Scott Laughton

His play earned him a roster Spot on the CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game, and a ranking of 40th amongst all North American skaters in the NHL Central Scouting Bureau's mid-season rankings.

Scott Laughton (born May 30, 1994) is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre and alternate captain for the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League (NHL).

Growing up in Oakville, Ontario, Laughton spent his junior hockey career playing for the Toronto Marlboros Minor Midget AAA of the Greater Toronto Hockey League (GTHL) before being drafted by the Oshawa Generals of the Ontario Hockey League.

Laughton was born on May 30, 1994, in Oakville, Ontario, Canada to parents Craig and Bonnie.

His dad coached him in hockey from the age of five to 14, when Laughton began to play major junior hockey in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL).

He also captained the Mimico Mountaineers Peanut Rep lacrosse team in 2000 and led them to an undefeated season.

Growing up, he was a fan of Roy Halladay of the Toronto Blue Jays.

Growing up in Oakville, Ontario, Laughton attended Holy Family Elementary School and Holy Trinity High School while captaining the Toronto Marlboros Minor Midget AAA of the Greater Toronto Hockey League (GTHL).

While playing for the team, he named Jarome Iginla and Steven Stamkos as his role models and inspiration.

In his final season with the Marlboros, Laughton also skated in two games with the St. Michael's Buzzers of the Central Canada Hockey League (CCHL).

He concluded the 2009–10 GTHL season with 55 goals and 40 assists in 76 games for the Marlboros.

As a result of his minor hockey achievements, Laughton was drafted third overall in the 2010 OHL Selection Draft by the Oshawa Generals.

On December 28, 2010, Laughton was named an assistant captain for Team Ontario while competing at the 2011 World U-17 Hockey Challenge.

During the postseason, Laughton recorded one goal and one assist over 10 games as the Generals fell to the Niagara IceDogs.

In his rookie season with the Generals, Laughton skated in 63 games and accumulated 12 goals with 11 assists as the team qualified for the 2011 OHL playoffs.

Following his first season in the OHL, Laughton was invited to compete with Team Canada at the 2011 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament, where he won a gold medal.

Laughton returned to the Generals for his sophomore campaign during the 2011–12 season, where he recorded 21 goals and 32 assists over 64 games.

Following his sophomore season in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), Laughton was drafted in the first round, 20th overall, by the Philadelphia Flyers in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft.

Internationally, Laughton has represented Canada at various tournaments including the World U-17 Hockey Challenge and IIHF World U18 Championship.

As a result, Laughton was named to Team Canada's roster for the 2012 IIHF World U18 Championships, during which he recorded seven points and led the team to a bronze medal.

In spite of his strong season, the Generals failed to qualify past the first round of the 2012 OHL Playoffs, losing to the IceDogs in six games.

Following his sophomore season, Laughton was drafted in the first round, 20th overall, by the Philadelphia Flyers in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft.

He signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Flyers on August 8, 2012, but returned to the OHL for the 2012–13 season.

He was suspended twice during the season, resulting in him only playing 49 games.

His first suspension came on October 24, as a result of a hit during a game against the Ottawa 67s.

Upon coming back from his 10-game suspension, Laughton said "I want to finish every check, I think I did that (in Sunday's return) and I don't want to stray away from my game at all."

His second multi-game suspension of the season occurred on April 8, 2013, following a hit on Zach Hall of the Barrie Colts.

In spite of this, Laughton recorded a career high 56 points over 49 games to conclude the season.

Following the 2012–13 NHL lockout, Laughton made the Flyers out of the team's abbreviated training camp and made his NHL debut on January 19, 2013, at home against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

He played 12:14 of ice time alongside Wayne Simmonds and Matt Read in the 3–1 loss, giving the Flyers five more games to decide whether he remained in the NHL or returned to major juniors.

After going pointless in five games with the Flyers, Laughton was reassigned to the OHL where he competed in the 2013 OHL Playoffs and recorded 13 points in seven games.

Following their second round elimination, he was promoted to the Flyers' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Adirondack Phantoms, for the remainder of the season.

Following the Flyers 2013–14 preseason training camp, Laughton was loaned back to the Oshawa Generals of the OHL after failing to remain with the NHL club to start the season.

When reflecting on his training camp experience, he admitted to feeling overconfident and did not "play to his ability."

In his first game back in the OHL on October 3, 2013, Laughton recorded four points in an eventual 7–1 win over the Peterborough Petes.

He continued to have a breakout season and recorded 24 goals and 26 assists in 29 games by December, earning him the captaincy title for Team Canada's U20 team at the 2013 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships.

He ended the season as the second-leading scorer for the Generals as Oshawa finished first in the OHL's East Division and reached the Eastern Conference finals.

On May 14, 2014, Laughton was named to the OHL's First All-Star Team.

Flyers head coach Craig Berube later said that choosing to reassign Laughton to the OHL "helped him" and called him "one of the best players in all of junior hockey."

Laughton was invited to the Flyers' training camp prior to the 2014–15 season, but was reassigned to their new AHL affiliate, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, on October 1, 2014 after being a healthy scratch for one game.