Samuel Morin Status Update?

[R3M1N1SC3]

Hey all,

Just wanted to know if anybody on here ever gets a chance to watch any Rimouski games?

I know prior to the NHL draft last year he needed to put on 20-30 lbs and polish his game more.

Here is the stat line I grabbed from WikiPedia:

2012–13 Rimouski Océanic QMJHL 46 4 12 16 117 6 1 6 7 16
2013–14 Rimouski Océanic QMJHL 54 7 24 31 121 11 4 4 8 30

Seems like a noticeable improvement over his 2012 season which to me says a lot. He basically doubled his production in playing only 8 more games and his playoff performance looks very good on paper.

My question to anybody who has watched any recent game tape: Where is he currently at in terms of NHL readiness?

Click to read more...

 

[LegionOfDoom91]

I think he'll have to have a monster camp/preseason to earn a roster spot, otherwise I think he's headed back to juniors next year where he unquestionably will be the top defensemen on his junior team (Rimouski) & have a good shot at making Team Canada at the WJC's.

He's coming along nicely & should see a good point increase next season while playing with Rimouski's top PP unit.

 

[Tripod]

I think he'll have to have a monster camp/preseason to earn a roster spot, otherwise I think he's headed back to juniors next year where he unquestionably will be the top defensemen on his junior team (Rimouski) & have a good shot at making Team Canada at the WJC's.

He's coming along nicely & should see a good point increase next season while playing with Rimouski's top PP unit.

Yup...no need to rush him. Let him dominate and gain lots of confidence being a top D in the league.

 

[flyershockey]

He should and probably will be back in juniors next year. He'll be Rimouski's number one in all situations and figures to be on the Canadian WJC team. I'd like to see his offensive production jump to anywhere between .75 to 1.0 ppg. With that, we can start to believe that he might put up some decent offensive numbers in the NHL.

He needs to continue to work on his agility. His top end speed and acceleration are very good for his size, but he can get turned around by smaller shiftier forwards that force him to move side to side. That'll probably come together naturally as he learns to play within his massive frame.

 

[R3M1N1SC3]

He needs to continue to work on his agility. His top end speed and acceleration are very good for his size, but he can get turned around by smaller shiftier forwards that force him to move side to side. That'll probably come together naturally as he learns to play within his massive frame.

Yea - I suppose when you're 6'7" the East/West isn't there as much as the North/South. Something like that can be fixed with positioning - see Chris Pronger

I am excited about this guy's raw physical ability. He can skate very well for his size, has a bomb of a slap shot, and has a nasty streak that will translate very well to the NHL level.

If this guy can put it all together we have a gem.

 

[FadeToBlack]

I doubt any of our prospect D play more than 10 games in the NHL this season. Ghost, Morin, Hagg, Sanheim... Most of those guys are 2 years away from NHL time, at a minimum. Alt has the best shot at being a regular this season.

 

[LegionOfDoom91]

I doubt any of our prospect D play more than 10 games in the NHL this season. Ghost, Morin, Hagg, Sanheim... Most of those guys are 2 years away from NHL time, at a minimum. Alt has the best shot at being a regular this season.

I disagree a lot can happen in two years. I also disagree that Gostibehere won't be in the NHL this year. I think he cracks the roster full time at some point during this year if it's not at camp/preseason.

 

[DrinkFightFlyers]

I disagree a lot can happen in two years. I also disagree that Gostibehere won't be in the NHL this year. I think he cracks the roster full time at some point during this year if it's not at camp/preseason.

I agree, but that is only if a trade is made. There simply isn't room for him right now on the blueline. He's not better than anyone on this team, despite what some folks may think about Grossmann or Schenn, so unless someone (likely Grossmann, I would think) is moved, Ghost isn't going to be the NHL. If Grossmann does get traded, then I think that spot last spot is up for grabs between he, Morin, Hagg, Alt and any other ADK guys or PTO guys that might come in. I'd probably put Ghost at the top of that list given the comments we heard from the management at the end of last year...sounds like they want him there.

 

[FadeToBlack]

I agree, but that is only if a trade is made. There simply isn't room for him right now on the blueline. He's not better than anyone on this team, despite what some folks may think about Grossmann or Schenn, so unless someone (likely Grossmann, I would think) is moved, Ghost isn't going to be the NHL. If Grossmann does get traded, then I think that spot last spot is up for grabs between he, Morin, Hagg, Alt and any other ADK guys or PTO guys that might come in. I'd probably put Ghost at the top of that list given the comments we heard from the management at the end of last year...sounds like they want him there.

This. There simply isn't room for him and we know the Flyers aren't going to hand substantial icetime to a rookie d-man if they have a proven Vet that can play already... Skillwise, Ghost could probably play on the third pairing for 7-9 minutes a game, but I don't think he'd really be able to step in and excel in any way, shape or form.. There's a very large gap between NCAA hockey and an NCAA schedule versus NHL hockey and an NHL schedule... he needs a year in the AHL, at a minimum, probably two. Hence why I believe Alt is better adjusted and prepared for NHL playing time than Ghost.

 

[LegionOfDoom91]

I agree, but that is only if a trade is made. There simply isn't room for him right now on the blueline. He's not better than anyone on this team, despite what some folks may think about Grossmann or Schenn, so unless someone (likely Grossmann, I would think) is moved, Ghost isn't going to be the NHL. If Grossmann does get traded, then I think that spot last spot is up for grabs between he, Morin, Hagg, Alt and any other ADK guys or PTO guys that might come in. I'd probably put Ghost at the top of that list given the comments we heard from the management at the end of last year...sounds like they want him there.

Trades can happen during the season as well you know? Teams might want to see Grossmann play first before trading for him anyway since he's coming off surgery.

I never said Gostibehere was a lock to make the team out of camp, I only said he'll be on the roster full time at some point next year.

 

[Prongo]

People talk about Morin's lateral movement and agility but we have to remember he is a 6'7 player. Any player of that size really has never had good side to side movement but rather rely on their positioning and stick work to make their plays. I don't think he will get much better in that regard but I also don't think it will be a major issue down the road. What is more impressive is how the kid can skate for being that tall. Pronger, Chara(just for size comparisons) both never had the wheels he had and that is what is promising. His stride is nice and he has power behind it.

I saw him play probably around 6-8 times this year and he is a player who I have fallen in love with. One of his best attributes is his intelligence and on ice awareness. I rarely saw him turn the puck over and when pressured he was solid in his first pass. Rarely did a forechecker approach him without the puck being off his stick. That quick first pass is huge in the NHL. It's not thinking, more of an instinct. He isn't afraid to play the puck off the boards to clear either. Simple yet smart plays make players great. He has that ability. His offense of course will come around as it was much better this year. He has a rocket of a shot(104MPH)(Wind up was improved this year as well) and is going to be their all situations guy next year. If he doesn't surprise us and stick with the NHL team, I think you will see a 45-50 point defender out there. Big PKer as well. He is being groomed into a #1.

All this and I will even admit I wasn't happy with the pick at the time. Watching him play though is the reason I have gone 180 on him. Of course I don't want him in person but I solely concentrate on him when he is out there via hockeystreams.com. Like LegionofDoom said, it wouldn't surprise me if he is challenging for a spot o the blue line if he has a great camp.

 

[Alchemy]

Alt and Hagg are the closest to the NHL IMO.

 

[The Rage Kage]

There can also be injuries, ghost would be good to fill in and maybe he impresses resulting in a trade. I also think he's only one year away from being a solid contributor, not two

On morin, I think he has another year to dominate the Q, then comes in and makes a nice impact in his first year

 

[flyershockey]

If Gostisbehere spends two years in the AHL, it's because his development stagnated and there's serious concern about him even being NHL caliber. My guess is that he's a longterm injury replacement this year in case one of MacDonald, Streit or Kimmo are out for an extended period of time. Alt or Hagg battle it out to be a longterm injury replacement for one of the stay at home guys. Ghost and Alt/Hagg are both on the opening day roster for the start of 2015-2016. Morin starts in the AHL that year and follows the same progression as the other three did in 2014-2015. Sanheim comes in the following season.

Bottom line is you don't need 2-3 years of seasoning in the AHL anymore before guys can become effective defenesmen. Young defensemen aren't on an island anymore like they used be. The game is focused on defensive structure and back pressure more than its ever been. You can now insulate young defenseman the way you used to insulate young forwards.

 

[kjbhockey]

People talk about Morin's lateral movement and agility but we have to remember he is a 6'7 player. Any player of that size really has never had good side to side movement but rather rely on their positioning and stick work to make their plays. I don't think he will get much better in that regard but I also don't think it will be a major issue down the road. What is more impressive is how the kid can skate for being that tall. Pronger, Chara(just for size comparisons) both never had the wheels he had and that is what is promising. His stride is nice and he has power behind it.

I saw him play probably around 6-8 times this year and he is a player who I have fallen in love with. One of his best attributes is his intelligence and on ice awareness. I rarely saw him turn the puck over and when pressured he was solid in his first pass. Rarely did a forechecker approach him without the puck being off his stick. That quick first pass is huge in the NHL. It's not thinking, more of an instinct. He isn't afraid to play the puck off the boards to clear either. Simple yet smart plays make players great. He has that ability. His offense of course will come around as it was much better this year. He has a rocket of a shot(104MPH)(Wind up was improved this year as well) and is going to be their all situations guy next year. If he doesn't surprise us and stick with the NHL team, I think you will see a 45-50 point defender out there. Big PKer as well. He is being groomed into a #1.

All this and I will even admit I wasn't happy with the pick at the time. Watching him play though is the reason I have gone 180 on him. Of course I don't want him in person but I solely concentrate on him when he is out there via hockeystreams.com. Like LegionofDoom said, it wouldn't surprise me if he is challenging for a spot o the blue line if he has a great camp.

I saw exactly what you saw in Morin. He is extremely poised with the puck and doesn't get rattled. I love his competitive spirit as well. You can't teach that at all. He doesn't like to loose puck battles.

 

[Willis88]

I think Gostibehere could crack the roster. I'm sure he's going to do everything he can in training camp to make a case for himself. I think it would be either him or Alt.

 

[R3M1N1SC3]

I saw him play probably around 6-8 times this year and he is a player who I have fallen in love with. One of his best attributes is his intelligence and on ice awareness. I rarely saw him turn the puck over and when pressured he was solid in his first pass. Rarely did a forechecker approach him without the puck being off his stick. That quick first pass is huge in the NHL. It's not thinking, more of an instinct. He isn't afraid to play the puck off the boards to clear either. Simple yet smart plays make players great. He has that ability. His offense of course will come around as it was much better this year. He has a rocket of a shot(104MPH)(Wind up was improved this year as well) and is going to be their all situations guy next year. If he doesn't surprise us and stick with the NHL team, I think you will see a 45-50 point defender out there. Big PKer as well. He is being groomed into a #1.

All this and I will even admit I wasn't happy with the pick at the time. Watching him play though is the reason I have gone 180 on him. Of course I don't want him in person but I solely concentrate on him when he is out there via hockeystreams.com. Like LegionofDoom said, it wouldn't surprise me if he is challenging for a spot o the blue line if he has a great camp.

This is GREAT to hear! If this pick pans out, it will be the Flyers first legit home-grown defensemen since....I can't even remember.

As for Shayne Gostisbehere, I agree with the guy that said he doesn't need to spend years in the AHL to develop. The Flyers are DESPERATE for puck moving defensemen and this guy flat-out has wheels.

I think they have every intention on moving Grossman and Lecavalier to free up that cap space. I think if you paired a guy like Ghost with Streit or Timonen it could be a great line. Timonen would be the guy to groom him ideally.

I have heard very good things about Mark Alt. It seems (go figure) we have a log-jam on the back end right now. Honestly, Mark Alt > Grossman. Grossman isn't overly physical for his size and cannot skate. It's time to turn the page on Grossman. I respect his game - he's a tough SOB and can block some shots but we need more speed out there.

I also agree that we don't NEED to rush any of these guys but if they are ready - they are ready. I think at least one of the 4 (Alt, Hagg, Morin, Ghost) will make the full-time roster and wouldn't mind if 2 of the 4 did.

 

[Funf]

People talk about Morin's lateral movement and agility but we have to remember he is a 6'7 player. Any player of that size really has never had good side to side movement but rather rely on their positioning and stick work to make their plays. I don't think he will get much better in that regard but I also don't think it will be a major issue down the road. What is more impressive is how the kid can skate for being that tall. Pronger, Chara(just for size comparisons) both never had the wheels he had and that is what is promising. His stride is nice and he has power behind it.

I saw him play probably around 6-8 times this year and he is a player who I have fallen in love with. One of his best attributes is his intelligence and on ice awareness. I rarely saw him turn the puck over and when pressured he was solid in his first pass. Rarely did a forechecker approach him without the puck being off his stick. That quick first pass is huge in the NHL. It's not thinking, more of an instinct. He isn't afraid to play the puck off the boards to clear either. Simple yet smart plays make players great. He has that ability. His offense of course will come around as it was much better this year. He has a rocket of a shot(104MPH)(Wind up was improved this year as well) and is going to be their all situations guy next year. If he doesn't surprise us and stick with the NHL team, I think you will see a 45-50 point defender out there. Big PKer as well. He is being groomed into a #1.

All this and I will even admit I wasn't happy with the pick at the time. Watching him play though is the reason I have gone 180 on him. Of course I don't want him in person but I solely concentrate on him when he is out there via hockeystreams.com. Like LegionofDoom said, it wouldn't surprise me if he is challenging for a spot o the blue line if he has a great camp.

I love hearing this. To me, hockey IQ and compete level are the 2 most important factors in finding a good player, and they're the 2 things you can't teach. Combine that with all the physical tools Morin has at his disposal, and I'm very excited.

And I hope Hexy is patient with him. I can see Morin challenging for a spot at camp, but I'd rather he be sent back into a good situation. He'll be an all situations defender for Rimouski, with top PP time, a probable spot on the WJC team and more time to work on refining his game. I can see him coming straight into the NHL after next year though. I think his game is very well suited to the style of play in the NHL, and the transition may not be as hard for him as some may think.

 

[The Rage Kage]

He has all the skills you can't teach, size, hockey iq, and his compete level, which IMO will at least help him reach a bottom pairing defensemen (he could surpass that though)

 

[Gert B Frobe]

In the handful of preseason games I saw him play last season he was by far the Flyers best defenseman. I know that isn't saying much. I'm hoping he impresses and makes the team. If he's good enough then he's good enough.

 

[tuckrr]

This is GREAT to hear! If this pick pans out, it will be the Flyers first legit home-grown defensemen since....I can't even remember.

As for Shayne Gostisbehere, I agree with the guy that said he doesn't need to spend years in the AHL to develop. The Flyers are DESPERATE for puck moving defensemen and this guy flat-out has wheels.

I think they have every intention on moving Grossman and Lecavalier to free up that cap space. I think if you paired a guy like Ghost with Streit or Timonen it could be a great line. Timonen would be the guy to groom him ideally.

I have heard very good things about Mark Alt. It seems (go figure) we have a log-jam on the back end right now. Honestly, Mark Alt > Grossman. Grossman isn't overly physical for his size and cannot skate. It's time to turn the page on Grossman. I respect his game - he's a tough SOB and can block some shots but we need more speed out there.

I also agree that we don't NEED to rush any of these guys but if they are ready - they are ready. I think at least one of the 4 (Alt, Hagg, Morin, Ghost) will make the full-time roster and wouldn't mind if 2 of the 4 did.

This is where exaggerations ruin expectations..

You realize Mark Alt is no where near the player or even asset that Grossmann is. Not saying Grossman is a great defenseman, or that Alt is garbage. But if Alt makes it as a NHL regular, he'd be a huge success story. Meanwhile Grossmann is going to be in the NHL for a few more years at least.

 

[Random Forest]

This is where exaggerations ruin expectations..

You realize Mark Alt is no where near the player or even asset that Grossmann is. Not saying Grossman is a great defenseman, or that Alt is garbage. But if Alt makes it as a NHL regular, he'd be a huge success story. Meanwhile Grossmann is going to be in the NHL for a few more years at least.

A huge success story? The guy was a second round pick and had a real solid year in the AHL last season.

Each year plenty of similar guys crack NHL lineups. Matt Bartkowski, Jake Muzzin, Justin Braun, etc. are just a few unheralded names off the top of my head who made their teams after going through their respective systems.

Everyone complains that the Flyers can't develop defenders...we finally have one work his way through the system, and we want to jam him behind guys like Grossmann? I don't think Grossmann is bad at all, honestly, but in terms of cost effectiveness...we just can't afford him in the lineup anymore.

 

[LegionOfDoom91]

I don't think any sensible person would confuse Mark Alt for someone with good upside but he is big body who can skate & more importantly is a right handed shot so he's going to get a shot in the NHL if not with the Flyers than someone else at some point.

I'm not naive enough to say that Alt would definitely be a better player than Grossmann next year nor his entire career perhaps but as of now we're pretty tight up against the cap & Alt's caphit looks a lot more attractive than Grossmann's does & let's face it Grossmann's not going to make it or break it for this club next year.

 

[R3M1N1SC3]

It's not even like Mark Alt is some journeyman UDFA - he was a 2nd round pick.

Let's put this thing in perspective. Grossmann is a big, tough defender who doesn't hit but is defensively "sound" and can block shots. He can't skate and provides no offensive contributions (has never cracked 15 pts in his entire career ).

Rather than hale Mark Alt as this "great defensemen", I am simply going to say that based on his physical abilities alone he is worth a play more so than Grossmann.

I'm not trying to deface Grossmann because I think he is a decent veteran 5-6 defender under the right circumstances. However, with his cap hit being > 3 mil I don't think he is worth it anymore.

One of the Flyers main weaknesses is the lack of a defensemen to push the rush. I am confident in saying that at least 2 of the 4 prospects mentioned in this thread could step in a provide that (right now).

If we can somehow move Vinny and Grossmann, we free up about 7 mil in cap space. Perhaps they will keep Grossmann as a stop gap/rotation bottom pairing guy. Although, I think there are a couple guys that could step in from the AHL and provide that for a much cheaper price ( B. Manning, Bourdon (if healthy) ) .

 

[JGalt]

Isn't the story on Alt that he's like a freakish athlete that only really dedicated himself to hockey pretty late? He seems to have major tools if he can catch up to the learning curve.