Dave Isaac | NHL Writer

VOORHEES — Scott Laughton has assembled himself quite the summer coaching staff.

For the better part of a decade he has worked on his skating with Dawn Braid, the first female to get a full-time NHL coaching gig when she joined the Arizona Coyotes staff two summers ago. As a native of the Toronto area, Laughton also finds himself around the Maple Leafs, Marlies and a couple of their coaching consultants like skills gurus Mike Ellis and Darryl Belfry.

His work in the offseason earned him an invite into an exclusive club, a training session in Florida that, according to a recent Sports Illustrated story, Belfry named “The 88 Summit” after Patrick Kane who dons the number for the Chicago Blackhawks. Included in the events was a video session where players like Kane, Claude Giroux, Shayne Gostisbehere, Auston Matthews and Dylan Larkin all broke down some of their plays, explaining why and how they made the moves they did.

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“I was lucky enough to go to that camp in Florida with G and Ghost,” Laughton said. “I think that definitely helped. They’re definitely intertwined, the skill guy and the coach that I work with and the skating coach that I work with. It all comes together.”

“That was a camp to kind of work on some things. It’s a different look to what you’ve been thinking,” Giroux added. “I think it was good for him. Mentally, I think you saw him come into camp with more confidence. He’s just making plays out there. He’s skating well and he’s got a great attitude.”

Dave Isaac, @davegisaac

So far, Laughton has been one of the better Flyers this season. Considering he gets about five fewer minutes a night than Giroux to show what he can do, it’s an impressive feat. He has three goals in five games, has a big role on the penalty kill and has won eight of 14 faceoffs.

Laughton was a 2012 first-round pick, a center for the Oshawa Generals who yo-yoed for six seasons after the Flyers drafted him. He made the NHL roster for five games after the 2012 lockout ended, when he was mid-season with the Generals. He then played six games in the American Hockey League for the Adirondack Phantoms when the Generals were done, went back to Oshawa the following season and was a first-team Ontario Hockey League All-Star.

Last season was his second full campaign in the NHL. He spent all but two games of the 2016-17 season with the Phantoms, being groomed for the fourth-line center role. He did that last season for the Flyers and now finds himself at left wing.

There was a time not too long ago that he would go back to center in the absence of Nolan Patrick. Instead the Flyers like him on the left side enough to keep him there. Jordan Weal filled the role Saturday instead.

“I felt comfortable there (on the wing) and a lot less work in the D-zone (than centers are required),” Laughton said. “A lot more energy in the offensive zone once you get in there.

“You’re up at the wing and once we get the puck we’ve got a lot of leeway to take off and get going. I’ve enjoyed it there. Just got to continue to grow in that role as a winger. I’m still learning. I’m still new at it and I’m still trying to get better every day to become a better winger.”

Laughton, at the ripe age of 24, has already seen a lot.

He’s been in the minors, slumming it on the bus instead of the chartered flight. He tasted what the NHL is like at age 18 before he had finished his last two years of junior hockey. A lot of players get stuck somewhere in between and some that get demoted to the AHL never make it back.

He has and he’s thriving.

“If you give up, there’s no chance you’re getting back,” Laughton said. “You gotta get better as a player down there. You can’t mope about it. You’ve just got to go to work and get better to get back at this level.”

“He’s grown up. He’s a mature kid now,” general manager Ron Hextall added. “I don’t know if I can say that a few years ago. He understands his role. He understands his strengths and he plays to his strengths. Sometimes kids come out of junior and they dominate at the junior level and they all expect to dominate here and it’s not that easy. I think Scotty’s playing to his strengths and playing extremely well for us.”