Samuel Morin Status Update?

[flyersfan187]

'14-'15 Timonen most likely won't be, and that's the version that Ghost will be replacing.

If they keep him off of the PK and fresh then Kimmo should have a better season than last. That is the only reason I think Grossmann hasn't been moved.

Coburn/MacDonald/Grossmann/Schenn on the PK would be good for the Flyers. And everyone knows the Flyers always need to have a good PK.

 

[LegionOfDoom91]

ES minutes are harder on the body than PK minutes, much more skating involved. Timonen was 6th in ES time out of our regular defensemen last year with 13:30TOI.

 

[Random Forest]

Yeah, Timonen doesn't need to have his PK time cut too much. Those are "tough" minutes in the sense that it's difficult to be proficient in those minutes. But they're not "strenuous" minutes. You tend to not get hit as much on the PK, and like LOD said, you don't skate as much. It's not as taxing on the body for Timonen to retain special teams minutes.

Timonen will probably get about one PK shift less per game, and perhaps PP2 time with Streit replacing him on PP1. Other than that, his ES minutes will not be too different. He'll probably be getting 18:30 to 19:00 minutes a game rather than his 20:19 from last year.

 

[puzzle]

http://tvasports.ca/hockey/lnh/morin-y-croit-6072014

Morin believes he can be part of the team as soon as this year. Short article in french on TVA sport.

 

[Random Forest]

There was one year when he was drafted in the first round by the Flyers (11th overall), Morin was 6 feet 6 inches tall and weighed 203 pounds. Since then he has gained an inch and nearly 20 pounds.

"I took muscle mass. I now weigh 220 pounds. It hurts more when I hit! I also improved my skating. "

Awesome. Just awesome. I'm not at all expecting him to be ready...but I won't go in with the mindset that he should be back in Rimouski no matter what either.

EDIT: Holy crap, it looks like he grew up a lot in the past year. His acne definitely cleared up.

 

[deadhead]

I don't see Morin for two more years, same with the kid they drafted this year, need to physically mature, polish their games, maybe even get some AHL ice time.

I see a gradual progression, the AHL defensemen this year will be playing to convince Hextall to make room. Next year Hextall has to decide who his first four D are, because with a full AHL season under their belts (and two for Alt), he'll want to consider the kids for the 3rd pairing. In 2016-2017 he'll need to dump more salary with some extensions coming due.

How the kids play will determine how quickly the progression occurs.

 

[LegionOfDoom91]

If Schenn & Grossmann bounce back along with MacDonald playing for a full season you might be able to give Timonen easier competition making those ES minutes less tough on his body.

 

[LegionOfDoom91]

http://tvasports.ca/hockey/lnh/morin-y-croit-6072014

Morin believes he can be part of the team as soon as this year. Short article in french on TVA sport.

Quotes from Sam himself:

On Flyers Camp
"I want to make the team. I tasted a bit last year when I played three exhibition games. I do not go to camp as a tourist. It is certain that I want to get a place in the team," he told the TVA Sports.

"I took muscle mass. I now weigh 220 pounds. It hurts more when I hit! I also improved my skating."

On Style of Play
"They like my off-ice and on-ice attitude. This is a good fit. I use my stick a lot and I play physical. And I'm hard to deal with. My opponents do not like to play against me."

"It is sure that I must be careful not to beat me against players who do not play much and just want me out of the game. But the battles are part of my game."

On WJC's
"There will be plenty of good defenders there. I won gold with five of those World Championship under 18. I have advantages that others do not. I will work very hard to carve out a place for me."

 

[Stizzle]

Awesome. Just awesome. I'm not at all expecting him to be ready...but I won't go in with the mindset that he should be back in Rimouski no matter what either.

EDIT: Holy crap, it looks like he grew up a lot in the past year. His acne definitely cleared up.

My god, he is looking like a beast. You can tell he definitely grew up. With that said, I do not want him on the big team. Hexy must not give in to temptation. He should continue to marinate in the Q.

 

[LegionOfDoom91]

You can tell in the video he's putting good weight on. His face is less boyish looking without the baby fat that he had around last year & the acne as well.

 

[The Rage Kage]

The only way he stays is if he comes in and completely dominates in the preseason and makes it impossible to have any argument why he shouldn't be on the team. If he doesn't do that he should be headed back to rimouski

 

[bennysflyers16]

Wow has he ever aged , looks like a man now. If he ever hits his max, he will be a beast.

 

[tuckrr]

Wow has he ever aged , looks like a man now. If he ever hits his max, he will be a beast.

And yet he STILL looks like a bean-pole! He could be 240 by 2016

 

[bennysflyers16]

And yet he STILL looks like a bean-pole! He could be 240 by 2016

6'8, 240 lbs, mobile and mean , watch the **** out

 

[fauxflex]

My god, he is looking like a beast. You can tell he definitely grew up. With that said, I do not want him on the big team. Hexy must not give in to temptation. He should continue to marinate in the Q.

While I agree that a team should be patient with developing young prospects there are some "kids" that show they are ready to handle the NHL before others. Having NHL size and strength is a plus, and Morin has plenty of that. Being a good skater is another plus, and Morin has good wheels.

I don't know for sure, but I've been on record saying we see Morin this coming season or next, so I wouldn't be shocked to see him make the team out of camp. Maybe he gets that multi-game look before they decide to send him back or not...regardless, I fully expect him to be in the mix to some extent by next season.

 

[FLYguy3911]

While I agree that a team should be patient with developing young prospects there are some "kids" that show they are ready to handle the NHL before others. Having NHL size and strength is a plus, and Morin has plenty of that. Being a good skater is another plus, and Morin has good wheels.

I don't know for sure, but I've been on record saying we see Morin this coming season or next, so I wouldn't be shocked to see him make the team out of camp. Maybe he gets that multi-game look before they decide to send him back or not...regardless, I fully expect him to be in the mix to some extent by next season.

Much like Sanheim, it's not fair to pigeonhole Morin and say he needs another year in junior and at least another year in the AHL before he's ready. Guys like that, who develop so rapidly could show up to camp and just show a level to their game that you didn't think would be there in that point of their development. I always go back to the guy I thought Morin was comparable to when he was drafted and that was Tyler Myers. Their career paths are pretty similar. When he was drafted, no one thought he would be in the NHL at 19, let alone be a 50 point guy.

Now all that said, I am on board with sending him back for another year. I just think, much like Laughton this year, being the lead dog, playing all situations, and a possible World Junior appearance would be best for his development, but he still has the rookie camp, World Junior Camp, and training camp to showcase himself so we will have a better grasp at what progressions he has made. I look forward to seeing him next week.

 

[Striiker]

6'7'' 220+ fast, mean, skilled...

that's horrifying.

If he can put it all together he would be incredible.

 

[LegionOfDoom91]

While I agree that a team should be patient with developing young prospects there are some "kids" that show they are ready to handle the NHL before others. Having NHL size and strength is a plus, and Morin has plenty of that. Being a good skater is another plus, and Morin has good wheels.

I don't know for sure, but I've been on record saying we see Morin this coming season or next, so I wouldn't be shocked to see him make the team out of camp. Maybe he gets that multi-game look before they decide to send him back or not...regardless, I fully expect him to be in the mix to some extent by next season.

I don't think it will be in the cards for this upcoming season. The roster is pretty much full & there's other guys who have a better claim at a spot over him right now. He has some pretty good opportunities back in juniors this year much like Laughton last year as well (top minutes on junior team & chance to play in the WJC's for Canada). He would really have to knock their socks off to win a spot in my opinion.

I don't necessarily disagree that 2015-2016 will be out of the question like most around here do. He's probably close to his final playing weight right now (probably max out somewhere around 230 lbs.) & doesn't seem to be having a problem putting on good weight judging by that video.

 

[Random Forest]

Something else to consider that may or may not be sheer luck, but Gostisbehere and Morin have both stepped up big time when it counted most. Morin's playoff PPG far exceeds his regular season numbers, and we all saw Gostisbehere when the chips were down this year, but he had the same fire last season, too.

I'll stop short of making conclusions based on such small samples, but at the very least, it's encouraging to see that these two players are ultra, ultra competitive who desperately want to win.

 

[blinds]

Something else to consider that may or may not be sheer luck, but Gostisbehere and Morin have both stepped up big time when it counted most. Morin's playoff PPG far exceeds his regular season numbers, and we all saw Gostisbehere when the chips were down this year, but he had the same fire last season, too.

I'll stop short of making conclusions based on such small samples, but at the very least, it's encouraging to see that these two players are ultra, ultra competitive who desperately want to win.

Yeah, both kids have the right attitude. Those quotes from Morin definitely make me hopeful, as well as his physical progress. I doubt we see him this season, but I wouldn't be surprised to see him next season. Hopefully Kimmo (love him but he's getting old) and Grossmann are gone by then too. Wouldn't mind a Morin-Ghost 3rd pairing in 2015-16, and I guess a Coburn-Streit, MacD-Schenn top 4.

 

[sg12lw]

ES minutes are harder on the body than PK minutes, much more skating involved. Timonen was 6th in ES time out of our regular defensemen last year with 13:30TOI.

Spoken like someone who has never killed a penalty....

Its HARD work. Skating itself not hard on the body. 45 seconds of stops and starts, bending over to get in passing lanes, blocking shots, battling with forwards in front of the net, battling in the corners etc. is hard on the body.

Sorry but you are 100 percent off here. I get what you are saying/thinking, but thats not how it really works. Killing penalties sucks. Ever notice how if a team has the puck in the zone for over a minute that all the penalty killers can barely move?? It's not because standing around doing nothing wore them out...

 

[Curufinwe]

ES minutes are harder on the body than PK minutes, much more skating involved. Timonen was 6th in ES time out of our regular defensemen last year with 13:30TOI.

MacDonald will take some of Kimmo's ES minutes, and hopefully Kimmo will play around 70 games by being rested for back to backs.

 

[Prongo]

In those videos he looks awesome. Like others have said he went from being a boy to a man in one years time and is on the right path. I want to see him down at the prospects camp and training camp. Let's see how the preseason goes for him and then most likely send him back down to juniors. I am not ruling anything out though. He could come in and steal a spot on the backend for all we know.

I like how he improved on his skating too. He always had the speed but in the video you can see how he improved on his lateral skating and agility. He was a force when I watched and I am hoping we see the trend again. I will be watching a lot of the Q and WHL this year and can't wait to see our two top end guys try and reach their potential.

If we struggle this year, which I actually think is a strong possibility, we will only add yet another high end prospect to our pool. The days of the Flyers lacking a prospect pool are hopefully gone.

 

[Embiid]

Quotes from Sam himself:

He "sound" like this guy

 

[Cyborg LeClair]

That video and interview really got me even more excited for this guy! Looks like everything is heading in the right direction that he was a homerun pick for the Flyers.

I thought for sure that he'd have another year in the Q left and then a year or less in the AHL before making the Flyers, but after that vid and his determination to make the team, I think he might be able to. He looked great in the exhibition games imo. I think more time in the Q will be best for his overall development, but I would love to be surprised and have him make an impact on our team sooner.

He's gonna be awesome, I can't wait to see him in a Flyers jersey