Analyzing Frost’s Primary Points in 2016–2017
Philadelphia Flyers’ general manager Ron Hextall made a few trades on the weekend of the 2017 NHL Entry Draft, but the biggest one involved Brayden Schenn being dealt to the St. Louis Blues. The deal landed Philly forward Jori Lehtera, who had 22 points in 2016–2017, as well as a 2017 first-round pick and a conditional first-round pick in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft. With the 2017 first-round pick acquired in this deal, Hextall selected Morgan Frost of the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds in the Ontario Hockey League. Since Schenn was considered a core piece of the Flyers’ roster and one of the best power play players in the NHL last season, there is much intrigue for many fans of the Orange and Black as to how the 5’11” 170-pound center plays the game.
Frost ranked 31st on the final North American skater rankings provided by Central Scouting, so it wasn’t crazy to see him go near the end of the first round. However, not many fans and analysts expected him to go in the first round despite the ranking. With more highly regarded names like Eeli Tolvanen and Klim Kostin still available, Hextall’s selection of Frost was a bit surprising, but it does seem like a few other people put the forward in high regards. One of those people is CanucksArmy’s Ryan Biech, who had this to say about Frost on the Hockey PDOcast shortly before this year’s NHL Entry Draft:
“Nothing can replace seeing these players live. Like I look at a player like Morgan Frost with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds. He played a depth, middle-six role for the Greyhounds because they had Senyshyn and Katchouk, and he’s somebody who did very well in that role. Next year, when these players graduate, then he’s going to be the next step up and he could be a very good bet in the 2nd or 3rd round for a team because he’s going to take that step up. Then people will be like ‘Oh, where did he come from?’ where he wasn’t a point per game player (this year)”
Hopefully for the Flyers and their fans, Biech’s perception of Frost is accurate. After looking at the 22 goals and 28 primary assists that made up his 50 primary points during the 2016–2017 regular season and 2017 OHL postseason, it seems as though it most likely will be. Let’s look at what type of player the Flyers have in Frost.
GREAT PASSER AND PLAY CREATOR
As seen through his primary points in the 2016–2017 season, Frost is a player whose game is centered around creating easy goals for his teammates and vice versa. Ending last season tied for 16th with 25 primary assists and 19th with 0.37 primary assists per game in all situations among the 155 OHL forwards who played in 60 games or more last season, Frost was one of the better passers in the OHL this past year. His creativity, intelligence, and poise with the puck opened up the ice for both himself and his teammates.
The Flyers’ prospect completed several cross-ice passes to earn primary assists this season, but none were better than his pass to Bobby MacIntyre in the Greyhounds’ 6–3 win over the Sarnia Sting on March 8th. After he worked his way along the boards to the corner, Frost threw a pass between Connor Schlichting’s legs and past three other members of Sarnia to set up MacIntyre for his second assist of the game.
Frost also has a knack of working the puck away from the opposition and quickly turning it into a chance for a teammate. This can be seen on his second assist against the Niagara IceDogs on February 18th and his helper against the Kitchener Rangers on March 5th.
VARIETY OF SHOTS HELPED GOAL TOTAL
Coming in at 63rd with 142 shots on goal and 99th with 14 high-danger shots on goal in all situations among 155 forwards who played 60 games or more last season in the OHL, as well as only having four games with five shots on goal or more, Frost wasn’t one of the better shot producers in the league last season. However, Frost did show his capability to beat opposing goaltenders in a variety of ways.
With no tendency to beat a goaltender at a certain location of the net, Frost also threw in the occasional shot that required a windup. On top of his slap shot goal on March 29th against the Flint Firebirds, Frost also provided snap shot goals against the Windsor Spitfires on September 23rd and on November 4th against Sarnia.
Frost did receive some luck on a few of his goals, but he still put himself in a goal-scoring situation before the puck crossed the line. One of his lucky goals came when London Knight Cliff Pu tried to break up a cross-ice pass from Frost in the Greyhounds’ game on September 30th but ended up redirecting the puck past Knights’ goalie Emanuel Vella. Another one came in the midst of Frost’s four-point game against the IceDogs on December 8th, as Frost made a drive to the net and switched the puck to his backhand in an attempt to beat opposing goalie Stephen Dhillon, but Dhillon redirected the puck past himself and into the net.
When it came to the goals he scored, Frost had a lot of help from his teammates last season to be one of the 77 20-goal forwards in the OHL, but he also showed that he can start and finish a play all by himself.
A few tallies illustrated these capabilities from Frost, one of which was his goal against the Knights on October 28th, where he held control of the puck in the neutral zone and circled into the zone to rip home a shot. He also displayed some dangles in the Greyhounds’ win over London on March 19th and the team’s loss to the Owen Sound Attack on April 11th.
A LITTLE HELP FROM HIS FRIENDS
Frost spent a good portion of last season playing on lines that featured parts of the quartet of Senyshyn, Tim Gettinger, Jack Kopacka, and MacIntyre, who were four of the 37 OHL players last season who scored 28 goals or more. Senyshyn was infamously selected 15th overall in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft by the Boston Bruins, Gettinger was taken in the fifth round of the 2016 NHL Entry Draft by the New York Rangers, Kopacka was grabbed by the Anaheim Ducks in the fourth round of the 2016 Draft, and MacIntyre will be joining the Cleveland Monsters in the American Hockey League for the 2017–2018 season after he completed his fifth OHL season. On top of these four players, the Greyhounds also boasted Blake Speers, who was drafted by the New Jersey Devils in the third round of 2015 and played three games for the club last season, and Boris Katchouk, who is a second-round pick of the Tampa Bay Lightning from the 2016 Draft. Unlike Isaac Ratcliffe, Frost did receive the benefit of playing with skaters who have plenty of offensive upside.
With a third-place finish in the 20-team OHL, it’s no surprise Sault Ste. Marie’s offense ranked fourth with 287 goals for during the 2016–2017 regular season. The Greyhounds managed to produce four games with eight goals, five games with seven goals, and nine games with six goals during last year’s 68-game campaign. On top of those showcases of offensive dominance, Frost’s squad was only shutout once.
Although the Greyhounds were a very skilled roster, one could see how that helped to increase Frost’s point totals, but it didn’t create all of it. The Flyers’ prospect provided several examples of plays where he strung together multiple swift moves and presence-of-mind decisions that were rewarded with a great finish by a teammate. The best example of this was Senyshyn’s redirection goal against the Guelph Storm on February 10th, as Frost worked his way from the neutral zone to the point and threaded a pass through a pair of Guelph defenders to Senyshyn, who slipped an impressive deflection past Storm goalie Liam Herbst.
CONCLUSION
Although he is mainly a pass-first type of player, Frost does have the capability to take control of a play all by himself to pot a goal. Not many know what to expect after Frost was selected in the first round, but it seems as though Flyers’ general manager Ron Hextall found another 200-foot player with smarts and offensive upside. After some more time in the OHL and likely time in the AHL, hopefully Frost will be ready to become a high-end NHL player.
