2019 IIHF World Juniors Update: Philadelphia Flyers

A couple of Philadelphia Flyers prospects have played well through preliminary play of the 2019 IIHF World Junior Championships.

With Quarter Final play beginning on Wednesday, it’s time to discuss how the seven Philadelphia Flyers prospects participating in the IIHF World Junior Championships have performed through preliminary play.

Saving the best for first, forward Morgan Frost has been on a tear for Team Canada. He’s posted seven points (Four Goals, Three Assists) in four games thus far. That’s almost two points per game and ranks second in the entire tournament, as well. It’s very clear that Frost has a dynamic offensive skill-set and pretty impressive how well he’s producing against some of the top prospects hockey has to offer.

Frost isn’t the only Flyers forward prospect who’s shined during preliminary play, though. 2018 first round pick Joel Farabee has netted five points (Three Goals, Two Assists) in four games with Team USA. That ranks third on the team and eighth in the tournament. I didn’t expect too much from the 18 year-old before the World Juniors began, but came away very happy with how Farabee looked. The same can’t be said for the three other Philadelphia youngsters who’ve played for Team USA.

Forwards Noah Cates, Jay O’Brien, and defenseman Jack St.Ivany have all been held pointless so far in four games played. O’Brien and St.Ivany haven’t seen a whole lot of ice-time with the American squad, while Cates  has just struggled to find his bearings. I do think Cates will eventually find his scoring touch, as he possesses some silky mitts in his offensive arsenal.

Finally, the Flyers may have found themselves a diamond in the rough in goaltender Samuel Ersson. Ersson was selected in the fifth round of the 2018 draft and has been one of the best net-minders the 2019 World Juniors has to offer. Through three games played with Team Sweden, he has posted a 2.28 Goals-Against Average (GAA) with a .914 save percentage. That sits eighth in GAA and seventh in save percentage among all goalies participating in the tournament.

These numbers are especially impactful given that Ersson has seen the fifth most shots-on-goal with 81.  He has shown a high-level of confidence in-net that you love to see out of any goaltender and will hope to continue to ride this great play. Defenseman Adam Ginning, who is the second Flyers prospect on this Sweden team, has zero points through three games. This doesn’t come as much of a shock, Ginning isn’t a big point producer and showcases his skills on the defensive end more often than not.

The first game with any Flyers related meaning will be Sweden taking on Switzerland, with the winner taking on either Canada or Finland in the next round. Every game can be seen on the NHL Network in USA and TSN in Canada.