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Morin Sent to Phantoms, Prospect Updates and More |
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MELTZER'S MUSINGS: FLYERS LOAN MORIN TO PHANTOMS
As expected after he did not get into the lineup during the four-game road trip that opened the season, the Flyers have sent defenseman Sam Morin to the AHL's Lehigh Valley Phantoms. The 22-year-old has come a long way in two pro seasons and had a strong training camp.
It is inevitable that there will be a multi-game injury on the big team's blueline at some point, and Morin will get his chance. If the opening is on left defense, Morin (who exclusively plays the left side) could be recalled to fill that spot. If it is to a right defenseman, the Flyers could have one of their current left defensemen who are comfortable playing on either side move over.
Among the Flyers' current starting six, Ivan Provorov solely plays the left side. Radko Gudas only plays the right side. The rest are comfortable playing either side; for example, with the current pairing of Shayne Gostsisbehere and Robert Hägg, there was some experimentation with both different looks at practice before Gostibehere (who played the right side at 5-on-5 for much of his first two NHL seasons) was assigned to the left side of the pairing.
There was apparently an internal feeling among the Flyers' decision-makers that fourth-year pro Hägg was more consistent day-in and day-out at camp with his positional play and first-pass execution than Morin. Second-year pro Travis Sanheim's speed and puck skills got him slotted above Morin at the end of camp. That did not mean the Flyers were not impressed by Morin's play in its own right.
Accept or reject the rationale, but that's the crux of what I was told was the reasoning behind why Hägg made the team outright and why Sanheim at least temporarily slotted above Morin despite having spent one less year in the AHL. However, it is still a fluid evaluation. The pecking order could still change over the course of this season and there are no sacred cows among the veterans. Only second-year NHLer Provorov is an absolute lock in his spot.
From my vantage point, I thought Morin had a couple downright dominant games physically during camp, with the added boon of scoring a goal and adding a nice shorthanded assist. He looked NHL-ready to me. Sanheim struggled early but from the split-squad game in Allentown through front end of the home-and-home set with the Rangers, he was dominant at both ends of the ice. In his final preseason outing at home against Boston, Sanheim didn't join the attack as much as he did in previous games but still played a solid overall defensive game. Overall, Sanheim's "A-game" was the highest of the three young defensemen when all factors were considered and his "B game" was still clearly NHL caliber. In the meantime, Hägg played the sort of structured and nuanced game defensively (while still getting the puck efficiently to the forwards) that tends to be overlooked by fans but preferred by many coaches.
I understand why the Flyers don't want to have all three rookies in the starting lineup at this stage of the regular season. As it is now, four of the six players who started the last three games presently have less than 150 games of NHL experience. I also understand why the Flyers would prefer not to have a pairing of Morin with Radko Gudas (too similar in style).
Provorov, Gostisbehere and Sanheim currently occupying the three left defense spots. Sanheim has had a hiccup here and there even over the last two games but, overall, is settling in very nicely after looking nervous and overcautious in the first two periods of his NHL debut. It goes without saying that Provorov is entrenched as the Flyers' number one defenseman. Gostisbehere is off to a strong start and is logging a lot of ice time. His partner, Hägg, did not have his best game in Nashville but had been strong in the first three games (especially in the game in Los Angeles).
Gudas has had an up-and-down first four games but has often been a bit of a slow starter in his Flyers career to date and then gone on to have effective seasons. He's built up enough of
a body of work that he isn't imminently going to be scratched.
Andrew MacDonald is not an ideal first-pairing defenseman in the NHL. His lineup spot was not in serious jeopardy coming in to camp. MacDonald has played pretty well so far over the first four games of the season. Long term, however, he still is -- or should be, because his limitations and strengths as a defenseman aren't going to magically transform at age 31 -- a candidate to be moved down in the lineup. At some point, it is possible that Hägg could move up to be tried as the complementary piece to Provorov.
Contrary to popular belief, MacDonald is not a sacred cow despite being the incumbent and now being one of the alternate captains selected by his teammates. Incumbent veterans tend to get longer leashes if they struggle for awhile, but it is not endless leeway. Even last season, there were a couple games where MacDonald was a healthy scratch. Lest we forget, he spent most of the 2015-16 season in the AHL during Hakstol's first year behind the Flyers' bench. This season, he played well on the opening road trip; better in his assigned role than Gudas was in his. But that is simply a four-game sample.
Brandon Manning started on opening night and struggled. Right now, he is the Flyers' seventh defenseman, which is probably his ideal role in the NHL (although he is also passable as a sixth defenseman if there's a strong enough top five). He's a player who can fill a spot for a stretch of games. A season ago, Manning actually got off to a very fast start through the first 10 games or so, then leveled off.
Manning was not, and still is not, Morin's main competition. Morin was and still is competing with Hägg and Sanheim for one of two spots and is also currently blocked by Gudas' presence to some degree since there appear to be early-season parameters of neither pairing two rookies nor putting Morin with Gudas. Eventually, there figures to be further reshaping of the blueline with additional influx of youth. Right now, Morin is back to waiting in the wings for his chance; no more and no less.
That is the present. Things in hockey have a way of changing suddenly. Morin will still likely get his NHL opportunity at some point in the near future, and it will be up to him to run with it. No doubt he is extremely disappointed to be going back to the AHL without getting into a game. If he handles it with his usual positive attitude, there's no reason why he can't springboard himself into the Flyers' starting lineup as the story of the 2017-18 season unfolds.
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QUICK HITS: OCTOBER 12, 2017
1) The Flyers return to practice today at the Skate Zone in Voorhees. Players are scheduled to take to the ice by 10:30 a.m.
2) The Flyers did not recall a forward from the Phantoms after sending down defenseman Morin. With the team beginning a five-game homestand on Saturday, there is no logistical need for an extra body. Barring an injury, the Flyers are not likely to recall a player such as veteran Matt Read until they depart for a two-game trip to play in Ottawa and Toronto later this month. If there is a forward injury during the homestand, the Flyers will insert Jori Lehterä (who can either play center or wing) into the lineup and call up a 13th forward for insurance. If a defenseman goes down with something not requiring IR, Manning will get back in the lineup. A longer-term absence could mean that Morin gets his chance sooner rather than later.
3) OHL: Flyers 2017 first-round pick Morgan Frost posted his first three-point game of the young season. He tallied his second goal and first power play tally of the season (the first goal was on a penalty shot after a shorthanded breakaway) of the season and added a pair of helpers as the Soo Greyhounds doubled up the Saginaw Spirit, 6-3, on Wednesday night. Frost, who was plus-two at even strength and earned second-star honors, had been in a bit of a drought after a great opening weekend to the season. He now has eight points through eight games.
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • 
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