The Philadelphia Flyers are coming off a pretty decent road trip out west. They managed to go 2-1 in the triangle of death that included stops in San Jose, Los Angeles, and Anaheim. Yes, the orange and black are coming off flukey loss to the Nashville Predators 6-5 last night, but they are off to a solid 2-2 start.
Young Flyers defenseman Travis Sanheim made his NHL debut last Thursday night against the Los Angeles Kings. It was a rocky start through the first two periods in his NHL debut, but he put together a really solid third period. It was enough for him to get the starts against the Anaheim Ducks, and the Predators. Overall, Sanheim has looked pretty solid on a pairing with Radko Gudas. He will make mistakes, but Sanheim will only get better over time. While he was playing the field of his dreams, another young defenseman Samuel Morin watched from the press box.
Morin entered training camp coming off a solid season for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. In 2016-17, he registered 3 goals, 13 assists, and was a plus/minus 0. After a fantastic training camp and solid pre-season, Morin has been sent down today to the Phantoms. His numbers this pre-season were 1 goal, 2 assists, and was a minus 1 in 5 games played.
The young jolly green giant, all his 6’6″ frame, Morin was drafted 11th overall by the Flyers in the 2013 NHL Draft. He was hoping to make the big club right out of camp. Unfortunately, the orange and black are loaded at the defensive position. Brandon Manning is currently serving as the team’s seventh defenseman at the moment. If there is an injury to a defenseman, one could bank on Morin being called up to the big club.
Fortunately, the Flyers did get one move right with Sanheim making the roster fulltime. Morin’s one area of weakness is his puck handling skills, but he is by no means disregarded by the Flyers organization. He will get his shot sooner rather than later. One thing is certain Flyers fans, the future is bright in Flyer land.
Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
