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Quick Hits: Morin, Kapanen and Shero |
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Morin Aims to Remain in Hockey
Speaking from his home in Quebec, Samuel Morin addressed the media on Thursday via a Zoom press conference. He discussed the series of major knee injuries that ultimately forced his recent retirement at age 26. He also talked about his future plans. Morin's goal is to remain in the sport in some capacity, although he hasn't decided yet what path (developmental coaching, behind-the-bench coaching, scouting, etc.) is the right one for him. Morin also took the time to express gratitude not only to his family but also to his Flyers teammates and Flyers fans for all the support he's received. A feature story on Morin will run today on PhiladelphiaFlyers.com.
Flyers Hire Kapanen and Shero
On Thursday, the Flyers officially announced two additions to their Hockey Operations staff: Sami Kapanen has been hired as a player development coach and pro-level scout in Europe, while Kyle Shero has been hired as an amateur scout with a focus on high school and college players in New England.
Kapanen, of course, was a very popular player among teammates and fans alike during his playing days with the Flyers (and, before that, with the Hartford Whalers/Carolina Hurricanes). He moved on to the management and coaching side of the game and, as majority owner and periodic general manager of Finnish Liga team KalPa Kuopio, rescued the team from impending oblivion. His friends and former Philadelphia teammates Kimmo Timonen and Scott Hartnell purchased small minority-share interests. The club built a contender for a number of years including a trip to the 2017 Liga championship finals after a 37-13-10 regular season.
In 2020, after a head coaching stint with Swiss National League team HC Lugano, Kapanen sold his stake in KalPa and focused on a dual career as a player agent and Finnish national TV hockey commentator. With the past year, he decided to close his agency and get more directly involved again on the competitive side by working for a team.
Now that he's wrapping up his broadcasting obligations, Kapanen has taken a step back into working with an NHL club. He loved his years with the Flyers organization -- in fact, shortly after his NHL retirement, he wrote to me in an email that he'd miss being part of the Flyers and would always remember his years here fondly. It took 15 years but now he's back.
One of Kapanen's immediate projects: He'll work on trying to aid 2021 second-round pick Samu Tuomaala in his development. Tuomaala is an intriguing bundle of raw skill and blazing speed but the 19-year-old winger has a lot of maturing to do both as a hockey player and young professional.
The 23-year-old Shero is the son of longtime NHL general manager Ray Shero and the grandson of the late Fred Shero; the legendarily innovative and offbeat coach who led the Flyers to back-to-back Stanley Cup championships and who was one of the North American hockey community's first -- and strongest -- advocates for studying Soviet hockey and NHL teams drafting European talent.
Fred Shero passed away in 1990. Kyle, who was born on 1998, never got to meet his grandfather but is humbled and amazed by the legacy he left in the game. Kyle Shero recently graduated from Connecticut College (where he played hockey all four years) with a BA in economics. Last year, he served as a hockey operations intern for the NHL's Columbus Blue Jackets. He's also done some youth hockey coaching.
With the departure last summer of Nick Pryor (who left the Flyers organization to join his father. Pittsburgh Penguins assistant general manager Chris Pryor as the director of amateur scouting on Ron Hextall's staff), the Flyers had a need to supplement their U.S.-based amateur scouting resources. Nick scouted throughout the high school/prep school, USHL, NAHL and NCAA ranks across the country. For starters, Kyle Shero will focus on the New England region, with which he's already well-versed.
Kyle Shero was actually hired by the Flyers back in March, but the official announcement was not made until this week. Reached yesterday, he expressed his excitement to be part of an organization that has meant so much to his family and for the opportunity to take an important step in his promising scouting career. It's not fair to judge him by the standards of his Hall of Fame grandfather or Stanley Cup winning GM dad but, by all accounts, Kyle is a very bright young man with both passion for the game and a strong competitive drive.
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • 
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