Philadelphia Flyers Summer 2021 Top 25 Under 25, No. 5: Morgan Frost

No. 5: Morgan Frost

2020-21 League/Team(s): Philadelphia Flyers (NHL)
2020-21 Statistics: 0 G, 0 A, 0 P in 2 GP (NHL)
Age: 22
Acquired In: 2017 (drafted)
Ranking in Spring 2020 25 Under 25: 8

How did Frost’s 2020-21 hockey season go? Is his stock trending up or down from where it was entering the year?

Everybody’s favorite Soo Greyhounds product had a difficult year in the pandemic. What was once a promising season for Frost turned disastrous after a devastating shoulder injury sidelined him indefinitely, eventually ruling him out for the entirety of Philly’s 2020-21 campaign. It was a particular shame given that Frost had a solid shot to become a full-time NHL player last year. With so little to work with in terms of sample size, his stock remains level.

What are we expecting from Frost this season? What should we be looking for from him?

With injuries to Wade Allison and Kevin Hayes opening up holes in the forward corps, Frost is practically a lock to make the active roster. The question heading into camp is if he’ll be able to decisively win a top six role, or if he’ll be deployed as a middle six player in favor of moving other guys into more significant minutes. We here at BSH feel that Frost has a good shot to assert himself as a mid-lineup option in Kevin Hayes’s place while the Flyers’ 2C is absent, but the bare minimum expectation here is that Frost needs to be a full-time NHLer and get 60+ games under his belt. Whether that’s as a highly productive breakout player or as a 25-30 point, bottom six forward remains to be seen.

How does Frost fit into the Flyers’ long-term plans? Where does he stand in the Flyers’ organizational depth?

Frost is arguably the best bet to become a cost-controlled 2C in the organization, although I think a more realistic outcome for him is as a high-end 3C. With Kevin Hayes, Sean Couturier, and Scott Laughton not getting any younger, having Frost as depth will be critical to this team’s success as they attempt to refresh the guys down the middle. He’s probably the Flyers’ fourth best official centerman at the moment, behind Laughton, Hayes, and Couturier (sorry Nate Thompson). He’s obviously outranked by Giroux, but I’ll consider him a winger unless Alain Vigneault moves him back to center for the long term.

What do we think Frost’s ultimate NHL upside is, and how likely is it that he gets to something approaching that?

Frost’s upside is probably as a solid or better 2C. His skating and hockey sense combo are exciting to say the least; he’s probably the best pure passer and skater in Philadelphia’s pipeline and has been excellent at the AHL level, with flashes of brilliance in his NHL stints. While it’s more likely he become a 2C/3C tweener, the potential is there for a legit top six stud. What Frost will need to work on this season to achieve that ability will be his strength through contact and processing speed. The concerns about his pace of play are semi-warranted, but not totally unfixable, proven by his rapid adaptation to the AHL. As a smaller player, it’s also worth wondering if he’ll be able to stick at center or handle the kind of tenacious forechecking that The Show has to offer.

How We Voted: Morgan Frost

How We Voted: No. 5

Previously in Flyers Summer 2021 Top 25 Under 25:

• Introduction
• No. T-24: Ivan Fedotov
• No. T-24: German Rubtsov
• No. 23: Jay O’Brien
• No. 22: David Kase
• No. 21: Linus Hogberg
• No. 20: Isaac Ratcliffe
• No. 19: Ronnie Attard
• No. 18: Connor Bunnaman
• No. 17: Noah Cates
• No. 16: Elliot Desnoyers
• No. 15: Emil Andrae
• No. 14: Samu Tuomaala
• No. 13:  Zayde Wisdom
• No. T-11: Tanner Laczynski
• No. T-11: Samuel Ersson
• No. 10: Bobby Brink
• No. 9: Egor Zamula
• No. 8: Tyson Foerster
• No. 7: Wade Allison
• No. 6: Cam York/