Another week, another prospect report, and we’ve got a lot to dig into here. Let’s jump right into the news.
We’ll start with some good news! Tyson Foerster has been working his way back nicely since taking a shoulder injury early in the season, and he’s finally just about ready to get back to playing. It’s not going to be with the Phantoms though, even though he’s eligible, and the Flyers opted to loan him back to his junior team in Barrie. But hey, wherever it is, it’ll be nice to see him healthy and playing again.
This week, we said goodbye to a couple of old pals, as Connor Bunnaman and German Rubtsov were sent to Florida (and assigned to Charlotte) as part of the Claude Giroux trade. It was a bit of contract clearing for a couple of players that didn’t seem to be in the long term plan at the NHL level, so they’re getting another shot elsewhere. Best of luck to them, we hope the new organization is kind to them.
Three Stars
Wade Allison
It has not been a smooth road for Allison of late, as he’s dealt with a couple of freak injuries (most recently a skate cut that required some stitches), but he got back into action this weekend, and man, he was back with a vengeance. The Phantoms had a light weekend, with just two games on the weekend, but they picked up wins in both of them, and Allison was a key factor in that. He brought his normal energy to raise up him teammates, and also kicked in a nice bit of offensive production, with two goals and three assists across those two games. In short, he looks to be back to his old form, and it’s been fun to see.
It’s not clear at this point how much time the Flyers are wanting Allison to get with the Phantoms this season, or how they’re planning on using their remaining recalls, but if he keeps up playing like this, it’s going to be hard to justify keeping him down.
Tanner Laczynski
Speaking of getting back to old form, Laczynski also had himself a very solid weekend. He chipped in a nice bit of scoring, with two goals of his own, and was driving offense well beyond that, putting up 12 shots on goal between his two games played. His game isn’t always a flashy one, but he does just about everything right when he’s going, and he’s done really well here to get back to that, and that’s been a really big key to driving the Phantoms’ recent success.
And with Derick Brassard jettisoned into the sun (or, you know, traded to Edmonton), the Flyers are down another center, and Laczynski has certainly put himself at the top of the list for consideration for a call-up.
Egor Zamula
And closing out our Phantoms section here with a nod to Zamula. It’s been a bit of a weird season for him, and he’s definitely still working through some of the growing pains that come with getting adjusted to the professional game, but his game has certainly been trending in the right direction of late. He chipped in a goal to the Phantom’s scoring burst this weekend, and assisted on a further three of them. He’s still a work in progress and the physical side still needs some work, but his brain is continuing to adjust well to this level, and that’s certainly promising. He’s limiting some of his mistakes and taking some of the risk out of the game, but that hasn’t come at the expense of all of his offensive instincts. He’s learning to play the “right” way, and his confidence is building, and he’s getting rewarded for his good work.
Honorable Mentions
Zayde Wisdom
Alright, enough Phantoms talk, let’s talk a little junior hockey. First up, a trip up to Kingston!
It’s been a bit of an uphill battle for Wisdom to both come back from injury and get readjusted to a league he hadn’t played in in a year and a half, but he’s been steadily plugging away at it, and we’re starting to see things coming together for him. In Kingston’s last three games, he added a goal and three assists, bringing his season total up to seven goals and 24 points in 31 games. And while that total doesn’t exactly jump off the page on its own, it’s quite good, all things considered. He’s still got some work to do, but he’s making good progress, and that’s what we want to see.
Owen McLaughlin
He hasn’t quite been a mainstay on this list, and that’s purely for the fact that we’re trying to spread the love a bit around here, as it were, but he certainly could be. McLaughlin has been veritably tearing it up in the USHL this season, and he tacked on two goals and an assist in his two games last week. He’s up to 24 goals and 60 total points in 50 games played, which is good for tenth in scoring across the whole of the league. Not too shabby at all.
