SUNDAY FEATURE: Sam Morin's Long Road To Recovery From Two ACL Injuries

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ALLENTOWN, Pa. - There were times after his second ACL tear that Sam Morin thought about quitting.

"I was like man, my body just can't do it anymore."

After completing the rehab from his first ACL tear, which he sustained in the beginning of a 5-OT 2018 Calder Cup Playoffs game on May 9th, 2018, re-injuring the same knee in his third game back with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms back in November 6th, 2019 devastated the seemingly always upbeat Morin.

"They know how hard I worked and how passionate I am about the game. I think it was as hard for them as it was for me," Morin said, referring to not only his family, his agent and his friends, but the entire Flyers organization from Bob Clarke, Chuck Fletcher and Paul Holmgren on down.

But, Morin said he accepted the fact life is not always fair. He was determined to work his way out of it, and kept grinding - going through the rehab and recovery process all over again for the second time.

"I was probably 12 years old when I told my dad in the car after a game, I was like 'Dad, I'm going to play in the NHL. I'm going to be a hockey player,' said Morin, referring back to his childhood hockey playing days and replaying a memorable conversation. "It's the only thing I think about. I just have the passion still, and the fire, and I want to get going and play hockey again."

That passion for the game, along with the endless support from his parents, family and his hockey family, helped Morin during the bumps on the road along the way to his return to the ice this season. Morin was especially appreciative of his parents support through everything.

"There were some really tough times sometimes but every time there was a tough moment I called them and they're so good with me. I'm so grateful," Morin said after Thursday's preseason game against the Penguins, explaining his parents are back home in Canada. "I'm sure they can't wait to come see me live, like it's been a long time. They're pretty excited for me," he added.

After getting in a game in the NHL with the Flyers on January 30 against the New York Islanders, Morin was reassigned to the Flyers' AHL affiliate Lehigh Valley Phantoms prior to their preseason game against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on Thursday night.

Now that he's switched from defense to the forward position, combined with the AHL's return to play it gave Morin, who already cleared waivers on January 12, an opportunity to get into some game action and work his way back into game-shape.

"I need to play games and find my rhythm as a forward," Morin explained. "I had a rhythm as a D-man, I knew where to go position-wise. I need to play games, it's really good for me. And trusting my knee too."

While Morin is learning a new position, he doesn't see his role changing much from what he provided while playing on the blue line.

"I think as a D-man I was always a big physical guy, a physical presence, so I need to be the same thing as a forward. I love forechecking those D-men, it's pretty fun."

While the AHL doesn't officially track hits, there was no doubting Morin's love for skating in as the first man on the forecheck and checking a defenseman into the boards on a puck retrieval.

Morin said Flyers coach Alain Vigneault talked him in the fall and asked if he was willing to change position to go to forward.

"If you look at the lineup up there there's not a lot of physical guys. We have a lot of skill, which is awesome, but some games sometimes and in playoffs you need to [be able to] insert the physical game," Morin said earlier this week of his conversations with AV. "It's still part of the game. It's something I'm good at. I'm a pretty good skater. I know I'm pretty mean. I'm willing to fight anyone. Obviously it didn't happen yet, because there's not really a lot of guys willing to do it. It's just my role right now, and I need to do it."

Big Sam did drop his gloves in the Phantoms' regular season opener Saturday, in the third period against Hershey Bears enforcer Kale Kessy, but nothing really came of it as the two spent most of the bout holding onto each other and spinning around in circles jostling for position.

While he was happy to be in the NHL and on the taxi squad, where he said he was recently practicing with and learning from Flyers forward Sean Couturier on some tricks of the trade of being a forward, he knows he needs to play games in the AHL if he wants to get his footing back under him at a new position and make a return to the NHL on a full-time basis.

"I mean, these [last] two years have been really hard for me. If you think about it a year ago, I was still on crutches trying to figure it out. And working really hard in the gym alone. By myself. All the rehab stuff, it's pretty hard on your head. But man, it's so worth it. Just being back with the boys here, I just love the game so much. I just love it. I just want to keep going. I think the more games I play the better I am going to be. I'm just so grateful to be here, and just to play hockey again. This is really what I love and what I want to keep doing."

Morin says there is still plenty of work to do. But, when you like what you're doing and take the cliché step-by-step approach, and combine it with a hard working mentality, it can be done.

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