After a brief mention of it last year, we’ve decided to provide a monthly update on each of the Philadelphia Flyers’ prospects NHL equivalency projections (or NHLe). As stated when the original article was posted last season, this is by no means a perfect way to measure how a prospect is developing, but it one of the better measures we currently have at our disposal.
When it comes to Philadelphia Flyers’ prospects over the last month, some of the biggest news came from debuts. Not only did Phil Myers finally suit up at the NHL level, but both Sam Morin and Pascal Laberge finally returned to game action after lengthy absences due to injuries. To go along with that, many of the same story lines remained the same: Morgan Frost is destroying the OHL, Joel Farabee can’t stop scoring at Boston University, and Valeri Vasiliev has yet to let the Flyers know if he’s coming over or not. As for the rest of the kids, let’s see how they’re doing.
NHLe through March 7th
| Player | Team | League | Age | Year in League | Games | Goals | Assists | Points | NHLe |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Morgan Frost | SSM Greyhounds | OHL | 19 | 4 | 56 | 37 | 70 | 107 | 50 |
| Isaac Ratcliffe | Guelph Storm | OHL | 19 | 4 | 59 | 47 | 27 | 74 | 33 |
| Matthew Strome | Hamilton Bulldogs | OHL | 20 | 4 | 64 | 28 | 50 | 78 | 32 |
| Tanner Laczynski | Ohio State University | NCAA (Big Ten) | 21 | 3 | 25 | 10 | 20 | 30 | 32 |
| Joel Farabee | Boston University | NCAA (Hockey East) | 19 | 1 | 33 | 13 | 18 | 31 | 30 |
| German Rubtsov | Lehigh Valley Phantoms | AHL | 20 | 1 | 14 | 6 | 4 | 10 | 28 |
| David Kase | Lehigh Valley Phantoms | AHL | 22 | 1 | 23 | 4 | 11 | 15 | 25 |
| Justin Bailey | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 23 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 |
| Yegor Zamula | Calgary Hitmen | WHL | 18 | 2 | 57 | 10 | 45 | 55 | 23 |
| Noah Cates | University of Minnesota-Duluth | NCAA (NCHC) | 20 | 1 | 30 | 8 | 12 | 20 | 23 |
| Philippe Myers | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 22 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 23 |
| Mike Vecchione | Lehigh Valley Phantoms | AHL | 26 | 2 | 59 | 13 | 21 | 34 | 22 |
| Maxim Sushko | Owen Sound Attack | OHL | 20 | 3 | 58 | 18 | 29 | 47 | 21 |
| Connor Bunnaman | Lehigh Valley Phantoms | AHL | 20 | 1 | 45 | 15 | 9 | 24 | 21 |
| Mikhail Vorobyev | Lehigh Valley Phantoms | AHL | 22 | 2 | 39 | 7 | 8 | 15 | 21 |
| Wyatt Kalynuk | University of Wisconsin | NCAA (Big Ten) | 21 | 2 | 34 | 9 | 14 | 23 | 18 |
| Wyatte Wylie | Everett Silvertips | WHL | 19 | 4 | 63 | 10 | 35 | 45 | 17 |
| Nicolas Aube-Kubel | Lehigh Valley Phantoms | AHL | 22 | 4 | 38 | 12 | 9 | 21 | 17 |
| Wade Allison | Western Michigan University | NCAA (NCHC) | 21 | 3 | 18 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 17 |
| Reece Willcox | Lehigh Valley Phantoms | AHL | 24 | 4 | 49 | 2 | 14 | 16 | 13 |
| Mark Friedman | Lehigh Valley Phantoms | AHL | 23 | 3 | 59 | 4 | 15 | 19 | 12 |
| Carsen Twarynski | Lehigh Valley Phantoms | AHL | 21 | 2 | 55 | 6 | 11 | 17 | 12 |
| Olle Lycksell | Linkoping HC | SHL | 19 | 2 | 48 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 11 |
| Gavin Hain | University of North Dakota | NCAA (NCHC) | 18 | 1 | 27 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 10 |
| Tyrell Goulbourne | Lehigh Valley Phantoms | AHL | 25 | 4 | 50 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 9 |
| Linus Hogberg | Vaxjo Lakers HC | SHL | 20 | 4 | 49 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 9 |
| Pascal Laberge | Lehigh Valley Phantoms | AHL | 20 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 9 |
| David Bernhardt | Djurgardens IF | SHL | 21 | 3 | 33 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 8 |
| Cole Bardreau | Lehigh Valley Phantoms | AHL | 25 | 5 | 23 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 8 |
| Jack St. Ivany | Yale University | NCAA (ECAC) | 19 | 1 | 26 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 7 |
| Jay O’Brien | Providence College | NCAA (Hockey East) | 19 | 1 | 24 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 6 |
| Marcus Westfalt | Karlskrona HK | Allsvenskan | 18 | 1 | 18 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
| Adam Ginning | Linkoping HC | SHL | 19 | 3 | 45 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 5 |
| Valeri Vasiliev | Severstal Cherepovets | KHL | 24 | 7 | 24 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
| Brendan Warren | University of Michigan | NCAA (Big Ten) | 21 | 4 | 34 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
| Sam Morin | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 23 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
NOTES
- In the last month, Phil Myers finally made his NHL debut. General manager Chuck Fletcher said it would happen earlier in the season and on February 17th against the Detroit Red Wings he finally played. Although he made his debut in a game where head coach Scott Gordon dressed seven defensemen (something that has happened a few times since), Myers has made his presence felt every game. He started a scoring play to record his first point in the NHL against the Buffalo Sabres on February 26th and had the only highlight for the Orange and Black in whatever the hell Wednesday night was against the Washington Capitals. Offensive instincts, an endless motor, and smooth skating should let Myers be a regular on this blue line for the rest of the season and beyond.
- In the AHL, a pair of notable prospects finally hit the ice for the first time this season. After he tore his ACL in May during the AHL postseason, Sam Morin was loaned to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms and made his season debut in a 4-3 overtime win over the Bridgeport Sound Tigers on February 15th. Following a rather quiet season debut, Morin provided a more noteworthy outing a week later in a 2-1 loss to the Charlotte Checkers with a pair of shots on net, a plus-1 rating, and a fight with Josiah Didier in the final minute of regulation. He’s since been recalled by the Flyers, but has yet to suit up for the big club. Another prospect who had yet to make his season debut was Pascal Laberge, who had hip surgery back in September. The 36th overall pick in 2016 made his season debut in the Phantoms’ 5-2 loss to the Checkers on February 23rd and proceeded to go pointless in his next two games before he notched his first professional point by beating Tristan Jarry in a 3-1 win over the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on Wednesday.
- The NCAA isn’t the easiest place to produce points. One of the more difficult conferences in the NCAA to create offense is the National Collegiate Hockey Conference, which features Noah Cates and the University of Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs. With 20 points in 30 games, Cates is the highest-scoring freshman on the Bulldogs’ roster and is only trailing Minnesota Wild prospect Nick Swaney (sophomore taken in the seventh round of 2017) by a point and is five points ahead of Riley Tufte, a first-round pick of the Dallas Stars at the 2016 NHL Entry Draft. The American forward never posted gaudy goal totals in high school or the USHL, but he can seemingly adjust and contribute for whatever league he’s in. A few of the other Flyers’ prospects have struggled adjusting to the NCAA, but it looks as though Cates hasn’t missed a beat./
