Flyers Prospects Impress at World Junior Summer Showcase

(Photo: Kate Frese)

By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 

The NHL offseason typically hits a dead point in late July and throughout August. With the buzz of the NHL Draft and free agency in the past, the wait for the upcoming season and the start of training camps and the preseason can be a long grueling one.

Allow us to satisfy your lack of hockey for a moment.

There are eight Flyers prospects participating in the 2018 World Junior Summer Showcase and many of them have been impressive over the first few days.

The Summer Showcase is more or less a camp setting for prospects with hopes of playing for their respective nations in the World Junior Championships in December. Rosters for Canada and USA are so large that they are split into two teams. Not all nations that will participate in the WJC are participating in the Summer Showcase, with Finland and Sweden being the only other nations participating.

From the Flyers, Morgan Frost and Isaac Ratcliffe are representing Canada, Olle Lycksell, Adam Ginning and Samuel Ersson are representing Sweden and Joel Farabee, Jay O’Brien and Noah Cates are representing USA.

Here’s a look at the results the week's worth of games.

Monday, July 30

Sweden-USA (Blue) – In a 3-1 win for Sweden, none of the Flyers three prospects for Team Sweden registered any points. Ersson did not get the start, while Ginning and Lycksell were held off the scoresheet.

USA (White)-Finland – All three Flyers prospects for USA White factored into the scoring in a 5-2 win. Farabee and Cates each had one assist. O'Brien had two assists. 

Tuesday, July 31

Sweden-Finland – Lycksell scored a goal for Sweden and Ersson had an assist while making 30 saves, but ultimately took the loss in a shootout, 4-3, to Finland. Ginning did not record a point for the second straight game.

USA (White)-Canada (Red) – This game featured five Flyers prospects between the two sides, so there was a lot happening. Farabee was the star of the game with two goals in the 7-5 win for USA White. Ratcliffe scored a goal and Frost had an assist in the defeat for Canada Red. Frost also had six penalty minutes in a game filled with penalties for both sides.

The other teams for USA (Blue) and Canada (White) also faced one another on Tuesday. USA claimed the win, 3-2. There were no Flyers prospects in that game.

USA made 13 cuts to the roster on Wednesday's off day. All three Flyers prospects — Farabee, O'Brien and Cates — remained on the roster. Canada did not make any cuts and rotated players into the lineup between the two teams for the final three games over the next three days.

Thursday, August 2

USA-Sweden – All three Flyers prospects played in the game but were held pointless, though it appeared Farabee should have been credited with a secondary assist on the first goal for the US scored by Jack Hughes. USA defeated Sweden, 5-4, in overtime.

Canada-Finland – Ratcliffe was held without a point in the 4-3 overtime win for Canada over Finland. Frost did not play in this game, as Canada was rotating players in and out the lineup for the final three games after not making any cuts on Wednesday.

Friday, August 3

USA-Finland – No points for Farabee or Cates in this game, but Farabee had a couple of nice plays and a breakaway chance that was stopped. O'Brien did not play in the 2-1 win for USA.

Canada-Sweden – No points for any Flyers prospects in this game. Ginning and Lycksell were held off the board for Sweden and Frost was held without a point for Canada in a 4-1 Canada win. Ersson did not play in the game. 

Saturday, August 4

Canada-USA – Consider this one a Flyers prospect show for USA. Farabee opened the scoring with a first-period goal. O'Brien and Cates scored in the second. O'Brien added a second goal in the third. It still wasn't enough for USA in a 6-5 loss to Canada. Frost did not record a point in the game. Ratcliffe did not play for Canada in the game. O'Brien was named the player of the game for USA.

Sweden-Finland – Ginning scored a second-period goal and took a penalty. Lycksell also took a penalty in the game. Ersson did not play in the game.