Phantoms update:

1/17 - 4-1 LOSS

1/20 - 5-2 WIN

Samuel Morin (D): 2 GP, 1 assist, 4 shots

2013 1st Round Pick, 11th overall

Sure he’s been hurt this season, but the steady defensive-defenseman has 7 points (1 G, 6 A) in 15 games this year after 16 points in 74 games last season. The offensive upside for Morin has always been on the low side, but tall defensemen take a bit more time to develop. It isn’t out of the question that with more opportunities his offensive output could take a step forward.

Philippe Myers (D): 2 GP, 1 goal, 4 shots

Undrafted Free Agent

Keep these offensive numbers coming, Phil. That was his 3rd goal of the season in his 25 games played. While the key for Myers is pretty much to just remain healthy for the rest of the season, it’s great to see the offense thriving week-to-week.

Mark Friedman (D): 2 GP, 3 shots, 2 PIM

2014 3rd Round Pick, 86th overall

One day I’ll be happy to report Friedman’s first goal of the season. This is not that week. He’s actually in the midst of a 12-game pointless streak and is stuck at 9 assists in 38 games.

Mike Vecchione (C): 2 GP, 1 assist, 4 shots

Undrafted Free Agent

That’s now 25 points (8 G, 17 A) for the AHL rookie. One can hope that the Flyers finally see the light and get Vecchione some minutes in place of the Dale Weise and Jori Lehtera’s of the big club.

Nicolas Aubé-Kubel (RW): 2 GP, 2 shots, 2 PIM

2014 2nd Round Pick, 48th overall

A quiet week for NAK who remains at 24 points (11 G, 13 A) in 42 games for the Phantoms.

Oskar Lindblom (LW): 2 GP, 1 assist, 3 shots

2014 5th Round Pick, 138th overall

Lindblom ends his 3-game pointless drought with a primary assist in Saturday’s game. The rookie has 28 points (12 G, 16 A) in 42 games.

Cole Bardreau (C): 2 GP, 1 assist, 1 shot, 2 PIM

Undrafted Free Agent

Bardreau picks up his 5th assist of the season in his 11th game. Certainly a small-sample-size, but you have to be encouraged by Bardreau’s offensive output in his limited time this season.

Alex Lyon (G): 1 GP, 2 GA, 41 saves

Undrafted Free Agent

Lyon played in Saturday’s contest and was quite good. His SV% has crept up to .905 after solid performances over his last two starts.

Phantoms Notes: Danick Martel (RW) and Mikhail Vorobyev (C) remain out with injuries.

Notable Canadian junior performers this week:

Connor Bunnaman (C/LW), Kitchener Rangers (OHL)

2016 4th Round Pick, 109th overall

1/17 - 4 shots, 4 for 6 FOW

1/19 - 3 shots, 3 for 6 FOW

1/21 - 1 goal, 5 shots, 6 for 6 FOW

Bunnaman breaks out of a brutal 9-game goal-less drought. His tally on Sunday was his 18th of the season. Hopefully this goal was a true slump-buster for the 3rd year OHLer.

Anthony Salinitri (LW/C), Sarnia Sting (OHL)

2016 6th Round Pick, 172nd overall

1/17 - 1 assist, 1 shot, 1 for 2 FOW

1/19 - 1 assist, 1 shot

1/21 - 4 shots, 0 for 7 FOW

Salinitri’s point-per-game this season (0.87) is nearly identical as it was last year (0.88) and that isn’t necessarily a good thing as he vies for an ELC from the Flyers.

Morgan Frost (C), Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (OHL)

2017 1st Round Pick, 27th overall

1/19 - 1 shot, 8 for 20 FOW

1/20 - 1 assist, 2 shots, 12 for 19 FOW

How dare Morgan Frost not have another amazing week Trade him now!! The 18 year old has 72 points (27 G, 45 A) in 44 games, 2nd in OHL scoring (1 points behind Jordan Kryou).

Isaac Ratcliffe (LW), Guelph Storm (OHL)

2017 2nd Round Pick, 35th overall

1/19 - 5 shots

1/21 - 1 goal, 4 shots, 2 PIM, 0 for 2 FOW

Ratcliffe scores his 22nd goal of the season in his 43rd game for Guelph. He has 37 points this season and will need 17 points the rest of the way to eclipse his season-total from last year.

Matthew Strome (LW), Hamilton Bulldogs (OHL)

2017 4th Round Pick, 106th overall

1/17 - 1 goal, 2 shots

1/19 - 1 goal, 5 shots, 1 for 1 FOW

1/20 - 1 goal, 1 shot, 0 for 1 FOW

Since the beginning of December, Strome has played in 19 games. He has only failed to score a goal in 6 of those games. Strome has 47 points (28 G, 19 A) in 43 games this season and 30th in OHL scoring.

Maksim Sushko (RW), Owen Sound Attack (OHL)

2017 4th Round Pick, 107th overall

1/17 - 2 shots

1/20 - 2 goals, 1 assist, 4 shots

1/21 - 1 assist, 1 shot, 1 for 1 FOW

Sushko eclipses his point total from last season this week. He had 32 points in 54 games as a rookie in the OHL last year. This year he has 35 (21 G, 14 A) in 36. Combined with his excellent performance with Team Belarus in the WJC, Sushko’s stock is rising fast. Here’s one of his goals from Saturday.

Carsen Twarynski (LW), Kelowna Rockets (WHL)

2016 3rd Round Pick, 82nd overall

1/17 - 1 shot, 4 PIM, 1 for 1 FOW

1/19 - 4 shots

1/20 - 1 goal, 4 shots, 3 for 3 FOW

Twarynski gets his 30th goal of the season on Saturday. He has 50 points in 43 games for Kelowna and is 37th in WHL scoring.

Carter Hart (G), Everett Silvertips (WHL)

2016 2nd Round Pick, 48th overall

1/20 - 0 GA, 25 saves

1/21 - 1 GA, 23 saves

He good. Hart is 1 shutout away from tying the all-time WHL record. He also sports a .958 SV% in 21 games this season. The Silvertips are 17-3-0-1 in games he’s started.

Pascal Laberge (C), Quebec Remparts (QMJHL)

2016 2nd Round Pick, 36th overall

1/17 - 1 goal, 4 shots, 4 for 6 FOW

1/19 - 2 assists, 4 shots, 3 for 10 FOW

1/20 - 1 goal, 5 shots, 5 for 12 FOW

I think we would all love to be wrong and/or underestimating Laberge at this point in his career. Weeks like this sure make you second-guess yourself. He has 9 points (5 G, 4 A) in his last 9 games. Keep doing this Pascal.

German Rubtsov (C), Acadie-Bathurst Titan (QMJHL)

2016 1st Round Pick, 22nd overall

1/19 - 3 shots, 1 for 3 FOW

1/20 - 1 assist, 1 shot, 3 for 6 FOW

Rubtsov has 32 points (11 G, 21 A) in 32 games across two teams. Ideally, it’s not exactly where you’d want your 1st round pick to be as a 19 year old in juniors. However, he certainly doesn’t appear to be struggling either. It will be interesting to see if Rubtsov makes the Phantoms roster next season or if he’s sent back to juniors for another year.

Notable European performers this week

Linus Högberg (D), Växjö Lakers HC (SHL)

2016 5th Round Pick, 139th overall

1/18 - 2 shots, 10:57 TOI

1/20 - DND

No Högberg in the lineup this weekend, which mean he could be out with an injury. Hopefully he’s ready for Växjö’s matchup on Wednesday.

David Bernhardt (D), Djurgårdens IF (SHL)

2016 7th Round Pick, 199th overall

1/18 - 1 assist, 3 shots, 17:09 TOI

1/20 - 2 shots, 15:36 TOI

This is what qualifies as a big offensive week for Bernhardt who saw an increase in ice-time. He has 5 points (1 G, 4 A) in 36 games this season.

David Kaše (C/W), Mora IK (SHL)

2015 5th Round Pick, 128th overall

1/18 - 2 shots, 14:58 TOI

1/20 - 17:58 TOI

No points for Kaše this week and remains at 14 points (5 G, 9 A) in 29 games in his first SHL season.

Olle Lycksell (RW/C), Linköping HC (SHL)

2017 6th Round Pick, 168th overall

1/18 - 1 goal, 1 shot, 05:24 TOI

1/20 - DNP

Lycksell gets his 4th SHL goal this season (13th overall across all levels) as he comes back from being out with an injury. However, he did not play in Saturday’s game (but did dress for the game as the 13th forward).

Felix Sandström (G), IK Oskarshamn (Allsvenskan)

2015 3rd Round Pick, 70th overall

1/16 - 5 GA, 27 saves

1/20 - DNP

Sandström’s road to recovery and game-shape will likely take some time. Not sure why he didn’t play in Saturday’s game, but it could mean that Brynas is ready to recall him.

Ivan Fedotov (G), Toros Neftekamsk (VHL)

2015 7th Round Pick, 188th overall

No games for Fedotov this week, but he did dress as the backup for each contest. Maybe because he has a .896 SV% this season.

Kirill Ustimenko (G), MHK Dynamo St. Petersburg (MHL)

2017 3rd Round Pick, 80th overall

1/16 - 3 GA, 10 saves

1/17 - DNP

1/20 - 0 GA, 16 shots

Ustimenko returns to the lineup after missing the last couple weeks with an injury. The 18 year old goalie has a .926 SV% in 38 games this season. Amazingly, that only puts him 10th in the MHL.

Notable NCAA and USHL performers this week:

Cooper Marody (C), University of Michigan

2015 6th Round Pick, 158th overall

1/19 - 1 shot, 9 for 16 FOW

1/20 - 1 shot, 8 for 14 FOW

Usually we see the opposite lines for Marody and Warren in these weekly recaps. Marody still has an impressive 31 points (9 G, 22 A) in 24 games and is 10th in NCAA scoring (3 points behind Tanner Lacyznski who is 6th).

Brendan Warren (LW), University of Michigan

2015 3rd Round Pick, 81st overall

1/19 - 1 goal, 5 shots

1/20 - 1 assist, 2 shots

What’s gotten into Brendan lately? That is 5 points in his last 4 games. He has 12 points (7 G, 5 A) in 24 games this season.

Wyatt Kalynuk (D), University of Wisconsin

2017 7th Round Pick, 196th overall

1/19 - 2 shots

1/21 - 1 goal, 1 assist, 6 shots

That was Kalynuk’s second goal of the season. Kalynuk is 14th in scoring among defensemen. With his 18 assists, he’s put up an impressive freshman season for U of Wisconsin. Keep in mind, he is a bit older at 20 years old.

Terrance Amorosa (D), Clarkson University

2013 5th Round Pick, 132nd overall

1/19 - 2 assists, 1 shot

1/20 - 1 assist, 3 shots

Since the turn of the new year Amorosa has 5 points (1 G, 4 A) in 5 games. Overall he has 20 points (5 G, 15 A) in 24 games, which puts him in 12th in NCAA scoring among defensemen. The senior is making an argument for an ELC from the Flyers.

Noah Cates (LW), Omaha Lancers (USHL)

2017 5th Round Pick, 137th overall

1/19 - 2 shots, 2 PIM

1/20 - 2 goals, 5 shots, 2 PIM

Cates scored goals 8 and 9 (both on the PP) in Saturday’s game. In his last 9 games he has 3 goals and 7 assists. This season he has 24 points in 31 games. Cates is committed to University of Minnesota-Duluth following the 17/18 USHL season.

Matej Tomek (G), Waterloo Black Hawks (USHL)

2015 3rd Round Pick, 90th overall

1/20 - 3 GA, 31 saves

Tomek struggled a bit in the 4-1 loss on Saturday. The 20 year old has a .907 SV% in 17 games this season and is hoping to springboard to a starting job in the NCAA following the season.

NCAA Notes: Tanner Laczynski and OSU had the week off and didn’t not play any games. Wade Allison is out for the season with a lower-body injury.