VOORHEES, N.J. — Morgan Frost didn't hide from the fact that a six-game benching can be tough mentally for a player.
But it may be toughest on a loving mother.
"To be honest with you guys, I've handled it pretty well," Frost said Monday after morning skate. "Some people were a lot more concerned than I was. My mom wouldn't stop texting me and stuff."
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Can't fault Mom for caring. Frost's mother Dana won't have to worry as much Monday as Frost will be back in the lineup when the Flyers host the Hurricanes (7 p.m. ET/NBCSP).
After playing in the Flyers' first two games, the 24-year-old center was surprisingly a healthy scratch for the next six games. It was surprising for various reasons. He's a young player on a rebuilding team, he played in 81 of 82 games last season and he led the Flyers in scoring from Jan. 1.
As he sat out, starting with the home opener, Frost wanted to stay positive and not lose sight of the team. He had support from loved ones, teammates and former teammates, like Nate Prosser.
"Teammates were really good to me about it," Frost said. "My family, my mom's always going to be concerned. Just family and teammates, but I was good through it all.
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"I like to think of myself as a team guy. I'm not sitting in there not cheering when the boys score. I'm still happy. We have such a great group of guys in here. Even the guys that maybe I had a chance of coming in for, I love all these guys, I'm still cheering for them."
Frost, playing in place of Ryan Poehling, will center a line with Travis Konecny and Tyson Foerster. He'll be on the second power play unit, as well.
"I think this is the evolution of our team," John Tortorella said. "I think we have more people this year, I think there has to be more decisions made with our lineups. I've been wanting to get Frosty in because he didn't do anything terrible to be out, he wasn't benched or anything like that. Just other guys played better."
When a 24-year-old center is sitting for six consecutive games on a team that is emphasizing more youth for a rebuild, it's fair to wonder how the club views Frost in its long-term plans. One would think the Flyers should still be very interested given Frost's age and ability to create offense. The 2017 first-round pick was the Flyers' final restricted free agent to re-sign this offseason, inking a two-year, $4.2 million contract in early September.
"I don't want to go anywhere, I think I've made that pretty clear," Frost said. "Even in talking with my agent or whoever else it may be, I never had any intention of that. I can't control what management does, but I obviously didn't ask for a trade, I don't want to get traded. I love it here, I love playing here and I think I can make a big impact here. I think it's just a little bump in the road."
What does Tortorella want to see from Frost in his return?
"I just want to see pace," the Flyers' head coach said. "We're really trying to push the pace, we're trying to be a pressure team. He's got to bring us some offense, obviously that's what he does, make some plays. I guess the biggest thing, because you just can't simulate it in the amount of time that he has been out, is just the pace of the game. We're going to play against a really fast team tonight. We want to play fast. I just want to see him join in that way."
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