With both of their junior seasons ending, Pascal Laberge and Isaac Ratcliffe will be joining the Lehigh Valley Phantoms for the AHL postseason, according to the team. This comes after the forwards’ teams were eliminated in their leagues’ postseasons.
Laberge had 47 points in 64 games for the QMJHL’s Victoriaville Tigres and Quebec Remparts during the regular season, 17 of which were goals that came on 175 shots on net. Then he produced 2 goals on 18 shots with 3 assists for 5 points in 7 playoff games for Quebec. Unfortunately, the Remparts fell to the Charlottetown Islanders in the opening round of the QMJHL’s postseason. Laberge was taken 36th overall by the Flyers in the second round of the 2016 NHL Entry Draft.
As for Ratcliffe, he posted five goals on 22 shots on goal and added 4 assists for 9 points in 6 playoff games for the OHL’s Guelph Storm, who lost to Connor Bunnaman’s Kitchener Rangers in the opening round. This came after he had 41 goals on 282 shots and 27 assists for 68 points in 67 games during the regular season. The 6’6” forward was selected 35th overall in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft after Flyers’ general manager Ron Hextall dealt the 44th overall pick, the 75th overall pick, and the 108th overall pick to the Arizona Coyotes for this selection.
Laberge and Ratcliffe won’t be the only additions to the Phantoms before the team enters the postseason. Alex Lyon was recently sent back down to the Orange and Black’s affiliate, and Carsen Twarynski joining the club after the Kelowna Rockets were swept by the Tri-City Americans in the opening round of the WHL playoffs.
The Phantoms have two games left in their regular season, as they host both the Bridgeport Sound Tigers (New York Islanders’ affiliate) on Friday and the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (Pittsburgh Penguins’ affiliate) on Saturday.
