Calgary Flames 2025 Prospects Rankings: #7 Etienne Morin

Morin and his development so far

As mentioned, Morin recently completed his fourth and final season in the QMJHL. Morin spent all four seasons with the Moncton Wildcats, who saw some incredible lows during his tenure and some incredible highs. During his draft year in 2022–23, Morin carried a subpar Wildcats blue line on his back. He’d end the season with 72 points in 67 games to tie for the Wildcats’ team lead. For context, the next highest scoring defender on the Wildcats that season had just 18 points. Morin was quite literally the only notable defender on the roster and was tasked with playing a ton of minutes in every situation, earning close to 28 minutes a night that season.

At first glance, his D+1 production drop-off seems like a major red flag. However, when you consider just how much he was asked to play in his draft year, the drop-off starts to make sense. The Wildcats started to build a much better roster around him, allowing him to take a step back and focus more on his overall game and development in both zones. He still managed 48 points in 57 games, which once again led his blue line in scoring.

This past season, the Wildcats were an absolute juggernaut, posting an absurd 53–9–0 record and winning the QMJHL title. Morin was a huge part of their success, once again pacing the blue line with a team-best 58 points in 62 games while averaging right around 23 minutes a night. He followed his impressive regular season up with an even better playoff run, posting 20 points in 19 games to lead all QMJHL defenders in playoff scoring. He also started to show major signs of improvement in his defensive game, rounding into more of a two-way threat instead of strictly an offensive one.

Morin’s strengths

Shot

Morin’s shot is undoubtedly his greatest overall strength. There’s a reason he posted 55 goals from the blue line in his QMJHL career. His release is very impressive, as is the power of his shot. He presents a threat from the blue line whenever he has the puck, as defenders always have to be aware of his ability to absolutely wire the puck on net. You won’t find many defenceman who can shoot the puck as effortlessly and as clean as Morin does.

He offers the type of shooting skill that could be a serious weapon from the blue line at the NHL level, and as a point threat on a power play unit.

Vision/Playmaking

Morin possesses impressive vision and playmaking skills. There’s a reason the Moncton offence ran through him on the blue line pretty much every season he played in the QMJHL. He’s a creative player with the puck and is often able to find opponents in passing lanes that other defenders don’t notice. He’s great at distributing the puck and generating chances for his teammates.

Once again, just like his shot, his playmaking ability could translate to a power play role at the NHL level one day. While he isn’t an elite offensive player by any means, he’s still a very strong one, even if he isn’t super flashy.

Physicality

Morin isn’t the biggest player, standing at around six feet tall, but that doesn’t cause him to shy away from the physical aspects of the game. He’s great at using his body to break up plays, battle for pucks down low, and cause problems for opposing forwards. He’s able to use his impressive balance and strength to outmuscle larger players, and is never afraid to muck it up in front of the net or in the corners if he has to.

Much like his offensive talent, Morin isn’t the most physically imposing defender you’ll ever see, but he carries some impressive physical tools.

Morin’s weaknesses

Skating

The biggest weakness in his game is his skating and posture. He doesn’t offer a powerful stride, and carries a bit of a weird posture and motion when getting up to speed. It can cause him to get caught flat-footed at times, as his acceleration isn’t the best. Against speedy players, he can struggle to keep up and close gaps.

His skating can cause quite a few issues defensively, as he can get caught out of position and behind the play, leading to chances against. Morin will have to make it one of his primary goals to improve over the next couple of years if he hopes to become a full-time NHL player one day.

Decision Making

Another aspect that Morin needs to work on is his overall decision-making. At times, he can make poor, low-probability plays with the puck that lead to turnovers and chances against. His skating is a large reason for that, as he can get caught behind the play and then make low-IQ plays to try to catch up or compensate for his lack of speed.

He’s also not the best at reading plays, at both ends of the ice. At times, he’ll try to do too much or force a bad play even with better options available. On defence, he can get caught due to poor anticipation and ability to predict where the play is going.

Morin’s next steps

Morin’s CHL career is officially over, and he’ll be pushing for a full-time role on the Calgary Wranglers’ blue line this coming season. While he does have some glaring holes and areas of improvement, his overall two-way ability is a reason for optimism. He reminds me of a T.J. Brodie-type defender, never the best at anything, but an overall strong, dependable option in the middle of your lineup.

It will be crucial for Morin to continue to work on his skating and overall decision-making with the Wranglers over the coming seasons. If he can take strides in those areas, there’s a very good chance he can find a home on the Flames’ blue line within the next three years.

With the complete lack of depth on defence on the left side, there’s quite literally no one standing in Morin’s way in the organization right now. It’ll be up to him to prove he has what it takes to play at the next level. With some seasoning in the AHL, I have full faith that Morin can become a real solid second-pairing defender in the NHL one day.