Morgan Frost, Joel Farabee want to start Flyers’ careers sooner rather than later
The highly-touted prospects are confident and ready to learn as they compete for a roster spot with the Flyers.
Center Morgan Frost and left winger Joel Farabee, the Flyers’ best prospects, know they will have a difficult time earning a spot with the NHL team this season.
But it won’t be for a lack of confidence.
As they took part in the first day of the Flyers’ prospect camp Tuesday in Voorhees, both seemed eager for training camp in September, when they will get a chance to show the brass they belong.
“I think when you’re this young, your chances get better every year,” said Frost, 19, who had 109 points in 58 Ontario League games last season. “You just kind of turn into a better player, and you know what to expect going into camp.”
“My goal is that I can make the team and I can play a whole season,” said Farabee, who turns 20 in February. “but, at the end of the day, it’s what the staff wants and what they think is best for me.”
To make a smooth adjustment to the pro level, whether in the AHL or NHL, Frost and Farabee must get acclimated to the pace and strength of the players, said Phantoms coach Scott Gordon, who is helping run the Flyers’ development camp.
They will be facing older players who are “going to be smarter and stronger,” Gordon said. “The things that I’ve found is when they do move up, they have to figure out what they can and cannot do. What’s going to work and what’s not going to work for them.”
Frost played in just one exhibition game with the Flyers last season. That number should grow this year.
“It would have been nice to play another game or two,” said the 5-foot-11½ Frost, who has bulked up to 186 pounds. “I didn’t really get to show” what he can do.
If he is going to make the gargantuan jump from juniors to the NHL, Frost probably would have to shift to right wing.
“You’re not going to be able to muscle guys off the puck as easily,” Frost said about playing at the next level. “And just the pace of the game [is different]. You’re going to have to make decisions that much quicker. You have to be able to read and react quicker.”
Assuming newly acquired right winger Tyler Pitlick plays on the fourth line, the Flyers have an opening for a third-line right winger.
“I played wing at World Juniors, and this year, I had Barrett Hayton on my [OHL] team and he’s a really good centerman, as well, so there were times I played with him and I played at whatever wing," Frost said. "I’ve played wing before – it’s definitely not my strong suit right now -- but I could definitely adjust to that.”
As a winger, “you have to be able to protect the puck better, especially in your own zone,” Frost said. “My coach told me in junior that one of the hardest plays in hockey is when you’re on the wing and in your own zone on the boards, and knowing what to do – whether to flip it out, make a play in the middle, or hold the puck. There are so many things, and that’s probably the biggest adjustment.”
If he does start the season with the AHL’s Phantoms, Frost said he would “take whatever the coaches up here tell me” needs improving “and work on it, so I can get back up.”
The 6-foot-1, 175-pound Farabee was named Hockey East’s Rookie of the Year at Boston University last season after collecting 17 goals and 36 points in 37 games as a freshman.
Farabee said he needs to improve his down-low game, whether he’s in the AHL or NHL this season.
“It’s kind of a grind playing in the ‘A,’ and same with the NHL,” he said. “It’s a long season. You’ve got to be able to withstand the physicalness. That’s the biggest part.”
He models his game after Pittsburgh’s 5-11, 180-pound Jake Guentzel, a third-year player who erupted for 40 goals last season.
“We’re not the biggest guys, but kind of crafty and see the ice pretty well,” Farabee said.
The Phantoms are expected to have a young team that could have highly touted prospects such as Frost, Farabee, and 6-6, 201-pound left winger Isaac Ratcliffe.
That trio will be under the watchful eye of new coach Alain Vigneault and his assistants at the Flyers’ training camp in September.
“It’ll be really good to battle for spots and it’ll make us better in the long run,” Farabee said.