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Top Prospect Contender: Matthew Phillips
Matthew Phillips
Photo credit: Sergei Belski/USA Today Sports
Ryan Pike
Mar 30, 2020, 14:00 EDTUpdated: Mar 30, 2020, 01:32 EDT
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Back in 2016, the Calgary Flames drafted a talented yet physically small forward from the WHL’s Victoria Royals. Well, he’s still small and he’s still quite talented.
Waiting in the wings for his first NHL games, is Matthew Phillips the Flames’ top prospect right now?

A brief history

Born in Calgary and a product of the city’s minor hockey program (Bow Valley), Phillips grew up as an immensely talented kid who was doubted at every level.
  • He was a superb bantam AAA player for two seasons. But he was small.
  • He was a superb midget player for two seasons. (He was Mac’s Tournament MVP.) But he was small.
  • He was an outstanding major junior player for three seasons. (He was the WHL’s Rookie of the Year and a two-time First Team Conference All-Star.) But he was small.
The Flames took advantage of an inefficiency in the drafting world, grabbing the reigning WHL Rookie of the Year – coming off a point-per-game debut in the Dub – in the sixth round of the 2016 NHL Draft.
Four seasons after being drafted, Phillips still is a small adult man. But he’s played a pair of productive AHL seasons and has shoved his way to the front of the line for an NHL call-up.

The case for Phillips

By now you’ve probably noticed a pattern among the best Flames prospects. Like Jakob Pelletier, Phillips isn’t a large physical presence. Pelletier plays more of a two-way game, while Phillips is a bit more offensively oriented. That said, Phillips arguably has fewer of the “yeah, but can he play against men?” concerns because he’s spent two seasons playing against men in the second-best league in the world.
Phillips had 23 even strength points this season. The only Heat players with higher even strength outputs were Alan Quine (32), Byron Froese (29), Glenn Gawdin (27) and Luke Philp (24). All four forwards are older than Phillips – heck, Quine is 27 and Froese is 29 – while all except Quine played significantly more games due to Phillips suffering a mid-season kneecap injury. When you factor in age and games played, Phillips was arguably the most offensively potent Heat forward.

The case against Phillips

We’re at the point with Phillips, two seasons into his entry level deal, that it’s clear that he’ll play in the NHL. The big question now is what role he’ll be able to carve out for himself, and whether he can force his way into the top six mix. In other words: he’s good, but given the Flames’ depth on the wings it’s not clear if Phillips has a high ceiling (at least within Calgary’s ecosystem).
At this point, maybe he’ll be Paul Byron. Would getting another one of those qualify him as the club’s top prospect?

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