TOP PROSPECTS - PHILLIPS

Over the next two weeks, Torie Peterson will be highlighting a group of young players who have shown tremendous promise in our Top Prospects series
When Matthew Phillips came onto the scene in the WHL in the 2015-16 season, his opponents likely didn't know what to expect.
Describing him as slight would be generous - one of the smallest players in the league, it wouldn't be outside the realm of possibility that his competition wrote him off in his rookie season.
And they shouldn't have, because all he did was produce.
Scoring 37 goals and 76 points in 72 games, he was tabbed as the WHL's Rookie Of The Year in 2015-16. And he hasn't slowed down, no matter what his competitors have thrown at him.
In 215 regular season games, he has 136 goals and 281 points on his resume. He has elevated his point totals every season, leading the Royals in scoring in the 2016-17 and 2017-18 campaigns.
He's coming off a career year, with 108 points through 67 skates, and wore the 'C' for the Victoria Royals this past season.

"It's amazing to see how, night in and night out, you look at the box score he's always there as a game changer," Flames assistant general manager Craig Conroy said.
"The numbers were there and the production … it speaks for itself. And the leadership that he took on with being the captain was showcased when, on a lot of nights, he put the team on his back on a lot of nights.
"The leadership off the ice is a huge step for him. That was the big thing we noticed from his this season and it really impressed."

The Calgary native, who was selected by the Flames in the sixth round of the 2016 NHL Draft, has put on a bit more weight and grown a bit over the past couple of years but he will always be one of the smaller players on the ice.
That will always be a challenge for the winger but his attitude and skill level has constantly pushed him to that next level throughout his career.
"He's going to have to get quicker this summer. When you are a smaller guy, you need that elite level of skating," Conroy noted.
"He's not a huge big guy, but he's putting in the effort to get to the next level. He's trying to get stronger and bigger, and he's giving it his all to do that.
"He'll be making a push for everything. He wants to make it to the NHL. That's everyone's goal."
Due to the Royals' run in the 2018 WHL Playoffs, Phillips didn't get a chance to skate with the Stockton Heat in the AHL this spring but he spent a short stint in Northern California back in 2017.
One game is far from a telling sample size but Phillips' single outing in Heat silks was impressive. He picked up his first professional point, an assist, and didn't look out of place skating alongside veteran players.
If Phillips is to join the Heat in 2018-19, Conroy sees the forward finding his niche at the next level.
"Whatever happens, it'll be another adjustment if he plays in the NHL or AHL. People take the AHL for granted sometimes but it's a hard league to play in. It might take some time to get used to the pace and size of the league but once he gets comfortable, he takes off. We've seen it happen at every level.
"He's done everything he can do in junior and now it's time for him to make the next jump, I think."