Since arriving in the Port City in a trade with the Val-d'Or Foreurs, the 19-year-old has been solid in three games with the Sea Dogs, registering a plus-3. The rugged rearguard from Cole Harbour, N.S., has also set a good example in the gym.
"He stays after practice and does extra work and looks after himself,'' Sea Dogs associate coach and hockey operations director Mike Kelly said. "Those are the types of people you want to have around your 17-year-old kids to help show them what it takes.''
Morin, who's 6-feet and 191 pounds, has dished out his share of hits since his first game with Saint John, a 5-4 road win over the Acadie-Bathurst Titan on Dec. 27.
"That's always been my style of game - hitting as much as I can and just trying to make a good first pass and keep it simple,'' Morin said after a recent practice at Harbour Station. "In the first few games, I wanted to make a good impression and I put myself out of position a few times (while making hits), but I've settled down in the last few days and I feel comfortable now. We have a lot of offensively-skilled defencemen and I'm going to hang back a bit and play a little bit more defensive.''
Morin, who was acquired on Dec. 19 for fellow 19-year-old defenceman Benjamin Lecomte, offers more than a physical presence.
"I think he'll always have that grit and sandpaper to his game, but I think he'll settle into the way we play the game,'' Kelly said. "We're a pretty good puck-moving group back there and we think he's going to be a big part of it.
"He's proven he can be a really good penalty-killer for us, too, and that's what we're looking for - a guy who's courageous and wants to block shots. That's not an easy thing to do, it takes a lot of courage for a guy to do that, and he's got that makeup.''
Morin also offers experience, a valuable commodity for a team with championship aspirations. He appeared in 60 games last year for Val-d'Or, tallying six goals and 18 points along with 84 penalty minutes. Morin split the previous campaign between Val-d'Or and the Halifax Wolverines of the Maritime Junior A Hockey League. In 25 games with the Foreurs this season, he notched nine points while posting a plus-4.
"There's a change of culture I see from Val-d'Or - where it was a lot less intense - to coming here where every game is important,'' Morin said. "We want to be the best team at the end of the season, so every game is a battle.''
Morin's time with Val-d'Or saw him skate with Marco Scandella, a 19-year-old defenceman who played for Team Canada at this year's world juniors.
"We are good buddies and I'm glad he's having success,'' Morin said of the Minnesota Wild prospect. "He has good leadership (abilities) and he's just a good team player. He's very intense on the ice and a great all-around defenceman.''
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