He ended the action-packed five-on-five tournament with a ridiculous backhand pass over to 2019 second-round pick Bobby for the game-winning goal.

In addition, Frost"s OHL and World Junior successes have given him some national exposure.

Frost was an impactful player in all three zones in the OHL. It"s going to take a little time for him to get used to the play at the pro level. As any prospect does, he"ll get more comfortable as time goes on. I really don"t see a scenario where Frost isn"t a star in the NHL.

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