High praise, indeed. When describing Jeremy Morin, Thrashers general manager Don Waddell went beyond the usual jargon — prospect, hopeful, contender — to call him "the best pure goal-scorer in the whole draft."
The Thrashers selected Morin in the second round of last month's NHL draft with the 45th overall pick. They consider themselves fortunate. The club had slotted him as a first-rounder (along with Carl Klingberg, who they took with the 34th pick) who just happened to fall to them in the next round.
"That's one of the things I take pride in," Morin said at the Thrashers' ongoing six-day Prospect Development Camp. "I enjoy scoring goals. I have a knack for it. I base my game off that but hope to mature as an all-around player."
Waddell described the 6-foot, 195-pound forward as "a pure sniper."
Gary Eggleston of NHL Central Scouting said, "Jeremy has excellent hands and a big-time shot. He stickhandles very well, makes some clever moves in tight-going and gets himself in a position to score."
The 18-year-old Morin said he developed his shooting ability while playing youth hockey in Syracuse, near his hometown of Auburn, N.Y.
"Growing up, the program I was in ... stressed shooting," Morin said. "I shot tons of pucks when I was younger. I developed my shot at a young age and it's helped my throughout my career."
Morin will skip college next year to play with Kitchener of the Ontario Hockey League. He just finished two years playing for Team USA in the U.S. Development Program. During his first year, he was moved up from the Under-17 team to the Under-18 team. That's when Morin said he began to believe the NHL might be in his future.
"They called me up and I had a good second half of the season," Morin said. "I had a lot of success there. Obviously it's in the back of your mind growing up. Every kid wants to make it to the NHL but to know that you could make that a reality is a dream come true."
Last season, Morin had 48 points (26 goals, 22 assists) in 46 games for Team USA, which won the Under-18 World Junior Championships in April. The tournament, held in Fargo, N.D., marked the first time a United States team won an international hockey tournament on home soil since the 1980 Olympics.
Morin ably demonstrated knack for scoring during the tournament. He led the team with six goals. His 10 points (six goals, four assists) was tied for second on the team. In a 2-1 semifinal win over Canada, his third-period power play goal tied the game at 1-1. He called it the biggest goal of his career.
"That was unbelievable," Morin said. "Not only to win it, but to win it in front of your home crowd."
Morin carried his performance into June's draft, hoping to go in the first round. Though first day came and went without his name being called. It didn't take long to be selected on the second day, just 15 picks in.
"Obviously, the first day was tough," Morin said. "You are sitting there with your family. It's kind of a letdown. But at this point, first, second round it doesn't really matter. You still have to work your way into the NHL. Just because you were drafted in the first round doesn't mean you made it. Obviously, I wish I went in the first round but I'm happy to be an Atlanta Thrasher. I don't think I could have asked for anything more."
Morin will go to Kitchener — "They put a lot of guys in the NHL" — next fall and wants to concentrate on his skating.
"I have a choppy stride," he said. "I think with some work, I can even that out and take my game to the next level."
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