Shortly after Morgan Frost re-signed with the Flyers, Isaac Ratcliffe did the same. He and Philadelphia agreed on a one-year, two way contract for next season. It would pay him $813,50 at the NHL level. And that’s somewhere that Ratcliffe is trying to be.
The 23-year-old has a chance to make his NHL debut last season and he didn’t let it go to waste. It was a nightmare of a year for Ratcliffe the year prior. He was limited to just 22 games with the Phantoms due to an injured rib that led to a collapsed lung.
Finally getting his chance, Ratcliffe impressed the Flyers during his limited NHL experience. He didn’t light up the scoresheet, but did still grab his first NHL goal and three assists to go along with it. He also had 16 hits in those 10 games while averaging just under 11 minutes of ice time.
Ratcliffe spend most of his time between Connor Bunnaman and Zack MacEwen. He did briefly appear on the team’s top line with Claude Giroux and Cam Atkinson. He was at his best between the former two as those three played the type of physical fourth line you tend to see on a lot of teams.
With Lehigh Valley, Ratcliffe appeared in 59 games where he posted 11 goals and 28 points. It was all about being able to stay healthy and play that mattered as well. It was mentally hard just as much as it was physical. Ratcliffe admitted that much when he was called up. Every time he felt like he made progress, there was another setback to hold him back.
There will he even more determination for Ratcliffe in claiming a spot on the Flyers roster. Now he knows what it takes to play in the NHL. The Flyers still have a few more RFA’s to take care of in Owen Tippet and MacEwen. The latter will certainly be competition. As well as the newly signed Nicolas Deslauriers