Let's talk Morin

[ChiefWiggum]

In this article,

http://www.thesportster.com/hockey/top-15-recent-nhl-draft-picks-teams-are-already-regretting/

the sportster says that Morin is a pick the Flyers are regretting. Is this a false accusation, or do we let our bias Flyers fan glasses obscure us from the truth?

This list includes many busts that everybody agrees with such as Griffin Reinhart, Nail Yakupov and Magnus Paajarvi. I do understand that Morin is still young, but do not forget that he was drafted in 2013 and it is now 2017 and he has yet to make his NHL debut.

As well, what do you guys think his current NHL comparable is in terms of effectiveness and impact on the game? Please don't say Pronger (even though he's retired) just because he is 6'6". If he is a projected top 4 or top 2 or top 6, what player is closest to what the Flyers are expecting out of this guy?

Click to read more...

 

[Prongo]

Every team has hits and misses. There no questioning that. Ricky dip wasn't a bust either. Injuries absolutely ruined his career. At one point he was a good young goaltender. That's an unfair judgement I believe.

Sam Morin was always known as a project. The flyers loved the way he played the game. He can skate, has a big shot, and has snarl. Let's not forget the most important piece of information. He is 6'7 and developing fine. Will he become a #1 in this league, most likely not. Can he be a top 4 defenseman, most likely he can.

Let's not call him a bust or heading towards one yet because he isn't in the NHL. Hextall really preaches patience with defenseman, it shouldn't surprise you that one with typically longer development path hasn't yet made the NHL

 

[Lotusflower]

I aint worried. As soon as he's up he'll put those fears to bed (and put fear in the opposition).

There will be growing pains as he seems to struggle in the beginning with every new level but once he gets it he's a rock.
He seems like he's got the mentality to be a top notch defensive D in the league, maybe even a team leader far down the line.

My favorite D prospect personally

 

[Appleyard]

Will he be a #1 or top pairing guy? Likely not.


But with his skating, size and strength, coupled with his solid puck skills and improved defensive positioning I have a hard time seeing him not have a very solid NHL career as a shut-down guy who can put up ~20 points a year and be on PK1.

If he is our Nick Hjalmarsson that would be awesome.

 

[Flyerfan13]

In the first phantoms game I saw morin play live he tried to break his stick across a forwards back with a cross check sending him 6 feet forward(penalty called of course)..forwards think twice before standing in front of the net on the pp with Sam on the ice...it all depends on what ur hopes he will be are...I don't think he will be a number 1dman but even if he is a solid 4-5 playing 20 mintutes/game and pk'ing that's still a good player...he is still young and has time to develop

 

[LegionOfDoom91]

Outside of prospects who are advanced at an early age like Provorov & Konecny you're likely going to see some slow cooking at the AHL level with our junior prospects. Even Gostisbehere spent some time in the AHL after being an older prospect out of college. He probably would have made the NHL right away on some other clubs around the league.

So it's going to be hard to dock some of these guys for not being in the NHL quicker because of Hextall's philosophy.

 

[Tripod]

I am not worried at all.

As others said, he was always a "project". His development was always expected to take longer than other guys. But let's look at the other D.

Risto....playing as expected
Nurse....looked awful last year, starting to look better this year
Morin...developing in AHL
Morrisey....looking good in his rookie season
Pulock....developing in the AHL
Zadorov....never should have made NHL when he did, looking better this year
Mueller...developing in the AHL

So besides Risto, all the other Dmen taken around Morin are in the AHL, or really just getting their feet wet in the NHL as a regular. The main difference is that Hextall did not mess around with Morin's development like what happened to Nurse and Zads.

And given that he was less of a finished product on draft day, I think his development is right on schedule. Hextall did not want Morin just to be better than Schenn, Grossmannn, Manning, AMac, etc... He actually wants him to be good. And learning from his mistakes in the AHL is the best way.

Morin has the attitude that I wish every prospect had. So humble, yet expects a lot of himself. He will be the perfect compliment to the skill D who lack physicality. He will be a fan favorite.

 

[Fragmuffin]

The Armia pick was a lazy choice from the writers. He is really good this season and is going to be a force in the next few years. With Wheeler the best 2way player for the Jets.

 

[Ghosts Beer]

I like Morin -- as a 3rd pairing defenseman. His physical attributes are useful. It's unfortunate his puck skills are subpar, because he's huge and can skate. I wouldn't hesitate to trade him if another org valued him highly. But I think he'll be a fun player to have on the 3rd pairing for a long time.

 

[BillDineen]

No issue with Morin's development. He has the right attitude and the tools. I think he still would have high trade value if Hextall shopped him now, just as Dennis Patterson predicted in that draft video posted about their draft list prep.

 

[Ghosts Beer]

Morin has a great personality. Guys like that are an underrated component to a team. He's a monster who can skate, defends his teammates, and livens things up. I'm looking forward to him being on the 3rd pair and PK. Just need to keep expectations realistic.

 

[Curufinwe]

I like Morin -- as a 3rd pairing defenseman. His physical attributes are useful. It's unfortunate his puck skills are subpar, because he's huge and can skate. I wouldn't hesitate to trade him if another org valued him highly. But I think he'll be a fun player to have on the 3rd pairing for a long time.

They aren't subpar. He's actually a good passer. Short range and long range.

 

[Ghosts Beer]

They aren't subpar. He's actually a good passer. Short range and long range.

If he has time.

His puckhandling is poor, and his vision and passing are below average, when he's pressed.

At the NHL level, I find it very difficult to believe his passing will rate as "good." I mean, if his passing were NHL-level good, you'd think he'd have more than 4 assists in 35 games in his 2nd AHL season.

 

[Curufinwe]

Lack of assists comes from lack of PP time.

Ghost has 4 ES assists in 42 NHL games this season. Guess his passing isn't NHL level anymore.

 

[Bob Clarke Fan Club]

Writers get paid to write. Flyers scouts(especially in the Q), get paid to be right. I'll go with our scouts here.

 

[hatcher]

Morin is almost ready and he'll be a horse in the nhl. There was an article about him but I forgot where I read it but Gordon praises him and says he's ready.

 

[LegionOfDoom91]

Morin gets a ton of DZ starts & plays against top lines at ES too. So he pretty much gets the worst possible usage in regards to putting up points on the defense.

If you look at the prospects as a whole a lot of their numbers are down with all the vets sucking up the good usage this year. Bardreau for example was a guy last year who was used as a scoring/PP forward so he put up some nice numbers. This year he's a defensive/PK forward & his numbers have dipped a fair bit.

 

[Ghosts Beer]

Lack of assists comes from lack of PP time.

Ghost has 4 ES assists in 42 NHL games this season. Guess his passing isn't NHL level anymore.

And how many ES assists do you think Ghost would have in the AHL?

I want Morin up as the #6. But if we're watching the same player, you have to worry about his puck movement at NHL speed.

 

[hatcher]

Morin is getting groomed for shut down d Gordon said. We have puck movers so morin can be lock down d.

 

[klutch]

Not worried about Morin at all. He's the backbone of being a fan favorite "broad street bully". I love the board play and net presence he can bring. Just imagine PK1 with him and Provorov, I would not be worried about the opposition scoring.

Has anyone ever seen how hard his slap shot really is? Has it been clocked at all? I imagine once he works at it he can hit 100mph

 

[Rebels57]

This article sucks.

Morin is on track to be a valuable contributor to our future defense.

 

[hatcher]

The article doesn't say he's a bust.

 

[deadhead]

We'll see.
Morin is destined to be paired with a puck mover like Sanheim or Ghost, so he'll never put up big offensive numbers.

However, he'll be the traditional Flyer "big" defenseman with the bonus that he's a good skater, so as the last line of defense he'll cut off a lot of 2 on 1s and be hard to beat.

How good he becomes probably depends on both mastering positioning and his lateral agility, it's not enough to skate fast in a straight line, he has to be able to reach the right spot and keep talented forwards from deking around him. If he can exel in this area, he doesn't need to score, because he'll free his partner to attack the O-zone.

 

[Curufinwe]

And how many ES assists do you think Ghost would have in the AHL?

I want Morin up as the #6. But if we're watching the same player, you have to worry about his puck movement at NHL speed.

Not that many if he had Morin's usage.

How many Phantoms games have you watched this year?

 

[OrangeAndBlackMetal]

i would be lying if I said I wasn't a tad disappointed in his development as an offensive contributor, but as a 3rd pairing shut down defenseman he will be great and probably already better than what we have on the NHL roster...

I see him as a more physical Coburn.