Na, Frost tries on defense, that's not why Torts gets upset with him. Frost just has a tendency to go MIA for long stretches, it may be the way he's wired, guys like TK are always making something happen, Frost tends to be more reactive. Torts wants him to use his speed more to drive play.
And the winner of the flukiest goal of the year goes to Morgan Frost. Brink’s pass goes to Frost behind the net, the puck goes off Frost’s skate, over the net, off Saros’ back and in.
Frost got boarded by some Predators player. The penalty shouldn’t have been a major and game misconduct imo, but that’s what was called. I was watching a video on YT the other day that highlighted how younger players just aren’t used to the contact in the NHL. Take Luke Hughes of the Devils who had gotten lit up several times this year already. He’s going into the boards not bracing himself for contact at all.
I remember watching the NCAA tournament last season and thinking how little contact there was for college hockey. I’m not looking for Scott Stevens style lining guys up to intimidate other players, but knocking them off the puck, sure.
My son plays 14U now and a few players make contact sometimes, but there’s not much difference between non-contact 12U. 3 years ago, USA Hockey (who governs college and youth hockey) made the initiative that checking was to separate the player from the puck and not to punish or intimidate. There’s no more finishing your check. I’ve seen some really ticky tack roughing calls based on the player hitting while not attempting to play the puck, but only trying to knock the other player off the puck.
The lack of initiating or taking contact from younger players is going to get more prevalent. Kids in 16U these days only know this way of play. I’m not sure how this will effect the AHL. Kids may spend more time there learning NHL way, leaving less room for veteran depth or projects.
Wow. Good on the Flyers for battling back and getting a point out of a game that started 5-1 Detroit after 1.
A little slide here, let’s get back on the winning side.
Can they give JJ a few days off. He sounds terrible.
Gonna be an interesting month. That road trip is always tough and the team has had a bug to boot (hey, who isn't sick?) so I don't think the recent struggles mean much but I'm still in the camp that won't mind if they falter and the rebuild path remains crystal clear.
And perhaps more importantly, all the press coverage around it locally predicted he will sign and take the ice for the Flyers this year, though the latter may only happen if they make the playoffs, or BC falters in their own post-season (they are the #1 team in the country and Frozen Four is actually the same weekend as the last two regular season NHL games. No regional in Allentown this year either though it's unlikely BC would have gone there anyway).
Wow. Well, whoever was worried about him not signing was right after all. Wonder if something went wrong or if he just wanted to be somewhere else.
Sources say Cutter Gauthier informed #Flyers organization he did not want to play in Philadelphia.
— Frank Seravalli ( @frank_seravalli ) January 9, 2024
Gauthier clearly wanted no part of Philly and this team. Weird he would go to Anaheim, who at this point appears to be a less competitive team.
Well, he still would have had limited say in the matter (and could still possibly not sign with the Ducks unless that was part of the deal). Seems like a fair return but still a big blow.
Imagine if things go south with Michkov still.
So yeah clearly the Flyers did not want to address this publicly around his pre-season no-show. And then he refused to meet with them in Sweden too.
They could have held his rights for years, but clearly this team couldn't afford that kind of bad publicity/drama. Plus he'd be a wasted asset (or at least a declining value asset) during the stand-off.
Corey Pronman: The main sub-context of this deal is that Gauthier had indicated he did not want to sign with the Flyers months ago. The world juniors was the tipping point where it became clear that a trade may need to happen after they could not meet with him. GM Daniel Briere and AGM Brent Flahr were present in Gothenburg.
The Ducks get the best player of the two currently, but given the circumstances, Drysdale is still a very good long-term piece for the Flyers who lacked a top young defenseman of his caliber. He would for example rate ahead of defenseman Cam York on the team long-term. He just needs to stay healthy
It’s also worth noting that the manager who drafted Drysdale for the Ducks, Bob Murray, now consults for the Flyers, and so would have provided valuable input.
Return should be pretty high given Gauthier's draft status and recent international performance. Team that gets the best player in a trade usually wins the trade, and Gauthier is probably the best player. Drysdale can't stay healthy.
I hope there wasn't already.
But it would be funny if Drysdale was able to step into the line-up and actually made them better. He's still super-young and played 81 games the season before last, no reason to think he's a lost cause physically (I mean, we thought that about Coots this season too right?)
Obviously Jones and Briere aren't on the hook here, but still not a great look for Brent Flohr that he somehow missed this about the kid from the start. Was he afraid of Torts?