It was a wild ride for Morgan Frost this season as he grabbed his first taste of NHL action with the Flyers.
Drafted back in the first round of the 2017 NHL Draft, Morgan Frost jumped towards the top of the list of Philadelphia Flyers’ top prospects. The draft pick used to take him was one of two acquired in the trade that sent Brayden Schenn to the St. Louis Blues. Joel Farabee was taken with the other pick.
Frost dominated the Ontario Hockey League, collecting 310 career points in 257 games. That was a 1.21 points-per-game pace. His third season was his best as he posted 42 goals and 70 assists. That was the season following his draft.
He made his professional debut with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms to start this past season. It would take about a month before he would make his NHL debut. And he kicked things off right away in his first game.
In front of some of his family, Frost scored his first NHL goal against Sergei Bobrovsky. Not a bad goaltender to grab it against. He would grab a goal and an assist in the following game. Frost centered a line that featured Claude Giroux and Travis Konecny. So the Flyers gave him every chance to succeed as he began to navigate the NHL level.
Frost stayed with the Flyers for 18 games before he was sent back to the American Hockey League. The team felt he needed to develop more. After grabbing three points in his first two games, Frost went on to only collect four points in the next 16 games.
Frost detailed these events and much more when he spoke with Peter Ruicci of The Sault Star about a week ago. He mentioned not fully believing he had scored until after the game. And the demotion that came late in December wasn’t a surprise to him.
“I could kind of see it coming,” he said. “The first little bit up there (in the NHL), I was playing pretty well. But as time went on, I kind of lost my confidence.”
After being sent back to the AHL, Frost continued to develop and had been invited to play in the 2020 AHL All-Star Classic. He would end up with two more games with the Flyers in February before spending the rest of the season with the Phantoms.
As things stand, Frost is tied for second on the Phantoms with 29 points. His 13 goals are also second while his 16 assists are tied for third. The numbers don’t light up compared to other rookies in the AHL. His points have him ranked 19th, though his goals have him in the top-10.
Adjusting to the professional level has been something that Frost has focused on throughout the season.
“You kind of realize this is fully a job now,” he added. “It’s definitely a different feeling when you’re playing for money. You learn you have to focus and work your hardest every day.”
It is hard to say if Frost would have gotten another chance with the Flyers this season. The team was on a roll before the pause, winning nine out of their last ten games. But the time in the AHL has been good for him. And extra development never hurt.
Frost will almost certainly make a run at a roster spot next season. And with a professional season under his belt by then, he might have a better shot at sticking around.