Laughton answers critics with his showcase night on offense

Scott Laughton

“There are lies, damned lies and statistics,” is a phrase often attributed to humorist and essayist Mark Twain.
As it applies to professional ice hockey, it points out how numbers can be manipulated to state and defend a contention.
In this particular case, the figures actually work the opposite way.
The Flyers’ Scott Laughton is a former first-round draft pick who some thought was going to be the second coming of John LeClair. Maybe not a 50-goal scorer but at least one of the team’s big guys on offense.
Turns out Laughton wasn’t a big lamp-lighter but rather a valuable Swiss army knife, one who could do many things well.
As recently last year, the 30-year-old Oakville, Ontario native led the entire National Hockey League with eight shorthanded points.
All of which brings us to this season and more specifically Thursday night’s game against Detroit.
Laughton, who entered the game with just four goals in 29 games, matched that in just 60 minutes against the Red Wings.
Maybe that will quiet the critics, of which there are many on “X” (formerly Twitter), at least for a day or two.
“I think you play the role you’re given,” said Laughton after Friday’s practice at the Flyers Training Center in Voorhees, N.J. “And try to be the best at it.”
That role this year has been a move from center to left wing to make room for young pivotmen such as Morgan Frost, Noah Cates and Ryan Poehling
“Obviously this year is a little bit different of a role than I’ve played in the past, playing center most of the time,” Laughton said. “Just trying to do my part and be part of the solution.”
Laughton was a plus-2 from 2012 to 2020. But the Flyers have missed the playoffs the past four seasons and he was dragged down with those failures, totaling a minus-38 over that span.
“This year has been a little bit different,” he said. “I think when I went down to the minors that second year (2016-17) I kind of not reinvented myself but just worked on certain things and tried to get better at.”
Laughton enjoyed his best offensive season just a couple years back when he produced career-highs in goals (18) and points (43). Yet, overall, his biggest contributions have been the ability to play on all four lines in nearly all situations.
For instance, he was a big part of the Flyers’ penalty kill which finished fourth overall in the NHL last year and has been ranked as high as third before a recent slump this year.
Goal scoring he doesn’t worry about too much.
“When the opportunity is there, I try to capitalize on it,” he said.
He’s come a long way from his teenaged years (2013-14) when he was named to Canada’s World Junior Championships team and was given the nickname “Captain Canada” because he was handed the coveted letter “C” even though he wound up being a fourth-liner for that tournament.
Canada coach Brent Sutter said Laughton reminded him of another great previous Canada/WJC captain, Mike Richards, an ex-Flyer himself.
“Leadership comes natural to him,’’ Sutter said. “He’s certainly a player that’s well-respected in the dressing room. He reminds me a lot of ‘05 when Richards was our captain. Not necessarily the most skilled player on the team, but he’s a player that comes to play every night and does things the right way.’’
Frost, still considered a “young” player at age 25, appreciates the all-around game that Laughton brings to the table.
In turn, that may have been why the whole team gave Laughton a standing ovation after Thursday night’s four-goal effort.
“He’s such a good leader for us, everyone looks up to him,” Frost said. “He’s probably the funniest guy I’ve ever met. Great teammate, great guy. To see something like that, it shows how much his teammates care about him.
“It’s easy to rally around a guy like that after he has that kind of a night.”

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About Wayne Fish 2701 Articles
Wayne Fish has been covering the Flyers since 1976, a stint which includes 18 Stanley Cup Finals, four Winter Olympics and numerous other international events.