Philadelphia Flyers: Will Scott Laughton Make the Team?

September is here, and that means cooler weather and some hockey are around the corner. Training camp is only a couple weeks away, and the stories and headlines from that will be rolling in.

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The biggest thread from training camp is always who of the new prospects and young players can make the team. For instance, Ivan Provorov will likely play his heart out to not get sent back down to Juniors for another year. Though it may not matter if the Flyers cannot, or just simply wont, make room in the salary cap and roster for another defenseman on the team.

One player to watch is Scott Laughton, who had his first full pro season last season and had an extended stint on the Flyers roster from Nov. 19th to Feb. 13th. In that range, he played 31 games and put up six points. In his split season with the Phantoms, he played 39 games for 13 goals and 27 points.

I’d be lying if I said Laughton wasn’t one of my favorite young players that the Flyers have. He has excellent puck handling, good vision in the offensive zone, and he tries to be very responsible in the defensive zone. He just needs time to refine his game more, and needs to get a little stronger on the puck as he gets bumped off a little too easy at times.

Now what does this mean for him and the Flyers? Well, there really isn’t room for him on the squad whether we like it or not. With the team being overpopulated with good centers, it’d be hard for Laughts to beat someone out for that spot.

Currently Giroux, Couturier, B Schenn, and Bellemare could be the best centers, though Schenn could and probably will see time on a wing. So what about the wing for Laughton? Well, he’s definitely not beating out Voracek, B Schenn, Raffl, or Gagner for that either.

Therefore, Laughton would have to be on the third-line most, if not all, of the time and that is not what Hextall wants from his young players. Laughton would never get the minutes at third-line that he would in the AHL on the first-line, which will help his development even more so.

He could be called up at anytime for an injury replacement, which would be great, but he and the team are just not ready for top-6 play.

Sep 23, 2014; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Philadelphia Flyers forward Scott Laughton (49) passes the puck against the Toronto Maple Leafs during the first period at Air Canada Centre. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports

So let’s face it, Laughton will probably never be first line material here in Philly so the second line is where there needs to be space and enough lack of talent for him to slot in. Laughton could always be a third-line player with offensive upside, but who wants to be projected as that?

Being practical, the third line may be where Laughton fits in on this team, if not this year then maybe the next. Being hopeful, I hope if Laughton does play on the third line he brings top-6 talent to that line. With those slick hands, he shouldn’t have any problem doing that.

All-in-all, Laughton is an exciting prospect that just needs more time to develop. If you can, you should watch him and the revamped Phantoms this season, which should be quite a treat.

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