Checking In: Isaac Ratcliffe

It's been ninth months since Isaac Ratcliffe last played a pro hockey game - the Lehigh Valley Phantoms' loss to rival Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins back on March 11 - but  the London, Ontario native says he's been turning that negative - the extended pause on pro hockey - into a positive.

"I look at this on the positive side," Ratcliffe told InsideAHLHockey.com recently via phone. "I get to build my game both on and off the ice, whether it's strength in the gym or different skills you can work on out on the ice. I haven't been home at this time of the year in six years or so, which is great too to be around my family and spend Thanksgiving with them."

Ratcliffe went home to London, ONT after the Phantoms' season was put on hold and later canceled, spending quality time with family and having "a good couple weeks off" before he started his off-season training program in May - initially mapped out in preparation for gearing up for hockey in the fall.

Since then, the American Hockey League (AHL) has twice pushed back the anticipated start date of the 2020-21 season. First, at the end of June, it was moved back to Dec 4. The latest target start date for the league's season is Febraury 5th, while the NHL is aiming for a mid-January start.

"It's tough because you want to feel as good as possible for where we are at and you want to get ahead of the game, but at the same time you don't want to burn yourself out in the summer before the season even starts," Ratcliffe explained. "It's tough to do that because we don't know when the start date is going to be."

Still, Ratcliffe says the extra time in the gym and on the ice will definitely pay off down the road when hockey does return.

"It's tough to manage it, but I've been doing well," Ratcliffe replied when asked about his off-season training. "Building more muscle mass and trying to put on a little bit of weight as well, but at the same time strengthening my legs and core a lot more to make sure I have that speed aspect and I'm moving up and down the ice a little bit faster."

Listed at 6-5, 203 pounds last season with the Phantoms, the added muscle and strength will certainly help Ratcliffe in the bottom-six role he logged as a rookie in pro hockey in 2019-20. Still, the big-bodied forward knows that the game isn't going to slow down anytime soon and has been working on his skating this summer/fall as well, mentioning that it was something his coaches in Lehigh Valley talked to him about.

"Getting my first steps out of the corner, or whether it's off a cut back or a loose play or anything like that," Ratcliffe explained. "Just getting those first few steps out a little bit quicker."

Ratcliffe didn't exactly come storming out of the gates in his rookie season last year in the AHL with the Phantoms, and he admitted as much to InsideAHLHockey.com via phone last month.

"I think it started off a little slow for me, and it was definitely a long adjusting period," Ratcliffe said, adding candidly, "which some people expected, but I didn't want to.. I mean.. admit that to myself."

While he wasn't expected to continue his 40-goal pace from junior hockey, Ratcliffe certainly knows he's more offensively capable than his six-goal, nine-assist rookie campaign.

It's all part of the development process and, according to head coach Scott Gordon, Ratcliffe was the most improved player on the team from start to finish. The coaching staff and organization seem pleased with the way he finished the season, and Ratcliffe himself feels he has a lot more to show in the future.

"Just giving where he came from at the start of the year with his struggles playing against bigger players, learning to have to protect the puck, be able to use his body along the boards in both the defensive zone and offensive zone," Gordon responded, when explaining why he said Ratcliffe was the team's most improved player, even though the offensive numbers won't show it.

"By the end of the year, all of a sudden he started getting more offensive chances. He was one of our regular penalty killers and had become a pretty reliable player for us," Gordon continued of Ratcliffe during his end-of-season media availability over the summer. "So I would expect that next year we would see a lot more improvement in the offensive categories because a lot of the things that he struggled with will now be in place that weren't at the beginning of last year."

Ratcliffe is certainly eager for his next NHL training camp with the Flyers, whenever that will be. After all, the 35th overall pick in the 2017 Draft still has hopes for the future. And the Flyers' organization surely does as well.

"Towards the end of [last] year - and especially in those last 10 games or so before we got cut off - I think that's the best hockey I've ever played, honestly," Ratcliffe said of it all starting to come together for him after the AHL All-Star break. "I just want to start next year building off of that," Ratcliffe continued, adding, "obviously hopefully getting my first game with the Flyers and proving that I can not only play there but actually be a difference maker for the big club too. This summer and this offseason has been big for that."

He's hoping the hard work will pay off in camp. A strong showing might not earn him an NHL roster spot right out of training camp when the 2020-21 season resumes, but it will show the NHL coaching staff and general manager Chuck Fletcher that he's made significant improvements in adjusting to the pro game and ready to prove he can play at the NHL level if/when needed.

"Right now it's kind of just a little too eager to get going but at the same time still trying to hold back to realize I don't want to push myself too hard yet and burn myself out before we get going," Ratcliffe said of where he's at with everything heading into the holidays.

It has been anything but just another hockey offseason for players at all levels. It will certainly be interesting to see, when NHL training camps reconvene, how each player returns for what will be as long as a near year-long hiatus for some while others may have had the benefit of being loaned to play hockey overseas this fall.

"Once it starts getting cold down here, it's, 'okay it's time to dial it in and get ready for the season'," Ratcliffe said of his usual hockey routine in London, Ont. "But now it's kind of like, it's kind of tough to figure out where everything is going to lie and where I have to put my energy into."

Another positive Ratcliffe is taking away from the extended break from pro hockey is the time spent away from the rink.

"I have a lot of friends in the area, too, who do a great job of making feel like a regular kid and not a hockey player, which has also been great too over these last few months. Just living life like anyone else really. It's been great for me."