Prospect Info: #40OA - Hurricanes select RHD Scott Morrow

[Nikishin Go Boom]

I don't know anything about this guy, but thought the general sentiment was that he was pretty raw and would take some time before getting a shot at the NHL. Was that sentiment wrong? Or has he made large strides in a short period of time? Or is it still the case?

UMASS did a great job with Makar. Im not sure Morrow is polished enough for the league. Seeing how we like our prospects to be ready, Im not sure he is a one and done candidate. We didn’t expect Jarvis to be this defensively ready, so who knows.

 

[MinJaBen]

I don't know anything about this guy, but thought the general sentiment was that he was pretty raw and would take some time before getting a shot at the NHL. Was that sentiment wrong? Or has he made large strides in a short period of time? Or is it still the case?

I thought the issue was that he looked great against high school kids, but nobody was sure how that would translate to play against better competition.

 

[Nikishin Go Boom]

I thought the issue was that he looked great against high school kids, but nobody was sure how that would translate to play against better competition.

That was the reason he wasn’t considered a first rounder. If he had went the more traditional USHL route and scored that much, he would have been a 1st rounder. His scouting report did say he was very offensive leaning and needed more work defensively

dobber prospects liked his defense and rated him highest at 22.

other scouting places had him around 40, citing defensive issues

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

I thought the issue was that he looked great against high school kids, but nobody was sure how that would translate to play against better competition.

I was just going off comments like these below, as I don't know squat about the guy. The posters I quoted below follow these guys a LOT more than I do.

6'2 RHD from Shattuck St Mary's

Still a bit of a work in progress defensively but his size, skating, and offensive ability combination brings a pretty high upside package. Will play for UMass next season.

First, this guy was an unbelievable prep school player. So ridiculous, in fact, that he frequently looked like a man vs. a pee-wee team in games. His offensive skills are amazing, he's a great skater, and is one of the best players in the draft at "walking the line", per se. His defensive game is pretty raw, yes, but that offense is going to take him a long ways

V
I think my biggest concern is that if it takes three years for him to find his stride, which wouldn’t be weird he’ll start being a concern to get signed.

I’d be surprised if he gets well rounded enough to get signed this year or next.

I mean, my expectation is that Morrow is a 3 year NCAA project, just like Fox was..

 

[Canes]

I don't know anything about this guy, but thought the general sentiment was that he was pretty raw and would take some time before getting a shot at the NHL. Was that sentiment wrong? Or has he made large strides in a short period of time? Or is it still the case?

I think it's more that none of us actually know anything about the developmental process. I would have said the same thing as you 10+ years ago with Faulk. We just don't know. But his trajectory is literally very similar to Faulk's at this point, other than winning a national title but there's still a ways to go for that.

 

[Chrispy]

I don't know anything about this guy, but thought the general sentiment was that he was pretty raw and would take some time before getting a shot at the NHL. Was that sentiment wrong? Or has he made large strides in a short period of time? Or is it still the case?

I think some of this is basing scouting reports on live scouting from early in his junior year. Season shut down due to Covid and doubtful anyone saw him in person his senior year. He did get to play and develop some in 2020-21, but how much was it factored into the scouting report?

I expect we will see this a lot with the 2020 and 2021 prospects. It's hard to gauge how prospects are progressing based upon video of HS games.

 

[bleedgreen]

I think some of this is basing scouting reports on live scouting from early in his junior year. Season shut down due to Covid and doubtful anyone saw him in person his senior year. He did get to play and develop some in 2020-21, but how much was it factored into the scouting report?

I expect we will see this a lot with the 2020 and 2021 prospects. It's hard to gauge how prospects are progressing based upon video of HS games.

Yup, the only useful video I had seen was a high school game where he looked a foot taller than everyone else so he was physically dominant, and because it wasn’t good competition he was dangling in places he can never dangle. Taking on multiple guys one on one and barely beating them and losing the puck a few times. Waiting until he had run out of options before even looking for teammates. Very immature game for a top prospect, which we would probably see more often if we ever saw these kids play at lower levels like that. Left a questionable impression. It’s obvious he has skills but seeing him actually perform against his peers when he has to make the right decisions is a different animal.

To me the big issue with comparing him to someone like Makar is the skating. They just are different players with different strides. Morrow is much more upright skater like an E Johnson or Dougie. The speed and skating just isn’t comparable. He won’t be skating himself out of trouble like Makar can.

 

[hblueridgegal]

Good for him!

 

[Vagrant]

i keep thinking i have come into this thread to update my report on him from the first page and haven't done it because that post was pretty comprehensive, but what he's doing as a freshman is jaw dropping and i think it's safe to say that we probably got a top 15 talent in the early 2nd round now that his QOC questions have been quelled a bit and the covid cloud is being lifted from a lot of these more mysterious picks. i don't think anyone in the bottom half of the first round could convince their GM to give this kid a look because the body of work wasn't there and he was hard to find. you don't want to miss as badly as morrow could have missed as a 1st round pick, especially when the majority of what you've seen is tape. the transition at Umass has been seamless. it would be a mistake to keep him there more than 2 years, but i would understand allowing him to play through his sophomore season and taking a big leadership role internationally next season. if he shows out like he can at the wjc, we might not even wait until then. we need to make some decisions back there next season with all the depth we've built up that might be hard to take, but some of these defenders that are a bit further down the road like keane, sellgren, lajoie, fensore and even honka and some of the euros might be deadline bait for us. morrow and seeley (who is another who has two-fold increased his draft standing and will play for team canada) have given us some flexibility regarding what to do with the rest of those players.

 

[AhosDatsyukian]

Please just tell me he'll be better than Adam Fox and he'll sign with the Canes. That's all I want, I don't ask for much.

 

[Nikishin Go Boom]

Scott Morrow starting to make a name for himself in the UMass lineup


Head coach Greg Carvel spoke early in the season about Morrow being a good offensive defenseman but needing to be more defensive when he does not have the puck. As the season has come along, Morrow has started to develop with the fast pace of HEA play.
“He has a very good hockey IQ,” Carvel said. “He sees all of it. He knows exactly where he needs to be better. He’s doing a good job, he’s just got to move his feet, he’s got to just get experience in different situations.”
Though Morrow has started to thrive with the pace of college hockey, he is looking to get better and up his game even more. Carvel and Morrow have started to watch film together to see in what areas he can improve and where his talents are most beneficial within the squad.
Morrow played for Shattuck St. Mary’s in Faribault, Minnesota, where the level of competition was very different compared to college hockey. The young defenseman learned how to have his offensive upside from Shattuck but lacked his defensive capability due to said level of hockey. In an interview after UMass’ game against Providence, Morrow put an emphasis on noticing the difference of the competitiveness of HEA play during and after games.
“He’s a really smart player,” Carvel said. “He’s coming along very quickly. His offensive game is coming along very quickly as well. He’s a pleasure to coach. He’s a very gifted player.

 

[emptyNedder]

but i would understand allowing him to play through his sophomore season and taking a big leadership role internationally next season.

Morrow is a 2002 (11/1 bday), so this is it for him at WJC.

 

[spockBokk]

Does look a bit like Hamilton here:

 

[CandyCanes]

Does look a bit like Hamilton here:

Kinda does. Has that lil hesitation snap shot that Hamilton was so good at

 

[AhosDatsyukian]

Thought about going to that game tonight but couldn’t pull it. Planning to go watch Morrow pick on Merrimack next week

 

[AD Skinner]

Merrimack's mother's making Merrimack marry Morrow

 

[Lempo]

Merrimack's mother's making Merrimack marry Morrow

 

[Unsustainable]

I think you extend TDA till he’s ready to make the team

 

[spockBokk]

Meanwhile…

 

[Nikishin Go Boom]

Morrow might be a steal at this point. Even Dobber who rated him the highest at 22 might have been wrong

 

[AhosDatsyukian]

Soon to be the best #23 in the NHL

 

[Nikishin Go Boom]

Soon to be the best #23 in the NHL

Michal Jordan coming back?

 

[Vagrant]

really controlling the pace of play on both of those powerplay goals. that's just a low pulse in the offensive zone. the hesitation snapshot on the first goal was pretty. he felt like he had enough time to settle that puck and the pause in rhythm froze the penalty kill and his defender gave him a clean look by blocking the shot that didn't come. that's great on ice awareness to know you have more time. the second goal is a set play interchange between the point men. fake the drop pass and round the corner as quickly as possible to freeze the brain of that high forward. when morrow felt his defender on his back he knew to go straight to the net. he didn't settle on his chance either. some guys panic there and shoot. it's not a bad play, but the better play is taking as much ice as they give you until you see something open up. very patient play. that poise is what makes me a believer. making so many correct choices in a row at high speed.

 

[hblueridgegal]

Making waves

 

[Tryamw]

Making waves

As Hurricanes are want to do