With the 48th pick of the 2023 NHL Entry Draft, the Calgary Flames have selected Étienne Morin from the Moncton Wildcats of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL)
About Étienne Morin
A two-way defenceman who can play in all situations, Étienne Morin is an exciting prospect who has turned into a goal-scoring machine from the blue line. This season, he led all QMJHL defencemen with 21 goals while finishing third in points with 72. With a good combination of speed, skill and size, he poses a threat whenever the puck is on his stick.
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Where Morin’s skills really take over is in the transition game. While carrying the puck up ice, he is able to utilize his strong skating, always looking around to see whether it is best to bring the puck into the zone himself or pass it off to one of his teammates. A very intelligent defenceman with great vision, he continues to impress every time he steps on the ice.
THW Prospect Profile Excerpt
“Etienne Morin is exactly what NHL teams are looking for in a defenseman. He is a mobile, two-way player who excels in transition. Last season, he averaged just under 21 minutes per game for the Moncton Wildcats in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) as a 16-year-old rookie.
“Morin plays heavy minutes in all situations, especially offensively, with 20 goals and 65 points in 64 games. He is the main weapon and the quarterback on the QMJHL’s tenth-ranked power play (PP). His offensive instincts also allow him to combine his vision with excellent edgework, which he uses to make direction changes, opening up time and space to make a play or to walk the blue line where he can use his hard and accurate shot to score or generate rebounds. His performance at the Kubota Top Prospects game allowed him to showcase those skills and his leadership abilities against the best prospects in the Canadian Hockey League.
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“Defensively he is very capable as well. He has strong gap control and uses his skating and puck handling to his advantage against attacking forecheckers, as he retrieves pucks quickly and is able to identify passing lanes that he uses to begin the counter-attack in transition. In the defensive zone, Morin is able to play physically along the boards in one-on-one battles and in front of the net. His focus on becoming a 200-foot, all-situations player has helped build his confidence over the season and made him even more of a Swiss-army-knife type of weapon for his coaching staff.”
Full player profile can be found here.
How This Affects the Flames’ Plans
After using their first-round selection to pick forward Samuel Honzek, the Flames used the 48th pick to improve their blue line by selecting Étienne Morin. He instantly becomes the team’s top defensive prospect as they look to continue to restock the draft pipeline as they enter a rebuild. He is exactly what Calgary needed and is a welcomed addition to the organization.