Patrick Williams, TheAHL.com Features Writer
Scott Morrow had the Hershey Bears scrambling.
It was last Saturday night at Giant Center, where Morrow’s Chicago Wolves had taken the two-time defending Calder Cup champion Bears to overtime.
First came Morrow, the 21-year-old rookie defenseman, getting the Bears chasing as he took the puck low to high, held the blue line, protected it on his backhand, and then raced past Hershey coverage before driving the net and forcing goaltender Clay Stevenson to make a difficult left-pad save.
Later, with Hershey worn down, the Wolves broke loose on a 2-on-1 chance. Ryan Suzuki sped into the Hershey zone while Morrow made himself available for a feed. Suzuki connected on that delivery, and Morrow redirected the puck past Stevenson for a 3-2 Chicago victory. The Wolves had their first win of the season, and Morrow had his first pro goal.
The summer before his freshman season at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, Morrow was selected by the Carolina Hurricanes in the second round at the 40th spot in the 2021 NHL Draft, a pick that may already be starting to look like a steal. Morrow totaled 94 points in 109 games at UMass, and after the Minutemen fell to the University of Denver in the NCAA regional semifinals, Morrow made the leap and signed an entry-level deal with Carolina.
After Morrow made his NHL debut on Apr. 12 at St. Louis, Carolina head coach Rod Brind’Amour gave him 23:11 of ice time in the Hurricanes’ regular-season finale at Columbus four nights later. The organization’s blue line underwent significant change in the offseason with Shayne Gostisbehere and Sean Walker coming aboard as free agents. It was clear that the right decision was to begin Morrow with the Wolves, where he could develop and play top-pairing minutes.
Wolves head coach Cam Abbott has stationed Morrow on the right side of a pairing with third-year pro Ronan Seeley, who has the touch needed to play with Morrow but who can be a dependable safeguard for when the rookie opts to join the rush or pinch or otherwise make a play that carries at least some calculated risk. It’s those jump-into-the-play-or-not decisions that so often confound and stymie young defensemen breaking into the AHL. Someone like, say, Charlotte’s Jake Bean navigated those decisions successfully as a rookie and has gone on to become an NHL regular. For others, though, that struggle about when – and when not – to push the play can be the difference between reaching and staying in the NHL.
“You’ve got to do it, but you can’t force it,” Morrow said of when those offensive opportunities arise. “You’ve got to let the game come to you.”
In one sense, there is also less pressure on Morrow now that he’s in the pro game. UMass needed Morrow to crank out points and offense. Some of the pressure for college and junior players also comes from needing to stand out to prospective NHL suitors. But the pro game is different, more composed and measured. If Morrow leans toward the safe option on one of those risk-reward decisions, another chance will come his way later.
“You’ve just got to trust your instincts,” Morrow continued. “The biggest thing is to not get caught in between. If you’ve got an [opening], you’ve got to go.”
But the pro game already clearly suits Morrow’s high-end skill well. His Chicago teammates are able to keep up with him, read him, and play off him, something that was not always possible at the college level. Morrow also came to Chicago with some understanding of what he would be up against in the AHL. His father, Steve, played 69 games with Hershey between 1991-93, and his uncle Scott spent parts of seven AHL seasons with Springfield, Saint John, Hershey and Providence in the 1990’s.
The Wolves have had a rather light start to their schedule. After their season opener Oct. 12, they went a week off the schedule before this past weekend’s two-game trip to Hershey. They’ll have another week between games in Rockford on Nov. 2 and in Milwaukee on Nov. 9. But the schedule will pick up. It always does. And Morrow’s father and uncle have stressed the need to adapt to the AHL’s increased schedule and travel rigors by prioritizing nutrition and recovery.
Morrow played a pair of preseason games with the Hurricanes before going to Chicago. He left management there something to think about. His early work with Chicago will add to that as well.
“I certainly hope I made a good impression in the two games I did get to play at the end,” Morrow said. “I wanted to show that I could be trusted in all situations, play offensively, play defensively. I thought I was pretty effective in the games at making good plays and being trustworthy, especially with the puck on my stick. No bad turnovers or lapses defensively.
“I just wanted to prove that I could be trusted in case something happens, and they need me up there.”
On the American Hockey League beat for two decades, TheAHL.com features writer Patrick Williams also currently covers the league for NHL.com and FloSports and is a regular contributor on SiriusXM NHL Network Radio. He was the recipient of the AHL’s James H. Ellery Memorial Award for his outstanding coverage of the league in 2016.