When the news broke yesterday after Flyers’ General Manager Chuck Fletcher announced to the media that Samuel Morin was moving from the defensive position to the Left Wing position. This sent Flyers Twitter through waves of emotions with some jubilation, and others not willing to give this move a shot.
“Just a couple training camp announcements. We’ll announce our training camp roster on Saturday. Sam Morin. After consultation with the coaches and over the past months, we’ve had a lot of conversations with Sam. Sam is going to play left wing to start the season. He’s been working on it for several weeks now. He’s been skating in the voluntary scrimmages the players are having now to get ready for the season. He’s been playing up front. We’re going to give him a try on left wing at least to start the season.” Flyers’ General Manager Chuck Fletcher
Is this really a last ditch effort to save Samuel Morin’s career? We will dive into this, but first let’s start with some reasons that the Flyers made this move to indeed see if this is actually true.
There is no denying that the Flyers roster lacked physicality, toughness, grit, and sandpaper before Morin was converted to wing. This was made evident following the unusual 2020 playoffs where the Montreal Canadiens and the New York Islanders were definitely more physical than the Flyers. At times some Flyers players were pushed off the puck, and they failed to establish a forecheck. Hitting takes a toll on players, especially in a seven game series. Regardless of what some fans may think the physicality aspect of the sport is still important, hence the Dallas Stars and Tampa Bay Lightning meeting in the 2020 Stanley Cup Finals.
“I think this was an idea that AV and Ian Laperrière had,” said Chuck Fletcher, “I think certainly having a little bit more size and physicality up front is an area we felt we needed to address. You’re looking for players to bring that element and play. Sam is a big man. He can skate. He can shoot the puck. Obviously he understands the game defensively which is a big part of the game as well when you are playing in a bottom six role. AV approached Sam and Lappy’s had several conversations with him. Sam was open to it. He hasn’t played a lot of hockey. He wants to do whatever he can to play. I think this is an opportunity for him to get ice time and be with our club. He was excited about it. Certainly Sam can speak to that part. Watching him out here, he’s worked really hard. It’s amazing what a good skater he is. We think he can really have a positive impact on our team and certainly be a disrupter on the ice.”
A towering 6’7 Morin says, “I feel good. I can’t say I am where I was before all those injuries because it would be a lie. I need to play. I need some ice time. I need to practice. I need to play. I need to play for sure. Just having the training camp is going to be great for me. Even right now, we’re having some scrimmages and I feel every day I’m getting a little bit better. I got a couple goals today so I was happy about that. I’m just enjoying my time here. It’s so fun to be back with the boys. My body is not the way it was before obviously with two ACLs. I’m working hard off the ice with good warm-ups to be ready. I’m just doing everything I can control and I don’t think about anything else.”
He continues, “I think I was the only one in town in October. I think AV was saying that I was working really, really hard to be back. He asked for me for a meeting. He just told me straight up if I could play left wing. He told me about the lack of physicality in the playoffs, especially against the Islanders. The guys were kind of getting pushed around, even against Montreal. They kind of needed a guy to answer that. Obviously in the past, I did it. I think I was pretty good at it. Those big guys playing physical and even fighting. It’s something that I’m willing to do. If I want to make the NHL, if I want to make it, I need to play physical and fight. If you look at the roster right now, I don’t think there’s a lot of guys that would do it, especially here. I’m the only one. I’m ready to go. I’m ready to do this.”
It’s never easy to be told you can’t do something, and this season is very unusual to include the American Hockey League. There is nothing definitive with the AHL at the moment, so really what is Morin supposed to do, continue to play in a log jam at the defensive position? The Flyers currently have Ivan Provorov, Travis Sanheim, Philippe Myers, Erik Gustafsson, Justin Braun, and Robert Hagg penciled in as the top six, with the likes of Shayne Gostisbehere and Mark Friedman waiting in the wings. This would leave Morin as the ninth defenseman, which he may not actually adequate playing time. On paper this moves makes sense for Morin to move to the Left Wing position, as he is definitely what the doctor ordered physicality wise for the Flyers.
“First of all, I did a lot of video,” Morin said, “I looked at some guys that I want to copy the game. The big guy that I watch a lot of his clips, even right now I watch about 20 minutes today, is Matt Martin from the Islanders. Really simple game. Really simple and efficient. The puck is always behind the D-man and he finishes his hit. His shift is honestly like 30 seconds. He just go change and Barzal is on the ice. They are just buzzing in the offensive zone because of just the little details he does. He finishes his check on the D-man. It’s so annoying. I’ve been looking at his shifts a lot. The big challenge right now for me is positioning. Sometimes I am and will. I’m going to be lost out there sometimes. I just need to move my feet all the time. I think I’m doing a pretty good job right now. I can skate. I can keep up with those guys. The D-zone, the calibration sometimes, it’s a little bit different. I have such a long stick. Even today in the scrimmage, I cut so many plays. It’s weird. I think I’m doing an honest job right now. I think every day I’m getting better. We’ll have to see how it goes. Obviously I think I can have a career as a D-man, but right now with my situation at this camp, I’m going to try it as a forward.”
Morin states above that this is strictly for playing time as he can skate and keep up with players, so why should people assume this is a last ditch effort to save his career with the Flyers?
“I was a forward a couple years in minor hockey, but I switched to defense pretty quick. When AV asked me about it, I was a little bit shocked. After talking to my agent and the coaches about it, I kind of figured out it was something that I need to try in this situation right now. When AV asked me, it was a few months ago. I didn’t know if we were going to have an American League or even if they were going to play, so I needed to have a plan because I’m fighting for my career right now. I’m fighting for another job. Obviously I did all this because I wanted to keep playing hockey. I am really excited honestly. Just to have a shot. Just to be here. Just to be at camp right now. If you look at last year at the same time, I was on crutches. I was doing some rehab. I was not in a good spot mentally and physically. Now, I’m back on track. I got to work hard and I’m going to enjoy it. I’m just really happy to be back with boys and not be in the rehab room. It’s so much more fun to play hockey again.”– Samuel Morin
Can Morin really move to Forward and excel?
Morin could very well exceed expectations with transitioning from the defensive position to the Left Wing position. Dustin Byfuglien and Brent Burns both converted from the forward position to the defensive position, and they both did it well. So at the end of the day ask yourselves, why can’t Morin do the same? Injuries do take a toll on players, however, I have never personally witnessed an athlete work as hard as Morin to return to his job that he loves to do. He skates up and down in a straight line like a winger typically does. Morin is not the best skater, but he is a decent skater nonetheless. He could evolve into an effective fourth line player given his skating ability for his size, and really turn into that mucker that players fear. At the end of the day, let’s see how this goes as Morin is making a move to save his NHL career, not just with the Flyers. He needs playing time, and this is the only way he can get it.
