‘This is crazy’: Inside Sam Morton’s first week in the Flames’ system

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Sam Morton had been a professional hockey participant for barely 24 hours.

As he glided to the dot for a draw throughout his Calgary Wranglers’ debut, he was abruptly staring throughout at a man who has logged greater than 1,000 appearances within the NHL.

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“Taking a faceoff in opposition to Sam Gagner in my first sport, that was a cool second,” mentioned Morton, the newest addition to the Calgary Flames’ prospect pipeline. “I imply, I’ve watched him for thus a few years. I feel for a second, I used to be simply form of smiling, like, ‘That is loopy.’ However I reset myself and was pondering, ‘I actually wish to snap this one again.’ ”

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And?

“I snapped it again,” he proudly reported.

Morton is simply too busy as of late to do any wanting again however when he does, he’ll definitely cherish the reminiscences of what was a wild week.

‘Whirlwind’ could be an correct description.

“Yeah, I’ve used that phrase fairly just a few instances recently,” he mentioned with a chuckle.

Understandably so.

On Monday, after finishing his collegiate profession with the Minnesota State Mavericks, the 24-year-old centre inked a take care of the Flames — a one-year, two-way contract for the 2024-25 marketing campaign — and agreed to hitch the AHL’s Wranglers for the rest of this season on a tryout settlement.

On Tuesday, along with efficiently swiping that draw in opposition to Gagner, who’s presently skating with the Bakersfield Condors, he assisted on Mitch McLain’s game-winning purpose for his first professional level.

On Wednesday, Morton scored one among his personal, ending off a candy feed from Cole Schwindt to gather one other souvenir puck.

Oh yeah, the brand new man was additionally listed among the many 10 remaining contenders for the Hobey Baker Memorial Award, the annual nod to the highest participant within the NCAA males’s hockey ranks. The sphere of finalists, to be trimmed to a few in early April, is headlined by Macklin Celebrini — the consensus favorite to be the first-overall choose within the 2024 NHL Draft — and Cutter Gauthier.

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“I scanned over the listing shortly and if you happen to take a look at it, it’s first-rounder, first-rounder … ” mentioned fellow Minnesota State alum Walker Duehr, now in his third season with the Flames. “I imply, there’s solely a pair undrafted guys. So for him to be on that listing as a fifth-year senior, it says rather a lot. There are a variety of good gamers in school hockey and a variety of actually good ones that didn’t make the listing. So for him to crack the High 10, it’s fairly particular.”

Per week in the past, most hockey followers in Calgary had by no means heard of Morton.

However as he launched himself with an help in his first professional sport after which a lamp-lighting the next evening, many have been questioning if this faculty free-agent signing could possibly be a future issue for a Flames staff that’s skinny on depth at centre.

Morton wrapped his post-secondary profession with 24 targets and 34 factors in 37 video games this winter, incomes a salute because the Central Collegiate Hockey Affiliation participant of the 12 months.

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He additionally wore the ‘C’ for the Mavericks. Minnesota State’s skipper, Luke Strand, describes him as “a world-class child.”

“Morty goes to build up factors, however he’s going to impression the sport with greater than that,” mentioned Strand, who nonetheless has Calgary connections from a three-season stint with the Flames’ group — two of these as an assistant coach with the Abbotsford Warmth and one other on the beginner scouting employees. “He has a backup sport, which I feel is an enormous piece of attempting to be a professional. If he isn’t scoring, he’s nonetheless going to do one thing for the staff.

“And I feel what actually confirmed at this degree, and I feel it bleeds into that degree too, is as a result of he has a backup sport, he can discover a consistency in his sport. Even within 60 minutes, he has versatility. He’s in all probability going to be an unattainable child to exchange right here in Mankato, however on the identical time, a legacy-leaving child. You ask anybody round right here, he might come to this city for the remainder of his life and by no means have to purchase a beer. He’s that form of child.”

Final Sunday, excited in regards to the future however nonetheless stinging from the heartbreaking loss that ended his remaining marketing campaign with the Mavericks, Morton logged on for digital conferences with a number of NHL organizations that have been eager to signal him. He decided that Calgary supplied one of the best mix of “match” and “alternative.”

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Seven days later, with the Wranglers pit-stopping in San Diego for a showdown with the Gulls, he was already getting ready for his fourth AHL outing.

“I really feel like I’m studying slightly bit every sport, and I’m having fun with that course of,” mentioned Morton, who was born in California and moved to Colorado in his early teenagers. “For me, proper now, I’m simply attempting to change into extra constant. There are shifts the place I really feel like I can actually be a difference-maker and make issues occur, after which there are shifts the place I look again and I in all probability ought to make some changes on what I’m doing on the market. I feel that adjustment interval goes to take a little bit of time. However on the identical time, I really feel like I do belong and I simply have to preserve taking steps in the correct course.”

As a result of that is only a first step for the Flames prospect/Wranglers pivot.

A primary professional purpose, a primary professional help, a primary faceoff win in opposition to a grizzled veteran …

In every case, hopefully the primary of many.

“I hope he will get a crack,” Strand mentioned. “As a result of I feel as soon as he wears into the material of locations, it’s going to be onerous to overlook him.

“I’m excited for his profession to blossom. I feel he’s going to go and impression lots of people.”

wgilbertson@postmedia.com

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