On Tuesday, Flyers GM Paul Holmgren spoke briefly on a variety of subjects concerning the early part of training camp, including the upcoming retreat to Lake Placid.
On Sam Morin, his entry-level contract, and if his preseason game on 9/16 vs. WSH sped up the process…
"No…we've been talking…we're not in a rush to get it done, but we've
been talking since before camp started. I think it's important to get it
done, and whatever happens from here on, it's a good little feather for
him, and good for us."
On if Morin has a chance to make the Flyers out of training camp…
"That's a stretch, just because of the numbers we have here. We're
just going to take it a day at a time and see how it goes. He's
obviously playing again tonight, and we'll see how that goes. We were
obviously pretty happy with how he played last night.
He's an intriguing young man."
On comparisons to an impact franchise defenseman, ala Chris Pronger…
"I'd hate to put labels on him like either one of those labels, but
he's an intriguing young man. For a guy that size, I think he gets
around the ice really good. His hands are good; his sense is really
good. We'll just take it a day at a time. Any time
he can spend here is a bonus, to learn from guys, learn what it takes
to be a pro. When the time comes to make our decision, we'll make it."
On if he has seen anything since that draft that he did not know about him before…
"Obviously, you don't really know the kid, what he's made of. He's
obviously a very confident kid. He's pretty sure of himself—not in a bad
way, but in a good way. And he's a hard working kid. He's put the time
in to train properly; he eats properly already.
He weighs 211 pounds—I remember Chris Pronger, when I had him in
Hartford as an 18-year-old, I think he weighed 180 or 185. Sam's already
211 pounds. He's going to continue to get bigger and stronger. Who
knows what he's going to be when he's done growing."
On if he will announce cuts tonight or tomorrow…
"Probably tomorrow."
On how many players he plans to take to Lake Placid…
"We'll probably take 26 to 28, no more than that."
On when the idea of going to Lake Placid first came up…
"We've talked about it for a few years, it just never seemed like the
right time to do it. This year it just worked out with what's going on
at the Skate Zone, the renovation, and the way that training camp broke.
Obviously, with the split squad yesterday,
we killed two games in one day. It makes it easier to plan what we have
going this year. It kind of just worked out—the game that we had last
night at home was originally (scheduled) for Thursday, but we didn't
want to go up against the Eagles, so they moved
it to Monday. I wouldn't mind moving two of those games next year, to
play two doubleheaders with two split squads.
On if anyone has ever done two doubleheaders before…
"We had talked about it, but we couldn't get anybody that really
wanted to do it in the East. A lot of the teams in the West had done it
for the last few years. It gives everybody an opportunity—it forces you
to put kids in your lineup, and everybody gets
an opportunity to play."
On how important the team building activity in Lake Placid is…
"I think it's good. Peter and the coaches have some interesting
things planned for the players up there. They'll not only put them
through the paces on the ice, but some off-ice stuff they can do, which
is very important as you prepare for an 82-game season,
and hopefully playoffs. I think it's going to be good for us."
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