The Philadelphia Flyers have several promising young defenseman expected to push for full-time roles on the team next season. One of them however has a long summer ahead of him just to get healthy enough to contribute. Sam Carchidi of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports that Samuel Morin’s season is over due to a knee injury that will require surgery. Carchidi adds on Twitter that it is unknown whether Morin will be ready for training camp in September.
Morin lost nearly the entire season to injury this year, dealing with an apparent groin injury for several months. According to Carchidi, he sustained the knee in the Phantoms’ recent five-overtime marathon game against the Charlotte Checkers. That’s a tough blow for the huge defender who suited up just twice for the Flyers this season, but was still expected to compete for a role next season.
Selected 11th-overall in 2013, the 22-year old Morin is considered to have the entire package on defense and should be a capable player for the Flyers down the road. A good first pass, size and solid skating ability makes him an asset at both ends of the rink, and his nasty streak and physical play remind many of the previous generation of NHL defenders. That said, he’ll have to get healthy and show that this injury-plagued season wasn’t a trend in his career before taking over as a full-time player on Philadelphia’s blue line.