Flyers prospects Morgan Frost, Cam York stay with Phantoms; Derick Brassard set to return

VOORHEES, N.J. — After their final game ahead of the All-Star break, the Flyers sent Morgan Frost, Cam York, Isaac Ratcliffe and Jackson Cates back to AHL affiliate Lehigh Valley.

The Flyers wanted the four prospects to get in some game action with the Phantoms during the hiatus.

Only Ratcliffe returned to the big club Tuesday as the Flyers returned to practice.

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Frost and York, two of the organization's top prospects, had recently been regulars in the Flyers' lineup as the club has fought a rash of injuries.

"We want to keep pushing them to find that next level," Flyers interim head coach Mike Yeo said Tuesday. "It's just part of the process."

NHL taxi squads dissolved after the All-Star break. With Derick Brassard set to return down the middle of the ice and two extra defensemen on the roster, the Flyers felt it was time for Frost and York to play big minutes in Lehigh Valley again.

The Flyers had the minimum of 12 forwards at practice and Kevin Connauton as the lone extra blueliner.

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Frost and York will have to earn their way back to the Flyers, especially if the club gets healthier.

"Their development is still first and foremost. [The Phantoms] play a game tonight," Yeo said. "The experience of being up here and playing with us I think has been invaluable for them and I think we've seen improvement in both of their games. But also it's a different experience as far as playing a little bit of a lesser role at different times, getting a little bit less ice time.

"For a guy like Frosty, he'll have a chance to go play in every situation down there, get increased ice time. For Yorky, he'll probably end up playing close to 30 minutes a game down there, penalty kill, playing in every situation, power play."

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Brassard, who missed 26 of the last 28 games because of a nagging hip injury, will center the Flyers' third line Wednesday when the team hosts the Red Wings (7 p.m. ET/NBCSP).

"I talked to him after practice, said it felt good," Yeo said. "Obviously conditioning level is not where it would be for most players at this time of the year, but really the only way to get that back is to get in and start playing again. It'll be nice to see him in action tomorrow."

The 34-year-old forward had twice returned from the injury but didn't feel right the following day.

"It's been a long two months," Brassard said. "Came back too quick like three times in that span. It's pretty tough for us as a team, losing 10 games in a row two times and not being able to help my teammates. I think that was the hardest part. Hopefully I'm ready to go here, it's probably going to take a few games to get back to normal. But I'll try to keep everything simple and just have fun out there."

During the All-Star break, Brassard skated a couple of times back home.

"I take a lot of pride in staying healthy," Brassard said. "I've played a lot of hockey, too, in the last five to seven years, some long seasons, especially in the playoffs. Missing two months there for, I call that like a small injury, you just can't really do anything about it — there's a lot of frustration."

The veteran Brassard will be a player to keep an eye on as the March 21 trade deadline nears. With the Flyers at 15-22-8 and aiming to "aggressively retool," Brassard is a candidate to be moved during the trading period. He's on an expiring contract for only $825,000 and there's a lot to like there if you're a contending team. Brassard has 117 games of playoff experience — the most on the Flyers — and positional versatility.

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A major factor in the Flyers' underachieving season has been injuries. The club remains without Joel Farabee (upper body), Kevin Hayes (abdominal), Sean Couturier (upper body), Ryan Ellis (lower body), Patrick Brown (MCL sprain), Wade Allison (MCL sprain) and Nate Thompson (shoulder).

After he appeared to be getting closer to a return leading into the break, Brown was unable to practice Tuesday.

"It's not a setback, but it's not quite progressing as quickly as we would have hoped," Yeo said, "so he's going to be a little bit longer.

"He's doing everything he can to get back, it just takes time in these situations and obviously we don't want to rush him."

Hayes had a rehab skate Tuesday.

"I think that's a real good sign for us," Yeo said, "but I would say it's still a ways away before we could hope to see him in the lineup."

Farabee, who was placed on injured reserve Jan. 21, remains on track for his four-week recovery.

"He's still got a little bit of time before we see him in the lineup here," Yeo said.

Couturier had rehab skated before the break but there is no timeline for his return. Ellis has been off the ice and has no timeline, as well.

"I think it could go either way with both players," Flyers general manager Chuck Fletcher said Jan. 26. "There’s a chance that they could come back this year and there’s a chance that they will need procedures that will take them out for the rest of the season. We’re trying to do everything we can to avoid surgery in both cases."

Here's the Flyers' lineup for Wednesday against Detroit: