Prospect Info: Phantoms (AHL), Reading Royals (ECHL), NCAA, Jrs., Int'l, etc.

[Ghosts Beer]

It would be nice to see Frost up soon because we need talent at center in the bottom six.

He’s not ready for it. 3C in the NHL is no joke. It’s a ton of responsibility. The coach needs to trust you. AV is using the 3C in crucial defensive situations—look at Laughton’s zone starts. Frost is going to have to get the ok from Gordon before the Flyers call him up, & last game he was demoted to the AHL 4th line. That tells you all you need to know right there.

 

[Magua]

I’d settle for Farabee getting a call-up for a bottom 6 that desperately needs more skill. I’m not sure I even expect that in the next few weeks.

 

[hatcher]

You need to go some where else. You clearly aren’t a flyers fan and are just trolling.

Why do you say that?

 

[hatcher]

He’s not ready for it. 3C in the NHL is no joke. It’s a ton of responsibility. The coach needs to trust you. AV is using the 3C in crucial defensive situations—look at Laughton’s zone starts. Frost is going to have to get the ok from Gordon before the Flyers call him up, & last game he was demoted to the AHL 4th line. That tells you all you need to know right there.

But he's a number 1 pick though. Let's ruin him.

 

[Audible Velvet]

I’d settle for Farabee getting a call-up for a bottom 6 that desperately needs more skill. I’m not sure I even expect that in the next few weeks.

I got the AHLtv subscription for Phantoms and went back to watch the games played so far. Why he's not up with the Flyers is inexplicable. Twar getting a gig to play wing over Busybee is nuts. You're so very right. He's looked so much the difference maker of the type needed for a deep NHL squad.

 

[Les Averman]

For what it's worth, AV sounds like he wants Farabee up from what they showed on Behind the Glass. I'd think there's a decent chance he's up in a week or two and in the top 9. I wish Patrick were here but I have my doubts that we'll see him at all this season. An influx of Farabee and Patrick to the top 9, Myers to the defense and demotion of Hagg, Bunny & Twar would do wonders for this team.

 

[Rebels57]

For what it's worth, AV sounds like he wants Farabee up from what they showed on Behind the Glass. I'd think there's a decent chance he's up in a week or two and in the top 9. I wish Patrick were here but I have my doubts that we'll see him at all this season. An influx of Farabee and Patrick to the top 9, Myers to the defense and demotion of Hagg, Bunny & Twar would do wonders for this team.

Frost taking off in Lehigh might actually be more important than Farabee, due to this Patrick conundrum.

 

[deadhead]

I think they're just nervous about playing Farabee 80-90 games in the NHL, because of his style of play, which is probably the closest to Lindblom, who is 3 years older and much stronger - if they bring him up he'll be playing 13-15 minutes a night (12-13 on the 3rd line and 1-2 on the PK).

If Farabee was 21 and filled out to 6'2 200 lbs, he'd be a fixture in the top 9, pushing for a top six role.
But at 19 and only 180 lbs at best, you have to weigh his present value to the team to the chance you might turn him into the next "Patrick."

 

[landsbergfan]

I got the AHLtv subscription for Phantoms and went back to watch the games played so far. Why he's not up with the Flyers is inexplicable. Twar getting a gig to play wing over Busybee is nuts. You're so very right. He's looked so much the difference maker of the type needed for a deep NHL squad.

They literally stated that his demotion was based on "confidence" from not being able to score in preseason games. Joke. I expect him back pretty soon unless the team just goes on a winning streak.

 

[Tripod]

He’s not ready for it. 3C in the NHL is no joke. It’s a ton of responsibility. The coach needs to trust you. AV is using the 3C in crucial defensive situations—look at Laughton’s zone starts. Frost is going to have to get the ok from Gordon before the Flyers call him up, & last game he was demoted to the AHL 4th line. That tells you all you need to know right there.

But in "theory", Laughton could still take those defensive situations but on the 4th line with Raffl and Pitlick as his wingers. They become a defensive line that we are not counting on for offense.

Then the 3rd line becomes a scoring sheltered line if you went with Frost and Farabee on it.

Hell...if you just want to look at "stats" to determine if someone is playing good or not and discount Frost, then Rubstov has 3 points in 3 games. Reward him with a 2 game call up on Sat and Monday and let his play dictate if he stays up for the Thursday game or if someone else gets a shot.

With Patrick out, we don't need a 1 guy call up for the whole year situation. We can/should be rewarding the kids who are having good play with an opportunity. And if they run with it, we stick with it. If they don't, move on to the next. With Frost, Rubstov, and Pimp, we have some options than just sticking with what isn't working.

 

[LegionOfDoom91]

Frost taking off in Lehigh might actually be more important than Farabee, due to this Patrick conundrum.

Pretty much. Laughton & a combo of Raffl/Bunnaman just isn’t cutting it in their current center slotting.

The whole bottom six right now frankly is a mess. Not even saying every guy is playing poorly but at the same time nobody is really standing out in a positive way either.

 

[deadhead]

I suspect between now and the end of the year, we'll see Frost, Farabee, Myers and Rubtsov get cameos, maybe NAK, Vorobyev, Werenski and Friedman.
I don't think AV is wed to Twarynski, Bunnaman and Stewart, or Hagg and Morin, the fact they put Bunnaman at 4C tells you he saw enough of Raffl at 4C.
Part of it is finding what works, part of it is finding what DOESN'T work, i.e., where Fletcher may need to make a move before the TDL.

AV didn't sign a one year contract, and I don't think his focus is on winning the Stanley Cup this year, rather, first build the team he wants, then see how far it goes this year. If not satisfied, make some moves this summer.
So I don't think AV feels the same urgency as some of the fans here, he's got a longer view.

 

[Rebels57]

Pretty much. Laughton & a combo of Raffl/Bunnaman just isn’t cutting it in their current center slotting.

The whole bottom six right now frankly is a mess. Not even saying every guy is playing poorly but at the same time nobody is really standing out in a positive way either.

And if Patrick comes back with Frost up, Frost is still capable of playing wing in the top 9 too. So he gives us the most value going forward. Just hope he takes off and starts piling up points soon.

We don't have a McDavid or MacKinnon type on this team so we need to win with depth like St. Louis did last year. Right now, our depth is bad..with potential to be good.

 

[Curufinwe]

Hart is still waiver exempt.... just saying.

 

[deadhead]

Frost and Farabee are the future, but they're only 19 and 20.
I'd rather they be cautious with them, I hope they'll be core players for the coming decade, along with TK, Lindblom and Patrick (cross fingers).
Frost is actually safer b/c he plays in space and takes less contact, Farabee loves the dirty areas and even in pre-season was taking a lot of punishment.

Rubtsov is closer because he has a NHL body, same with Vorobyev, NAK, Myers and Friedman.
When Allison comes out of college, I can see him signed and put into the lineup for the same reason.

The point of a NHL body isn't that they're necessarily better players, but that you don't have to worry about them taking punishment to the same extent, Bunnaman and Twarynski are only 21, but whatever flaws they have, being able to hold their own physically hasn't been one of them.

 

[MacDonald4MVP]

Hart is still waiver exempt.... just saying.

You can bet your ass if hexy was still here he would send Hart down at first sign of struggle and just sign Neuvirth to be the backup. Time is a flat circle.

 

[MacDonald4MVP]

And if Patrick comes back with Frost up, Frost is still capable of playing wing in the top 9 too. So he gives us the most value going forward. Just hope he takes off and starts piling up points soon.

We don't have a McDavid or MacKinnon type on this team so we need to win with depth like St. Louis did last year. Right now, our depth is bad..with potential to be good.

Neither of them won the cup though so macdavid or not you still need depth.

 

[Tripod]

If Nick Suzuki or Alex Texier can play 14+ minutes in the NHL, so could Frost. You just do it in a sheltered way.

 

[FLYguy3911]

Barrett Hayton.

 

[Curufinwe]

If Nick Suzuki or Alex Texier can play 14+ minutes in the NHL, so could Frost. You just do it in a sheltered way.

Not even a 4 minute gap in ES TOI/GP between forward #1 and #12.

NHL.com - Stats

On the Flyers the gap is 5:54.

NHL.com - Stats

 

[deadhead]

Suzuki is listed at 5'11 201 on NHL.com (5'11 183 on HR)
Texier is listed at 6'1 192 on NHL.com (6'0 187 on HR)

Frost is listed at 5'11 170 on NHL.com (5'11 170 on HR)
Farabee is listed at 6'0 164 on NHL.com (6'0 162 on HR)

 

[Ghosts Beer]

But in "theory", Laughton could still take those defensive situations but on the 4th line with Raffl and Pitlick as his wingers. They become a defensive line that we are not counting on for offense.

Then the 3rd line becomes a scoring sheltered line if you went with Frost and Farabee on it.

Hell...if you just want to look at "stats" to determine if someone is playing good or not and discount Frost, then Rubstov has 3 points in 3 games. Reward him with a 2 game call up on Sat and Monday and let his play dictate if he stays up for the Thursday game or if someone else gets a shot.

With Patrick out, we don't need a 1 guy call up for the whole year situation. We can/should be rewarding the kids who are having good play with an opportunity. And if they run with it, we stick with it. If they don't, move on to the next. With Frost, Rubstov, and Pimp, we have some options than just sticking with what isn't working.

They’re not going to call up a kid they just sent down for seasoning after just 2 or 3 minor league games. They’re going to want to see a high level of play sustained over a larger sample size — not just 1 or 2 good performances. In Frost’s case, he’s not going to become an NHL 3C without first producing in the AHL.

I know everyone’s dying to see the kids, but their games weren’t quite there yet in preseason. They’re going to have to prove to management that they’re NHL-ready over more than just 2 or 3 games.

 

[Tripod]

Frost HIMSELF 1 YEAR AGO ON June 2018: The Flyers’ first-round pick from 2017 knows that the biggest knock against him is his size and even on the team’s development camp roster he’s listed at 172 pounds. These days, he says, it’s more like 184

Morgan Frost trying to lift and eat his way to NHL weight

Farabee HIMSELF on Aug 12: “I’m pretty close to 180 pounds now,” Farabee said. “I think I’m in a pretty good spot weight-wise that I want to be at, so I feel really good, a lot stronger on the ice.

Joel Farabee hit his weight goal, his next one is to make the NHL


But hey, if you want to use outdated info, go ahead.

 

[Tripod]

They’re not going to call up a kid they just sent down for seasoning after just 2 or 3 minor league games. They’re going to want to see a high level of play sustained over a larger sample size — not just 1 or 2 good performances. In Frost’s case, he’s not going to become an NHL 3C without first producing in the AHL.

I know everyone’s dying to see the kids, but their games weren’t quite there yet in preseason. They’re going to have to prove to management that they’re NHL-ready over more than just 2 or 3 games.

Why? They let Twar and Bunny play games due to SSS. Or does that only apply to less talented players?

And as stated, it could be Rubstov too. Or Pimp.

The ENTIRE point is that it doesn't have to be 1 guy for the whole duration. You can rotate guys in and out for experience and rewards....filling the gap until Patrick is ready or until someone shows the sustained level of play.

 

[Curufinwe]

HockeyBuzz.com - Bill Meltzer - Flyers Make 7 Roster Cuts: Impact and Fletcher Commentary

Do you anticipate carrying 22 players or 23 players when the season starts?

We could even carry 20 or 21. We’ll just have to see the cap situation and how the math works out. I anticipate an awful lot of roster changes the first six weeks of the year. Our goal right now is get a roster to play Chicago in Prague. When we get back, I am sure there will be things we need to do as we move forward. Right now it’s just about getting ready for Prague.


I don’t like the term final cuts. I don’t know that there are ever final cuts. Again, I can’t keep stressing that we are going to put a roster together to play against Chicago. We certainly reserve the right to immediately make changes for the New Jersey game or the Vancouver game. There’s not going to be any final roster or final cuts. There’s going to be a flow of players between Philadelphia and Lehigh Valley for the early part of the season in my opinion, depending who we’re playing, the health of our team, whether we need right-shots or left-shots, wingers or centermen.

I’m not as concerned about Joel in the short-term as much as in the long term. He’s going to be a really good player in this league for a long time. What that means for a week from Friday, we’ll see. We have another game to play. We’ll get together with the coaches and we’ll talk about what the lineup will look like for that game against Chicago. He’s a real smart player. For a 19-year-old player, I think he’s ahead of the curve with a respect to awareness of the game away from the puck, his defensive understanding of the game. He’s obviously a highly competitive kid. Very intelligent kid. But it’s a tough league for a 19-year old player. What we do with Joel will be what’s right for the team, but also what’s right for him in the long run.