Morgan Frost

Morgan Frost (born May 14, 1999) is a Canadian professional ice hockey center currently playing for the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League (NHL). Frost was drafted in the first round, 27th overall, by the Flyers in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft.

Early life
Frost was born on May 14, 1999 in Aurora, Ontario. His father, Andy Frost, served as the public address announcer for the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Air Canada Centre from 1999 to 2016. Frost started accompanying his father to Maple Leafs games around the age of five and started taking notes on the game during his preteen years. His favorite childhood NHL player was Leafs center Kyle Wellwood.

At age 13, Frost did not make the cut for his local AAA minor ice hockey team, the York-Simcoe Bantams, on account of his diminutive size. John MacArthur, head coach of the AAA team in Barrie, saw Frost's tryout and offered him a position on the Jr. Colts.

Junior
Frost was chosen by the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds of the Ontario Hockey League in the 2015 OHL Priority Selection. He was offered a contract with the Greyhounds at training camp, after the Vancouver Canucks signed Jared McCann and left the team short a center. In his first season with Sault Ste. Marie in the 2015–16 season, Frost scored 7 goals. In his second season, Frost continued his upwards development in scoring 20 goals and 62 points in 67 games for 2016–17. His Greyhounds teammates included Zachary Senyshyn, Boris Katchouk, Tim Gettinger, and Jack Kopacka.

Frost played with the Greyhounds for the 2017–18 season, ending the season with career-highs in goals, assists, and points. At the Greyhounds award banquet, Frost was awarded the Top Scorer award and the Regular Season MVP award by the team. He was later announced as a finalist for the Red Tilson Trophy for the MVP of the OHL.

On February 22, 2019, in a game against the Kitchener Rangers, Frost became the first player to record 100 points in the 2018–19 OHL season, and recorded 300 career points.

Professional
Leading up to the 2017 NHL Entry Draft, Frost was ranked 31st amongst all North American skaters by the NHL Central Scouting Bureau. He boasted a solid performance at the 2017 NHL Scouting Combine, showing particular aptitude in the Wingate test.

In the entry draft, the Flyers traded forward Brayden Schenn to the St. Louis Blues in exchange for the 27th overall draft pick, in which they chose Frost. Speaking about his draft selection, then-general manager Ron Hextall said, "There are very few guys where our whole staff likes the guy, and our whole staff liked this guy. He's an extremely intelligent player and reads the ice well. Good two-way player who showed up good in the testing." Frost was drafted on June 23, 2017 and signed with the Flyers to a three-year, entry level contract on August 3, 2017.

Frost made his professional hockey debut on October 5, 2019 with the Flyers' American Hockey League affiliate Lehigh Valley Phantoms against the Providence Bruins at PPL Center in Allentown, Pennsylvania. The Phantoms were defeated 3–0.

On November 18, 2019, the Flyers recalled Frost from the Phantoms, with whom Frost had posted 5 goals and 7 assists in 16 games. He made his NHL debut the following night on November 19 against the Florida Panthers at BB&T Center in Sunrise, Florida, scoring his first NHL goal in a 5–2 loss.

On January 3, 2020, Frost was named to the 2020 AHL All-Star roster. When the 2019–20 AHL season was prematurely suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic in North America, Frost made an effort to stay in shape through neighborhood bike rides and training on equipment from his mother's gym. Frost was one of the 31 Flyers allowed to enter the bubble as part of the 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs.

After forward Sean Couturier was injured in a game against the Pittsburgh Penguins on January 15, 2021, Frost was called up to his spot, serving in an offensive line with Oskar Lindblom and Travis Konecny. In a January 19 game against the Buffalo Sabres, however, Frost suffered a dislocated left shoulder and was indefinitely placed on the injured reserve list. On February 2, 2021, the Flyers announced that Frost will have surgery on his injured shoulder and is not expected to return in the 2020–21 season.

International play
After not making the cut in 2018, Frost was among those selected by Team Canada for the 2019 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships. He recorded a hat trick, as well as two assists, in Canada's December 26 14–0 win over Denmark, and was named Canada's Player of the Game. Frost played the tournament on the wing rather than his usual center, and totaled four goals and four assists across five games.

Playing style
In his own words, Frost is a playmaker with an affinity for assists, preferring to work in tandem with a strong goal scorer. Greyhounds head coach John Dean praised Frost, upon the end of his OHL career, on his ability to lead by example and progress on the 200-foot game. Cory Stillman, former coach of the Greyhounds rivals the Sudbury Wolves, has complimented Frost's puck-handling skills and playmaking abilities. Although he served as a center throughout his junior hockey career, Frost also has experience playing on the wing, and Flyers head coach Alain Vigneault has expressed interest in placing him in both positions.

His comparatively smaller size, standing at 5'11" and weighing 170 lbs, has been a point of concern, limiting his ability to perform physically on the offense.  Frost has made an effort to improve his weight and strength in order to become a stronger offensive player.