Phantoms update:
3/2 – 7-6 WIN
3/3 – 4-0 WIN
3/4 – 3-2 SO WIN
Philippe Myers (D): 3 GP, 1 goal, 1 assist, 6 shots, 6 PIM
Undrafted Free Agent
Myers gets his first goal since January 17th, his 4th of the season. He has 17 points in 42 games in his rookie season. Myers also happens to keep on taking minor penalties, which would automatically put him in a certain NHL coach’s doghouse. He has 46 PIM this season.
Travis Sanheim (D): 3 GP, 1 assist, 9 shots, 2 PIM
2014 1st Round Pick, 17th overall
Sanheim has fallen behind his point-per-game pace, thus proving he undoubtedly needs more development time. If we are going to cite some #StatsThatMatter, I definitely wouldn’t mention his 8.96 CF Rel%.
Mark Friedman (D): 3 GP, 1 assist, 3 shots
2014 3rd Round Pick, 86th overall
Another point for Friedman who is now up to 12 points (1 G, 11 A) in 53 games in his rookie AHL season.
Danick Martel (RW): 3 GP, 1 goal, 2 assists, 7 shots, 4 PIM
Undrafted Free Agent
Martel has now hit the 20 goal mark in each of his 3 full AHL seasons. If the Flyers coaching staff wasn’t so against having a scoring 4th line, Martel would be in the NHL right now. It’s also important to note that Martel is still only 23 years old and not some AHL-lifer at this point.
Mike Vecchione (C): 3 GP, 1 goal, 2 assists, 3 shots
Undrafted Free Agent
Vecchione had a point in each game this weekend, something he hasn’t done in 3 straight games since a stretch in late-January. His rookie season has gone better than I would have expected with 35 points (14 G, 21 A) in 54 games.
Nicolas Aubé-Kubel (RW): 2 GP, 2 goals, 1 assist, 6 shots, 6 PIM
2014 2nd Round Pick, 48th overall
After going 4 straight games without a point, NAK gives us his 4th three-point game this season. You may notice he only played 2 games this weekend, but that was because he received a two-game suspension for this hit. It wasn’t a great look for NAK, but it was certainly a less predatory hit that Martel received a few weeks ago that broke his jaw (and the violator on that hit received just 3 games). Anyway, Aubé-Kubel has 40 points (17 G, 23 A) in 59 games and should be on the Flyers. We’ll see him back in action on Saturday.
Mikhail Vorobyev (C): 3 GP, 2 goals, 2 assists, 6 shots
2015 4th Round Pick, 104th overall
Vorobyev had back-to-back games with a goal for the first time this season and had the SO game-winning goal on Sunday to boot. The Russian rookie has 20 points (7 G, 13 A) in 44 games.
Cole Bardreau (C): 3 GP, 1 goal, 3 assists, 6 shots
Undrafted Free Agent
22 points (6 G, 16 A) in 29 games for the gritty forward. Bardreau has been hard to ignore this season given his point production and toughness on the ice.
Phantoms Notes: Samuel Morin (D) remains out with an injury.
Notable Canadian junior performers this week:
Connor Bunnaman (C/LW), Kitchener Rangers (OHL)
2016 4th Round Pick, 109th overall
- 2/27 – 1 goal, 1 shot, 2 PIM, 4 for 6 FOW
- 3/2 – 1 goal, 4 shots, 8 for 11 FOW
- 3/4 – 1 goal, 1 assist, 4 shots, 3 for 6/
A strong finish might help salvage what was looking like a forgettable 4th OHL season for the Bun-Man. He has 49 points (26 G, 23 A) in 60 games. He is 3 points from tying his career-high mark set last season.
Anthony Salinitri (LW/C), Sarnia Sting (OHL)
2016 6th Round Pick, 172nd overall
- 2/27 – 1 assist, 4 shots, 1 for 4 FOW
- 3/2 – 4 shots, 3 for 8 FOW
- 3/4 – 1 assist, 2 shots, 3 for 7 FOW/
Another 4th year OHLer trying to finish out the season strong. However, Salinitri is still fighting for a entry-level contract from the Flyers. He has 55 points (25 G, 30 A) in 63 games. He is 3 goals and 3 points away from tying his career-highs he set last season.
Morgan Frost (C), Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (OHL)
2017 1st Round Pick, 27th overall
- 2/28 – 1 assist, 4 shots, 7 for 23 FOW
- 3/2 – 1 goal, 4 shots, 2 PIM, 16 for 27 FOW
- 3/4 – 2 assists, 6 shots, 23 for 28 FOW/
Frost has 102 points in 61 games. Let me repeat, our second 1st round pick in the 2017 draft eclipsed 100 points in his draft+1 season. If you didn’t know, that is quite good. His 81 primary points still lead the OHL. Here is his 38th goal of the season.
Isaac Ratcliffe (LW), Guelph Storm (OHL)
2017 2nd Round Pick, 35th overall
- 3/2 – 3 goals, 7 shots, 2 PIM
- 3/3 – 1 goal, 1 assist, 6 shots
- 3/4 – 1 goal, 1 assist, 4 shots, 3 for 4 FOW/
We may need to have a talk about Isaac Ratcliffe. After a forgettable month and a half start to the season, he has been straight fire. Ratcliffe has 37 goals in his draft+1 season after just scoring 28 last season. Maybe even more impressive, he’s put 248 shots on goal in 61 games. Check out some of his goals this week here, here and here.
Matthew Strome (LW), Hamilton Bulldogs (OHL)
2017 4th Round Pick, 106th overall
By his standards this season, it was a quiet week for Baby Strome. Regardless, he scored his 35th goal on Friday, which is a career-high. Strome is averaging over a point-per-game at 65 points in 61 games.
Maksim Sushko (RW), Owen Sound Attack (OHL)
2017 4th Round Pick, 107th overall
Sushko is nearly a point-per-game player at 53 points (29 G, 24 A) in 54 games. I should also mention that he just turned 19 years old and this is only his 2nd OHL season. He hit career-highs in goals, assists and points this year. I have a feeling we are going to be talking about Sushko a lot next season. Here is his 29th goal of the season.
Carsen Twarynski (LW), Kelowna Rockets (WHL)
2016 3rd Round Pick, 82nd overall
- 2/27 – 2 shots, 0 for 1 FOW
- 2/28 – 1 assist, 3 shots, 0 for 1 FOW
- 3/2 – 1 goal, 2 shots, 1 for 1 FOW
- 3/3 – 1 goal, 2 shots, 2 PIM, 2 for 3 FOW/
40 goals for Twarynski, who still has 6 more games this season. He is 12th in goal-scoring in the WHL and 43rd in points overall. I’d be mildly surprised if he doesn’t get a contract offer from the Flyers.
Carter Hart (G), Everett Silvertips (WHL)
2016 2nd Round Pick, 48th overall
We’re all still waiting for that WHL record-breaking shutout, aren’t we? It didn’t happen this week, though Hart racked up a couple more wins. He’s a ridiculous 28-4-7 this season with an equally laughable .950 SV%.
Pascal Laberge (C), Quebec Remparts (QMJHL)
2016 2nd Round Pick, 36th overall
Perhaps Laberge is finally answering my constant criticism? He has points in six straight games, in which he has put together 4 goals and 5 assists. You can only hope he is finally turning it around. Laberge has 42 points (16 G, 26 A) in 59 games.
German Rubtsov (C), Acadie-Bathurst Titan (QMJHL)
2016 1st Round Pick, 22nd overall
Another disappointing QMJHL prospect this season. Rubtsov hasn’t been quite what many expected offensively in his first year in Canadian juniors. He has 40 points (14 G, 26 A) in 44 games. Here is his 14th goal of the season.
Notable European performers this week
Linus Högberg (D), Växjö Lakers HC (SHL)
2016 5th Round Pick, 139th overall
Högberg getting shots on net and consistent 2nd pairing minutes. These are good signs for the 19 year old.
David Bernhardt (D), Djurgårdens IF (SHL)
2016 7th Round Pick, 199th overall
More of the status quo for Bernhardt who has seen his TOI fluctuate in recent weeks.
David Kaše (C/W), Mora IK (SHL)
2015 5th Round Pick, 128th overall
Kaše scores his 9th goal of the season on Saturday. He has 23 points in 41 games in his rookie SHL campaign.
Felix Sandström (G), HV71 (SHL)
2015 3rd Round Pick, 70th overall
Sandström is officially back! He makes his debut with HV71 with a solid victory, though follows it up with a bit of a clunker on Saturday. Nevertheless, hopefully he is fully recovered from his injuries and can solidify himself as a top-tier goalie prospect once again.
Olle Lycksell (RW/C), Linköping HC (SHL)
2017 6th Round Pick, 168th overall
No games for Lycksell this week as he was recently sent down to their SuperElit J20 team and has also been playing in the U19 5 Nations Tournament.
Ivan Fedotov (G), Toros Neftekamsk (VHL)
2015 7th Round Pick, 188th overall
I believe Toros is now in the playoffs, so I doubt we see any of Fedotov from here on out. He finished the regular season with a .899 SV% in 25 games.
Kirill Ustimenko (G), MHK Dynamo St. Petersburg (MHL)
2017 3rd Round Pick, 80th overall
- 2/28 – 2 GA, 19 saves/
In 52 games this season, Ustimenko finished with a .929 SV% in the regular season.
Notable NCAA and USHL performers this week:
Tanner Laczynski (C), Ohio State University
2016 6th Round Pick, 169th overall
The Big 10 tournament has begun! OSU beat Michigan State in both games. Laczynski will face Cooper Marody and Michigan on Saturday. He has 41 points (15 G, 26 A) in 36 games.
Cooper Marody (C), University of Michigan
2015 6th Round Pick, 158th overall
Marody powers Michigan past Wyatt Kalynuk and the University of Wisconsin this weekend in Big 10 tournament play. Marody’s 44 points in 36 games puts him 10th in NCAA scoring and his 32 assists are 3rd highest.
Brendan Warren (LW), University of Michigan
2015 3rd Round Pick, 81st overall
Warren breaks out of his goal-scoring drought with his 8th of the season. He has 14 points in 36 games.
Wyatt Kalynuk (D), University of Wisconsin
2017 7th Round Pick, 196th overall
Kalynuk’s season ends at the hands of Marody and Co. The 20 year old freshman put together a fine season, collecting 25 points (3 G, 22 A) in 37 games.
Terrance Amorosa (D), Clarkson University
2013 5th Round Pick, 132nd overall
No games for Amorosa and Clarkson this week. They begin their ECAC playoff matchups this upcoming weekend with a best of 3 set with Colgate University.
Noah Cates (LW), Omaha Lancers (USHL)
2017 5th Round Pick, 137th overall
At this rate, Cates might just catch Filip Suchy for the team-lead in points. Cates is now second on the team with 41 points (16 G, 25 A) in 46 games.
Matej Tomek (G), Waterloo Black Hawks (USHL)
2015 3rd Round Pick, 90th overall
Tomek breaks up a pretty miserable month stretch with his 12th victory of the season. He has a .905 SV% in 24 games and has lately getting increasingly more starts.
NCAA Notes: Wade Allison is out for the season with a lower-body injury.
