Player Spotlight: Morgan Frost

Center Morgan Frost has always been blessed with exceptional puck skills and creativity. It has taken time for his game to translate to the NHL level -- and he's still striving for greater overall consistency -- but his progress from late in the 2021-22 season to February 2023 has nonetheless been considerable.

Over the Flyers' last 27 games, Frost has posted 20 points (7g, 13a). He's third on the team in scoring, one point behind Scott Laughton, one point ahead of Owen Tippett, dating back to Dec. 11.
Things came very easily to Frost, almost too easily at times, during his junior hockey days with the Ontario Hockey League's Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds. He averaged north of two points per game from the start of Dec. 2017 to early April of 2019. He was a cumulative +103 (including a +70 in 2017-18 to lead the entire CHL) for the 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons. He even had 19 shorthanded points.
Why? Because Frost's line rarely had to play without the puck in their possession. He could stickhandle almost at will even 1-on-2, slow the play down to study his options or even make plays from a standstill. He won north of 55 percent of his faceoffs, mostly just by using his quick hands. Defensively, a simple stick lift or quick poke check was all it took to pick an opponent's pocket.
Once Frost got to the pro game, he came to realize that many of the things that worked like a charm at the junior level -- even at the 2018-19 World Junior Championships, where he had four goals and eight points in five games -- would not work regularly in the NHL. He'd have to remake significant segments of his game.
"To be honest, I think I got away with playing kind of lazy in junior hockey," Frost said in hindsight. "Up here, you don't have nearly as much time with the puck. Everyone is so good. The lanes close up real fast. It's also a lot tougher in the NHL to get the puck back when you are playing without the puck. I'm not going to lie. It's been a lot of hard work. There are things I still want and need to improve but I think it's getting there."
Frost scored goals in each of his first two NHL games and was an AHL All-Star as a rookie in 2019-20. However, one of the first things he realized was that he needed to get physically stronger.
Another realization was that he needed to use his feet and legs more consistently. Back in his Draft year, he'd won the CHL Top Prospects skills competitions in both the Fastest Skater with the Puck and Fastest Skater without the Puck categories. Nevertheless, a common criticism of his game was that he "lacked speed". In reality, this was due to Frost needing to break the habit of slowing his pace.
Frost made the Flyers opening night NHL roster for the belated and shortened 2020-21 "Covid season." Unfortunately, in the second period of his second game of the campaign, Frost suffered a major shoulder injury. He underwent season-ending shoulder surgery a few days later, costing him virtually a full season of development opportunity as his 22nd birthday approached.
It took Frost nearly a full calendar year, and a return stint in the American Hockey League along the way, to start to get back to where his development level seemed to be at the time of the shoulder injury. He also was still not a finished product.
In the second half of the 2021-22 season, under former Flyers interim coach Mike Yeo, Frost focused heavily on refining his process: keeping his feet moving more consistently, being first on more pucks, not getting stationary to where it was easy to knock him right off the puck. Yeo twice said publicly that he wasn't immediately concerned about Frost getting points; refine the process and the points would start to come at the NHL level, too.
Late last season, playing regularly on a line with Tippett and Noah Cates (then a left winger), Yeo's prediction started to come true. Frost's high-water mark was a multi-point game (1g, 1a) with stellar underlying numbers in an April 24, 2022, matched up head-to-head all afternoon with Sidney Crosby in a 4-1 home win against the Penguins.
Shortly before the end of his tenure in Philadelphia, Yeo said that he felt Frost would break out in a big way in 2022-23 if he stayed on course.
"For me, it's the way he's attacking through the neutral zone now with his speed. He's recognizing open ice, and he's jumping into those holes in the offensive zone. He's quick to get on puck. He's quick to get guys off his back. And he's quick to skate on first touch, which allows him to play with the puck, to possess it in the offensive zone, and to create good lucks," Yeo said on April 29, 2022.
When John Tortorella came aboard as the Flyers head coach, Frost -- along with every Flyers player -- began an all-new process of trying to prove himself. It's still a work in progress.
Frost had a decent training camp, leading the team in scoring (0g, 3a) and had a two-goal game on opening night (5-on-5 and empty net) after a bit of a rocky first period. Thereafter, for the next two months, the player's performances were too inconsistent on both sides of the puck in Tortorella's estimation.
Tortorella has given Frost heavy doses of tough-love coaching this season. He was even healthy scratched in Toronto on Nov. 1 -- where his father, Andy, was the longtime PA announcer for the Maple Leafs -- with family and friends in attendance at Scotiabank Arena. This overlapped a 10-game stretch from Oct. 27 to Nov. 17 in which Frost was largely dropped to the 4th line and averaged just 10:52 of ice time per game.
Subsequently, Frost began gradually to see more ice time again, and be paired with more offensively skilled linemates. He had some good games along the way but not to a level of consistency satisfactory to "Torts".
"You look at Frosty, I still think he's up and down like a toilet seat here, as far as you see him coming, then he dips, and then you see him coming," Tortorella said on Nov. 29.
"Hopefully, it levels out and keeps going in the proper direction, because he's supposed to be a skilled guy. You can see it's there, but it's still very inconsistent."
Frost took the criticism in stride. He continued to study video and work with the coaching staff -- in particular, assistant coach Rocky Thompson -- to elevate his game. As a guest on the Flyers Daily podcast, Thompson gave a nuanced take on what he'd seen from Frost in the early weeks of the season.
"He's got a very high skill level and he's extremely fast. What Frosty needs to do more consistently is to use his legs and take better advantage of his speed; use his legs to get through the middle and be first on more pucks. There's a lot of big defensemen out there and he's not going outmuscle many of them. So he needs to get in, get the puck and get out faster with it," Thompson said to host Jason Myrtetus.
This was nothing Frost had not heard before. It was a reminder, though, of what does and does not work for him at the NHL level.
It was in December -- playing on a line with Tippett and James van Riemsdyk at 5-on-5 -- that Frost started to put things together on a more consistent basis. He breakout game was his four-point explosion in Arizona on Dec.11 but he had more positive than bad games over the balance of the month and into mid-January.
"I think, to have success on a line, everyone has to have something different they contribute," Frost said of his chemistry with Tippett and van Riemsdyk. "I think each of us kind of balances each other off because there's things each of us does well. Another thing is that I think we've communicated pretty well. Honestly, that's really what the main things are about."
There were a few hiccups along the way in the five-week span. Not every game went according to plan, but there weren't nearly the same extreme dips. In this stretch, Tortorella said that he generally liked what he saw from Frost (not just offensively but also in terms of "compete level" and two-way play). However, the coach cautioned that he needed to see it over a longer time span from Frost specifically and the team as a whole.
"It's not enough to do it for a game. It's not just doing it for two or three weeks. It's about doing it every day. It's about doing it against tight checking because we're heading to that time of year where space is hard to find. You ask about Frosty. He's been good lately. It's in there for him [to be a good player] at this level. I've seen that. But I need to see that every day. That's what being a pro is about. It's not just Frosty. It's most of the guys on the team. Yeah, there's progress but there's still another level we have to get to," Tortorella said on January 13.
Subsequently, Tortorella was not pleased with Frost's final two games before the All-Star break -- the coach apparently felt that the player was backsliding in terms of battling for space with the puck and contributing positive off-puck plays if he lost it -- or especially his first game after the break. Frost had a rough game against the Islanders on Feb. 6, including a couple giveaways that Frost himself instantly realized were bad plays.
Tortorella at least temporarily broke up the JVR, Frost, Tippett line just before and after the All-Star Break. They were placed onto three separate lines for a few games, and Frost's ice time was shaved down by a couple minutes for a few matches. However, starting with the Feb. 9 game against Edmonton, Frost's ice went back to its norms. Additionally, for the last game-and-a-half, he's been reunited with van Riemsdyk and Tippett at 5-on-5.
The Edmonton game, arguably, was Frost's best two-way game in the NHL or at least comparable to the game against Pittsburgh late last season. This time, Frost did not record a regulation point but he's details on both sides of the puck, the way he used his feet and creativity to generate scoring chances and his off-puck focus were outstanding on a shift-in and shift-out basis. Tortorella rewarded Frost with an overtime shift (which nearly produced a goal). In the shootout, Frost converted his second-round attempt. In round 3, van Riemsdyk scored what proved to be the winning goal.
Over the most recent weekend, the Flyers sustained a 2-1 overtime loss to the Nashville Predators and then struggled for much of the day in a 4-3 regulation loss to Seattle. On an individual basis, Frost played decently overall in both games relative to the team as a whole but not to the same level as the game against Edmonton.
From a defensive standpoint, his last couple games have been fine, and he's also made a few nice plays with the puck in tight spaces and got to the scoring areas a few times. Neither game was stellar -- faceoffs in particular were a struggle over the weekend after a good game on draws against the Oilers -- but he had his feet moving and was engaged in the play in all three zones.
Tortorella has said that his evaluation of Frost's season remains incomplete. He has seen the player at his best, at his nadir, and everywhere in between. Above all, the head coach is pushing Frost to unlock an equilibrium for the rest of the season where the lows are less extreme and a bit less frequent.
The highs are those of an NHL impact player and have been demonstrated with more regularity but the middle ground -- and its assorted components -- is where the player needs to elevate his consistency a little bit more. The Flyers most recent two games have been middle-ground type of performances from the player.
DEMONSTRATED IMPROVEMENTS
1. More engagement. Frost is never going to known as a player who doles out big hits or grinds on the walls. Nonetheless, for those who've closely followed his entire evolution from junior player to one in his first full season in the NHL, Frost has gained confidence to engage in battles that he never would have ventured into before.
For example, Frost has averaged north of a credited hit per game (63 hits in 54 games) and 4.50 per 60 minutes of ice time; virtually identical to Cates (4.52 per 60) and more than "skills" players such as Konecny (45 hits in 49 games, 2.72 per 60 minutes), the much bigger Hayes (33 hits in 54 games, 2.02 per 60 minutes) or van Riemsdyk (11 hits in 35 games, 1.17 per 60 mins).
In terms of battling to get the puck if he doesn't have it, Frost is third on the team with 24 credited takeaways this season. In terms of takeaways-per-60, he's also third (1.71) behind team leader Cates (2.16) and frequent linemate Tippett (2.10). Behind Frost, in team ranking order among qualifying players, are Laughton (1.67), Hayes (1.65), Konecny (1.63) and Wade Allison (1.22).
Lastly, for a player who is known as a risk taker with the puck -- and who has has had a few costly turnovers that ended up in the Flyers net -- it should be noted that Frost is on the positive side of the ledger in charged giveaways vs. takeaways he's been credited with. Frost is plus-six in takeaways vs. giveaways this season.
While these particular stats are subject to inconsistent tracking from building to building, it demonstrates improvement. Last season, Frost was charged with giveaways at a 1.72 per 60-minutes rate. This year, despite playing a bolder and less risk-hesitant game with the puck in an effort to make plays, he's cut his giveaways per 60 to 1.28.
From an eye-test standpoint, Frost has been more often first to pucks, and less prone to hurriedly getting rid of the puck under pressure. He's also lunging and reaching less often. Further improvements and greater consistency are both possible and needed but the player deserves credit for his positive steps from ages 20 to 23.
2. Stronger frame. Frost is never going to be a "heavy" player who is going to outmuscle most of his opponents. He has to outmaneuver and outhustle opponents to come away with the puck. However, much of the strength that he's added to his body in the last two offseasons has been the lower-body variety. Frost at 23 is noticeably stronger and more developed in his leg muscles than he was as a rookie in 2019-20.
3. Pacing/ keeping his feet moving. Frost has had the need to play quicker and keep his feet moving more consistently drummed into him from the get-go in his pro career. It's taken several years for him to change old habits that dated back to junior hockey but he started to conquer it in the second half of last season and, has doubled down on that focus as 2022-23 has progressed.
Are there still times where Frost gets too stationary or plays below the needed pace? Yes. You can tell the games where he's not using his feet/legs enough by his volume of puck touches dropping and reaching/lunging at pucks. However, such games have become much less frequent. He keeps his feet moving more instinctually and needs fewer reminders.
4. Confidence. Frost's self-confidence at times in his still-young career has been fragile. All he really needed, though, was a dose of success and being put in position to succeed (such as via comparably skilled linemates with a balanced skill set across the line). At least for the last few months, Frost has been a more confident hockey player. He's better able, after a bad play or a bad game, to bounce back. Tortorella still wants to see fewer and less pronounced dips in Frost's game, but the player appears to be getting on the right track.
5. Even-strength production. Twenty-two of Frost's 26 points this season have come at even strength or 5-on-6 including all 10 of his games. Frost and Tippett are tied for third on the team in even strength goals.
OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVEMENT
1. 50-50 pucks. There is still considerable room for Frost to improve in winning 50-50 battles for the puck and better protecting the puck when a checker is locked in on him. The improvements he's shown in moving his feet are noted above but when he's digging in close quarters along the ways or needs to absorb a bump while keeping possession, there's still opportunity to fare better. This would help Frost in grind-it-out types of games. He's good at making plays with the puck in tight quarters but has to get better at maintaining possession if there's no play to be made and holding on is what's needed with no room to stickhandle or twist, turn or spin out.
2. Defensive zone. More often than not, Frost usually goes to the right spots in the defensive zone (no one is infallible) but Tortorella is a stickler for players to also have their sticks in ideal position to kill plays. He's said particularly of Frost that the player needs to "save the day" more consistently after puck possession is lost -- whether by himself or a teammate -- and a strong defensive stick in the lane can break up a potential scoring chance.
During training camp and portions of the early season, Frost was given opportunities to be part of the penalty killing rotation. He'd been a regular all-situations player in the AHL with the Phantoms including frequent PK deployment. (Before that, he'd also regularly killed penalties in the OHL, but that was primarily because he was a constant shorthanded scoring threat at that level).
Tortorella and Brad Shaw ended the Frost on the PK experiment after a few games. It presently seems unlikely that it will be revisited in the near future. In the long term future, Frost still does have some PKing upside. He'd have to prove first to Tortorella and Shaw at 5-on-5 over an extended period that it's something worth trying again down the line. There's an uphill climb to get to that level of defensive trust.
3. Overhandling/puck management. On the whole, Frost's increased confidence with the puck has more positives than negatives. However, he sometimes tries to do too much -- trying to beat second or third layers of defense -- and either turns over the puck or finally gets take off the puck with one more move to make before getting the puck to the net.
Other times, he'll get a little too fancy in dangerous areas of the ice, such as an ill-advised pass attempt between the legs in the defensive zone that went directly onto the stick of the deadly Alex Ovechkin -- and then into the net -- rather than to intended target Nick Seeler.
More recently, in the Islanders game right after the break, Frost attempted two low-percentage plays in the offensive zone (including between-the-legs tip pass with no teammates nearby) that went as giveaways. No harm came from either play but it was an example of forcing something that wasn't there when a much simpler play was in order at the moment.
Lastly, although Frost is a deft puckhandler and passer, he's not immune to puck bobbles when stickhandling or passing in situation where he'd be better off shooting. He's been working on getting a little more of a shooting mentality at the NHL level, however. Playmaking will always be his No. 1 strength but if he shoots a bit more, too, he'll keep defenses and goalies a little more honest. Again, there has been recent adjustment with good outcomes along with linemates van Riemsdyk and Frost, but the long haul is what matters.
4. Faceoff consistency. Frost led the Flyers in faceoff winning percentage during the preseason this year at 60.4 percent but it has not carried over consistently since the regular season started. Through his first 144 draws of the year, Frost stood at just a 44.4 percent winning percentage.
Since then, he's improved somewhat. Over the Flyers' last 27 games, Frost is at 48.2 percent on faceoffs. It's better but it's still below the break-even point. There are still too many nights where Frost ends up at about 2-for-8 on the ledger. Overall, through 54 games, Frost has won 44.8 percent of his draws (571 faceoffs).
SEASON HIGHLIGHTS
1. Finding shooting space (Oct. 13, 2022)
The first of Frost's two goals on opening night came about from strong work along the boards by van Riemsdyk and Tanner Laczynski. Frost found soft ice at the bottom of the left circle and got off a quick shot after a centering pass from Laczynski.
2. Two dynamic assists vs. Coyotes (Dec. 11, 2022)
The first of Frost's two four-point games against the Coyotes saw him rack up a goal and three helpers. The goal was a tap-in near the left post off a quick pass out from van Riemdsyk. On his next shift after he scored the goal, Frost took the puck away from Jakob Chychrun just outside the Arizona blueline. Joining JVR on a 2-on-0, Frost fed across the slot and van Riemsdyk finished it off.
Late in regulation, with the Flyers trailing by a goal and attacking 6-on-5, the Flyers' Hayes won a draw and Philly generated a pair of prime scoring chances. JVR was also central to the play's success. Near the end, Frost makes a lightning quick centering feed from behind the net to Konecny at the doorstep. TK took care of the rest, forcing OT with the tying goal.
3. Set play PPA (January 5, 2023)
The Flyers took a carryover power play into the second period of their January 5 home game against Arizona. In the locker room at intermission, Tony DeAngelo had an idea for a set play if the Flyers controlled the opening faceoff. The Flyers put the play into motion after they won the center ice faceoff.
From his own blueline, Frost deliberately passed the puck all the way down the ice -- an icing unless perfectly executed -- and generated a perfect bounce off the end boards directly to an oncoming DeAngelo. A cross-crease pass later by DeAngelo to Konecny, and the Flyers had arguably their most spectacular power play goal of the 2022-23 season. Frost went on, once again, to have a four-point night (0g, 4a) at Arizona's expense.
4. Between the legs goal (Jan. 17, 2023)
This is the most-replayed Frost goal of the season, a between-the-legs shot from a tight angle along the goal line that he put upstairs over former Flyers/Phantoms goalie Anthony Stolarz.
5. Ankle-breaker goal (Jan. 19, 2023)
While Frost's between-the-legs goal one game earlier was fancier, this tally against Chicago was my personal favorite of the season because it's more replicable in the future. Carrying the puck up the ice, Frost was looking to pass it. Not seeing an open teammate, Frost kept going. Suddenly, as he got down to the left circle, he realized there was a opportunity for a shot instead. Frost put one heck of a move on Chicago defenseman Seth Jones that turned the defender inside out and then wristed off a shot that beat ex-Flyers netminder Petr Mrazek.
6. Shootout goal vs. Oilers (Feb. 9, 2023)
In the Flyers 2-1 (2-1) shootout win against the Oilers, Frost scored on his second-round opportunity. His goal was the first successful shootout attempt in four tries that Frost has had during his regular season NHL career. He had a preseason shootout goal before the 2021-22 season. Earlier this season in Montreal, Frost had Canadiens goalie Jake Allen beaten but the shot attempt hit both posts and stayed out of the net.