Flyers Prospect Report: CHL Playoffs, NCAA Tournament Get Underway

By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 

As the Flyers push for the playoffs hits the stretch run, it’s playoff time for a number of their junior and college prospects.

The Flyers have 10 prospects taking part in the CHL Playoffs and three prospects in the NCAA Tournament.

Here is a rundown of the Flyers prospects playing in the postseason.


WHL

Carter Hart – The Flyers only have two prospects in the WHL Playoffs, but the headliner is arguably the best goalie in Canadian junior hockey. Carter Hart was named the WHL Player and Goalie of the Year in the Western Conference and is expected to be named the league’s Goalie of the Year for a third straight season.

Hart finished the season leading the league in GAA (1.60) and save percentage (.947) while posting 31 wins and a league-leading seven shutouts. Hart and the Everett Silvertips take on the Seattle Thunderbirds in the first round of the WHL Playoffs.

Carsen Twarynski – The Flyers other prospect in the WHL Playoffs is Kelowna forward Carsen Twarynski. Twarynski recently signed an entry-level deal with the Flyers.

In the 2017-18 regular season, his first full season with Kelowna, Twarynski scored 45 goals and had 72 points in 68 games. Kelowna opened their series against Tri-City on Thursday, suffering a 5-0 loss.

OHL

Morgan Frost – What a season it’s been for Morgan Frost. The Flyers second first-round pick of 2017 was almost in the shadow on Nolan Patrick, but has emerged as one of the Flyers top prospects already.

Frost dominated the OHL with 42 goals and 112 points in 67 games for Sault Ste. Marie. That was good for second in points in the OHL and his 70 assists were tied for the league lead. Frost and Sault Ste. Marie take on Saginaw in the first round of the OHL Playoffs.

Isaac Ratcliffe – The Flyers second-round pick of 2017 quietly had a pretty good season of his own. Ratcliffe scored 41 goals and had 68 points, topping his previous career marks handily.

Ratcliffe and the Guelph Storm take on Kitchener in the first round.

Maksim Sushko – Another recently signed prospect has helped be a leader for his team as they head into the playoffs. Sushko was a point-per-game player for the Owen Sound Attack, scoring 31 goals and finishing with 60 points in 60 games. He also was among the standout players on the Belarus World Junior team, picking up eight points in the tournament.

Sushko and Owen Sound opened their series the London Knights on Thursday. Sushko scored the game-winning goal in the 5-4 win for Owen Sound.

Matthew Strome – Yet another recently signed prospect helped his team get to the playoffs and made an instant impact in the postseason. It was a solid regular season for Strome, who showed his scoring touch with 37 goals and 68 points in 65 games with the Hamilton Bulldogs.

Strome and Hamilton opened a playoff series against the Ottawa 67’s on Thursday, and Strome picked up three points — a goal and two assists — in the 6-3 win.

Connor Bunnaman – The season started off well for Bunnaman, who was named captain of the Kitchener Rangers for the 2017-18 season. Bunnaman’s numbers, however, weren’t anything earth-shattering. Bunnaman scored 27 goals and had 50 points in 66 games for Kitchener, two fewer than he did a season ago, when he also scored 37 goals.

Bunnaman and Kitchener are playing against fellow Flyers prospect Isaac Ratcliffe and Guelph in the first round.

Anthony Salinitri – The Flyers sixth-round pick from 2016 continued to put up respectable numbers, scoring 27 goals and 58 points in 67 games with Sarnia this season, matching his point total from a season ago.

Salinitri and Sarnia are facing Windsor in the first round.

QMJHL

German Rubtsov – The Flyers first-round pick from 2016 only played 11 games with Chicoutimi before being traded to Acadie-Bathurst mid-year. Rubtsov also had a pause in his schedule with the World Junior Championships. Rubtsov scored 15 goals and had 43 points in 49 games this season as injuries plagued him again.

Rubtsov and Acadie-Bathurst are facing Rubtsov’s former team Chicoutimi in the first round of the playoffs.

Pascal Laberge – After a season that was marred with a concussion from a nasty hit, Laberge spent the season betwee Victoriaville and his current team, the Quebec Remparts. In 64 games between the two teams, Laberge scored 17 goals and had 47 points.

Quebec faces Charlottetown in the first round.

NCAA

Brendan Warren – Acquired by the Flyers in the trade that send forward Nick Cousins and goalie Merrick Madsen to Arizona, Warren had just eight goals and six assists in 37 games with Michigan this season. Michigan faces Northeastern in the first round of the tournament on Saturday.

Tanner Laczynski – The Flyers sixth-round pick from 2016 had a solid season with Ohio State. He scored 15 goals and had 43 points in 38 games this season. Ohio State faces off against Princeton on Saturday in the first round of the tournament.

Terrance Amorosa – Amorosa is one of the long-time members of the Flyers prospect pool, drafted in the fifth round of the 2013 NHL Draft. In his senior season with Clarkson, the defenseman scored seven goals and had 27 points in 39 games while posting a +22 rating. Amorosa and Clarkson face Providence in the first round of the tournament on Friday night.

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