Bench Life Sports

Born: 4/16/1991 (24 years old) Auburn, New York, United States
Drafted: 2nd round (45th overall) in 2009 by Atlanta Thrashers
Teams: Chicago Blackhawks (2010-2015), Columbus Blue Jackets (2014-2015)
Position: Left Wing
Height: 6’1″
Weight: 189 lbs
Shoots: Right
Full Hockey Reference Bio

Hockey DB Profile for Full Career Stats

The Trade
Toronto Maple Leafs traded Richard Panik to the Chicago Blackhawks for Jeremy Morin.

What he brings to the team
Morin was once a very coveted prospect. After rising through the ranks of the US development system and lighting up the OHL for the Kitchener Rangers in 2009-10, Morin entered the 2009 draft as a dynamic goal-scorer. Looking back at his official NHL Central Scouting report from 2009 you’d think they were describing a future 30 goal scorer. It was this potential that made Morin the center piece (along with a first round pick) of Chicago’s return for sending Andrew Ladd and Dustin Byfuglien to Atlanta.

Obviously Morin hasn’t lived up to the hype. He only has 82 total NHL games under his belt, 43 of them coming last season with Columbus and Chicago, and hasn’t seen a single game of NHL action this season. That being said Chicago obviously thought enough about him to include him in the package that they received for Brandon Saad. He was also co-leading the Rockford Icehogs, Chicago’s AHL affiliate, in points with 22 points in 28 games. If he can recapture the scoring touch that he showed in junior, I would not be shocked to see him on an NHL third-line scoring role with an long-shot chance at top-six minutes.

Why he’s on the bench
I can’t tell if I should be impressed that Chicago management traded for Morin twice, or worried that they traded him twice for next to nothing. I’d like to look at the glass half-full but its looking pretty tough, especially since I was a Richard Panik believer. I may kiss the ground that Mike Babcock walks on, but I am still rattled that the 2010-11 Guelph Storm top line of Peter Holland, Taylor Beck and Panik never got to reunite on this year’s Maple Leafs.

Obviously the Leafs weren’t as high on Panik as I was and made a very lateral trade as both players were the same age and separated by 7 picks in the 2009 draft. Both play a very similar goal-scoring, sandpaper wing game. It looks as though it is just a case of both teams getting a fresh look at two disappointing prospects and seeing if either can stick on a new team (kind of like the Leafs trading Keith Aulie for Carter Ashton a couple years ago). That being said I would be shocked if Morin isn’t one of the first players called up when the Leafs inevitably flip a winger for a draft pick. He’s young enough that he can still deliver on some of his potential, but old enough that they don’t need to worry about a call-up ruining his development.

I’m sharing this video just for the sake of laughing at the scout comparing Morin to Hall of Famers Adam Oates and Brendan Shannahan at the 1:00 mark. I can’t help but feel that Morin’s been a bit of a disappointment after watching this video.