Phantoms defenseman Sam Morin will have knee surgery and miss the remainder of the Calder Cup playoffs.
Samuel Morin’s season is over and he will have knee surgery. Tough break for the 6-7 D-man who has had a series of injuries this season. #Flyers
— Sam Carchidi (@BroadStBull) May 16, 2018
It’s yet another setback in what has become a lost season for the Flyers’ 2013 first round pick. The 22-year-old played in just 15 games during the regular season in Lehigh Valley, scoring once and adding six assists to go along with 26 penalty minutes. He did not record any points in three games during the Calder Cup playoffs.
Morin suffered the injury in the first period of what became the Phantoms’ epic five OT thriller against Charlotte back on May 9th, the longest game in the AHL’s 82-year history.
The 6-foot-7 defenseman battled through a slew of injuries after playing in 74 and 76 games in his first two full AHL seasons. He returned to the lineup on May 5th for the first time since January 20th to help aid the Phantoms’ Calder push, but that lasted all of a few games. That was the theme for Morin this season as it was just one nagging injury after another, though his most recent appears to be of the more serious nature given surgery.
No details on the specifics of his knee surgery or whether he has MCL or ACL issue. But if it is similar to Stolarz and Gostisbehere type knee injuries than Morin might not even be ready for preseason in September.
— Bob Rotruck (@BobRotruck) May 16, 2018
Morin did crack the Flyers’ lineup for the second-straight year, filling in for injuries back in November for a back-to-back against the Islanders. He did not record a point, but did average 15:49 of ice-time as the Flyers were besieged by early season injuries on the blue line.
It’s a shame that injuries essentially wiped out the 2017-18 season for Morin as the Flyers appeared to finally be ready to give him a crack at NHL minutes if he able to stay healthy. Given the Flyers’ depth in the pipeline on defense, it would have been nice to get a good look at what they may or may not have in Morin (especially to help on the penalty kill, if anything), but that simply wasn’t the case.
He’ll be a restricted free agent this offseason and will likely be back in the fold with a chance to re-establish himself next season unless anything drastic happens.
The Phantoms continue their push for the Calder Cup on Saturday when they travel to face the Toronto Marlies for a 4pm puck drop in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals.
