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

[Anton Dubinchuk]

You think it's too early to start comparing him to Makar?

I think it’s too late, frankly. He’s probably already better, given the comments from the coach.

 

[Navin R Slavin]

I think it’s too late, frankly. He’s probably already better, given the comments from the coach.

This is where we describe the semantic difference between "better than" and "as good as".

 

[Anton Dubinchuk]

This is where we describe the semantic difference between "better than" and "as good as".

I mean he doesn’t want to put that level of pressure on the kid, I get it. But we can all read between the lines to know what he was going for there.

 

[CandyCanes]

The real question is he gonna be a first ballot hall of famer or 2nd ballot?

 

[Nikishin Go Boom]

The real question is he gonna be a first ballot hall of famer or 2nd ballot?

If he is a Hurricane lifer, 3rd ballot if at all

 

[Svechhammer]

If he is a Hurricane lifer, 3rd ballot if at all

Wouldn't he need to become beloved in Philly before being a Hurricane lifer in order to follow that same trajectory?

 

[Nikishin Go Boom]

Wouldn't he need to become beloved in Philly before being a Hurricane lifer in order to follow that same trajectory?

does becoming beloved in the UMASS market count?

 

[tarheelhockey]

I mean he doesn’t want to put that level of pressure on the kid, I get it. But we can all read between the lines to know what he was going for there.

Insider sources say the coach was just being nice because he didn't want to come right out and say something too negative about a young guy like Makar.

 

[Svechhammer]

Alright, so throw this kid on the pile of quality prospects we have. Imagine if both he and Nikishin pan out... lol the league would hate us.

 

[CandyCanes]

So we’ll be seeing plays like this from Morrow when he’s in the NHL

 

[AhosDatsyukian]

Alright, so throw this kid on the pile of quality prospects we have. Imagine if both he and Nikishin pan out... lol the league would hate us.

Our D prospect pool was looking a bit thin but yeah Nikishin, Morrow and Seeley have been looking phenomenal lately. I can easily see a top 4 of Slavin, Morrow, Nikishin/Seeley and Pesce in a few years, after a TDA bridge deal ends and Skjei's contract ends.

 

[Svechhammer]

Our D prospect pool was looking a bit thin but yeah Nikishin, Morrow and Seeley have been looking phenomenal lately. I can easily see a top 4 of Slavin, Morrow, Nikishin/Seeley and Pesce in a few years, after a TDA bridge deal ends and Skjei's contract ends.

If our prospects pan out, (big if) we are absolutely stacked on defense for the foreseeable future. I have to think we'll do what we can to try and get TDA resigned, and I would have to think there will be mutual interest to get something done given we gave him a chance when literally nobody else would. Skjei is quietly turning into a very solid 2nd line defenseman, and Bear is showing a bunch of promise. Consider we also have guys like Chatfield and Keane who will be ready next year....

As much as we talk about being in a position to really do whatever we want with our forwards going forward given the prospects we have and guys who will be coming due for contracts, we very well could be looking at the same situation on defense in the next couple years.

Have to wonder, will there be a point where we try to package some of these assets and swing big in a trade, or do we just ride this out and let the cream rise?

 

[AhosDatsyukian]

If our prospects pan out, (big if) we are absolutely stacked on defense for the foreseeable future. I have to think we'll do what we can to try and get TDA resigned, and I would have to think there will be mutual interest to get something done given we gave him a chance when literally nobody else would. Skjei is quietly turning into a very solid 2nd line defenseman, and Bear is showing a bunch of promise. Consider we also have guys like Chatfield and Keane who will be ready next year....

As much as we talk about being in a position to really do whatever we want with our forwards going forward given the prospects we have and guys who will be coming due for contracts, we very well could be looking at the same situation on defense in the next couple years.

Have to wonder, will there be a point where we try to package some of these assets and swing big in a trade, or do we just ride this out and let the cream rise?

We have more than enough assets to swing a big trade and still have a deep team if we want to although I personally would much rather just keep doing what we've been doing. Get involved in trades where we think we can get incredible value for distressed assets like Nino, Tro, Skjei to some degree, etc. Use the pipeline to keep our depth as we pay our core players like Necas, Aho, Slavin, Pesce, maybe TT, etc.

 

[Discipline Daddy]

I think Scott Morrow could be an offensive stud in the NHL, but I deeeefinitely don't see a Cale Makar in there. Cale's skating is outrageously good, like Slavin's brain in Necas's body good. Scott looked 28 times clunkier in that short video, and Cale is an elite offensive defenseman. I'd say right now my expectation is that Scott Morrow is a player who can at least run a power play and play regular D minutes. I'll be thrilled if he is anything more than that, but I do think his ceiling could be top pair if everything goes right for him.

 

[spockBokk]

I think Scott Morrow could be an offensive stud in the NHL, but I deeeefinitely don't see a Cale Makar in there. Cale's skating is outrageously good, like Slavin's brain in Necas's body good. Scott looked 28 times clunkier in that short video, and Cale is an elite offensive defenseman. I'd say right now my expectation is that Scott Morrow is a player who can at least run a power play and play regular D minutes. I'll be thrilled if he is anything more than that, but I do think his ceiling could be top pair if everything goes right for him.

When I think of Scott Morrow’s future, I think Justin Faulk, which would be friggin great. A top 4 RD out of a 2nd round pick is a home run.

 

[bleedgreen]

I think a Faulk level player is a much more realistic hope of this guys ceiling. I think he has better hands and overall better lateral movement with the puck than Faulk but he’s not close to Faulk at that age defensively yet. He reminds me skating wise more of a younger Dougie with his more upright stance. He’s a good prospect, as you’d expect a second rounder to be. We have some pretty over the top expectations of many of our prospects right now, borderline Boychuk/Dalpe/Bowman level. I think the best actual news is that we’re likely to see a handful of these guys at least at the AHL level, which is a measure of effective drafting if/when it happens.

 

[Chrispy]

I think a Faulk level player is a much more realistic hope of this guys ceiling. I think he has better hands and overall better lateral movement with the puck than Faulk but he’s not close to Faulk at that age defensively yet. He reminds me skating wise more of a younger Dougie with his more upright stance. He’s a good prospect, as you’d expect a second rounder to be. We have some pretty over the top expectations of many of our prospects right now, borderline Boychuk/Dalpe/Bowman level. I think the best actual news is that we’re likely to see a handful of these guys at least at the AHL level, which is a measure of effective drafting if/when it happens.

To be fair, I think many people are simply excited to have highlights that are less than 2 years old of any prospect at this point.

 

[TheReelChuckFletcher]

I think a Faulk level player is a much more realistic hope of this guys ceiling. I think he has better hands and overall better lateral movement with the puck than Faulk but he’s not close to Faulk at that age defensively yet. He reminds me skating wise more of a younger Dougie with his more upright stance. He’s a good prospect, as you’d expect a second rounder to be. We have some pretty over the top expectations of many of our prospects right now, borderline Boychuk/Dalpe/Bowman level. I think the best actual news is that we’re likely to see a handful of these guys at least at the AHL level, which is a measure of effective drafting if/when it happens.

There's one big caveat to the Boychuk/Dalpe/Bowman comparison: we NEEDED those prospects to pan out to get out of the hole, because we stunk. Them not working out was a big reason why we stunk for a whole decade and not just a few seasons. Guys like Scott Morrow, OTOH, are basically gravy on top of an already-great team and super-deep farm system.

 

[Canes]

I think Scott Morrow could be an offensive stud in the NHL, but I deeeefinitely don't see a Cale Makar in there. Cale's skating is outrageously good, like Slavin's brain in Necas's body good. Scott looked 28 times clunkier in that short video, and Cale is an elite offensive defenseman. I'd say right now my expectation is that Scott Morrow is a player who can at least run a power play and play regular D minutes. I'll be thrilled if he is anything more than that, but I do think his ceiling could be top pair if everything goes right for him.

I don't see a Cale Makar either. I see a John Carlson.

 

[Raleighpig]

Morrow's UMass play Michigan today (Saturday) at 5pm. Big game with a lot of top prospects. It is being shown on the Big10 network for those interested.

 

[Breakers]

Don't look too much into today's stat sheet

first goal: He literally wasnt on the ice, you can see him on the bench, but he gets tallied with a minus
-
2nd goal: His partner Ty Farmer who is a scrub turns it over then falls, with a 3 on 1 against Beniers, Johnson, and Brisson literally the best line in college hockey.
-
3rd goal: His partner Ty farmer AGAIN turns it over in the neutral then falls down again, and another 3 on 1 against Beniers, Johnson, and Brisson
-
4th goal is an empty netter which is like what are you suppose to do when, he pinches and levels a guy as a last ditch effort and they are on the PP so not sure why he gets a min.

I thought he played well so the Minus 4 is very deceiving

 

[Breakers]

Today unfortunately is a different story

he doesn't look good, and can be blamed for goals against.

 

[42]

One interesting observation is that Morrow is doing much better in his D+1 year than Makar did in his D+1.
Makar got 21 points in 34 games while Morrow has 33 points in 36 games playing for UMass.

 

[42]

Do we know that he'll be playing at UMass next season for sure?

 

[Vagrant]

Do we know that he'll be playing at UMass next season for sure?

it would be my guess that if he was in the mix for a contract, he would have been offered prior to now to get the experience of this run. my guess is that they're going to kick the can on his ELC and hope that he adapts quickly so they can have him for a year or two at well under value. I think he's that good that you'd need to start thinking that way. the justin faulk comparisons befuddle me a bit. faulk was a fire hydrant. about 6 flat and 200 lbs. with a rocket slapshot and not much by way of lateral mobility or offensive creativity. his lack of elite vision is what limited his offensive upside. it's not a slam dunk by any stretch that morrow is better, but if he's good he'll be good differently than faulk. umass loved to have morrow walk down the wall and give himself the shoot/pass option. gifted player with his skating but the d zone coverage is going to need some work. he'll probably be back at UMass and might even have a less statistically impressive season as he works to round out the risk in his game. faulk made up for a lot of his defensive rawness with being able to get inside the shirts of guys coming up his side of the ice. that extra physicality really helped him but it's not an option for everyone. faulk, for all that is talked about, was very strong in his lower body. morrow will get by on physicality once he understands he has to do it at least some, but he'll be more in the slavin/pesce class of doing it in a defensive posture rather than lining guys up from center ice. he's a player. haven't been as excited about a defense prospect in a while.