The Subway™ Super Series is an annual hockey tournament that takes place in Canada between a team of Russian junior players and teams representing the OHL, QMJHL, and WHL. Philadelphia Flyers prospect Scott Laughton participated in tonight’s 2-1 loss for Team OHL, exhibiting solid play in spite of the loss.
Team OHL had held an 18-0 record against Russia since the series began in 2003, but was stymied by 2013 draft eligible Russian netminder Igor Ustinski. Ustinski may just be 5′-10″, but he held his own as Team OHL led in shots 40-9 after two periods. Only a shorthanded goal between draft eligible forward Sean Monahan and Minnesota Wild prospect Tyler Graovac was able to elude him.
Laughton played on the third line with draft eligible forward Zack Mitchell and Ottawa Senators prospect Matt Puempel. While he was unable to find the scoresheet, his two-way play and physical prowess was on display throughout the game.
Some of Laughton’s most noticeable shifts occurred when he found himself on the ice at the same time as Dallas Stars prospect Brett Ritchie. Ritchie, playing on the second line, was aggressive in his fore-checking and threw his body around with little regard for himself or the opponents around him. Laughton seemed to feed off that energy, as their styles of play are very similar.
Ritchie may have been more visible than Laughton on the ice, but he also took two penalties in the process, including a game misconduct in the waning minutes. Laughton’s game may have been tempered a bit due to the fact that he still has five games remaining on a ten-game suspension and probably knows he doesn’t need to draw more attention to himself.
Laughton also served on the second penalty killing unit with Columbus Blue Jackets prospect Boone Jenner (his PK partner on the Oshawa Generals). Team Russia was unable to capitalize on any of their special teams efforts, including an early powerplay in the third period while Team OHL still had the lead.
At 18 years of age, Laughton has plenty of time to develop his offensive game at the junior level. As shown tonight, though, he already has the other tools to make it to the NHL level. “So defensively responsible,” said the announcers in the third period. “Every team Laughton plays on, he gets charged with being that shutdown guy, but he can give you some offense too.”
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Photo Note: The photo at the top of this post was taken from the Subway Super Series web site.
