Flyers Send Scott Laughton Back to Oshawa

The debate had, apparently, been going on for two weeks:

What to do with Scott Laughton?

The Flyers’ first-round pick in the 2012 draft played five games for the club last year before being sent back to the Ontario Hockey League’s Oshawa Generals. This year he was eligible to play nine games before burning the first of his three-year, entry-level contract, which can “slide” and begin next year.

He watched the Flyers’ opening game, a 3-1 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs Wednesday, from the press box and didn’t dress.

“Scott’s a good kid. We like him,” Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren said. “We think he has a bright future with the Flyers. At the end of the day, we just thought it was in the best interest of not only Scott, but the Flyers to loan him back to his junior team where he can have an expanded role and continue to develop.”

Citing the fact that Laughton wouldn’t have seen enough minutes for it to make sense keeping him, Holmgren sent the 19-year-old center back to the OHL for a fourth season.

Captain Claude Giroux knows the feeling, although he was in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League for three seasons. He got a taste of the NHL in two games in the 2007-08 season and was sent back. The next year, he didn’t make the Flyers’ squad out of training camp. He was sent to the AHL Phantoms, who were still in Philadelphia at the time.

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