Scott Morrow

Scout: Wade [2023-09-12]

Carolina Hurricanes 2021 NHL Entry Draft 2nd Round Pick

40th Overall Selection by the Carolina Hurricanes

MAIN REPORT

Skating :

Good foot speed, uses it nicely to generate offense when carrying the puck out of his own end. Good use of crossovers to move laterally and create space for himself

Passing/Handling:

Quite good passing, which pairs nicely with his "mobile defenseman" archetype. He uses his passing to spring his teammates quite often, and utilizes this especially well on the breakout, where he seems to be heavily relied on by UMass. He can overhandle the puck at times, but is usually quite smart with his decision making when he has the puck on his stick.

Shooting:

Not his greatest asset, but also not his worst. Doesn't shoot willy-nilly, and is usually smart with his shot selection, but the shot itself is just meh. It's kind of just "there".

IQ (Vision, off/def anticipation, panic meter):

Morrow is very intelligent in the offensive zone, and sees the ice very well. He's generally in good position, and rarely puts himself in a position to get burned by opposing forwards. That being said, his defensive game is considerably further behind. Normally having any panic meter isn't a good thing, but Morrow might benefit from exhibiting some sense of urgency in his own end, especially after losing a puck battle.

Forechecking:

Does a good job supporting the forecheck as a secondary attacker from the back end, but is surprisingly useful when pinching and acting more as a winger. He doesn't lose pucks very easily when pinching, and acts as a sneaky offensive outlet from the blueline following an initial rush.

Defense (Rush and in-zone):

Somewhat passive defensively both off the rush and in-zone. Would ideally like to see him use his larger frame more to angle opponents off of pucks, as well as keep a more active stick. Doesn't have a very high sense of urgency in his own zone, which is concerning.

Best Asset:

Morrow's best asset is probably a tie between his skating and his passing/puck handling. While neither are truly elite, and pushing him into top pair conversation at the NHL level, both are heavily leaned on by Morrow to make him an effective threat at the NCAA level.

Biggest Concern:

Defense is the biggest glaring hole in Morrow's game right now, which is concerning at the NCAA level. If there's hope of the Hurricane's developing him into a bonafide NHL defenseman, even an offensively minded one, he needs to improve his defensive game leaps and bounds.

Top Tier/Role Potential:

If the stars align perfectly for Morrow, I can see him becoming a tier 1 defenseman. His mobility and puck handling skills would complement an offensively minded team quite well, and he could serve as a nice #2 defenseman alongside a more defensively minded partner at the NHL level.

50th percentile Tier/Role:

The more likely outcome for Morrow is that he ends up somewhere between a tier 2 and a tier 3 defenseman. His physical game will never carry him super far, but I can still see a scenario where Morrow thrives as an offensively minded bottom three defenseman.

Stylistic Comparable:

Morrow could be compared to a number of offensively minded, mobile defensemen across the NHL. At his ceiling, Morrow could serve as a John Carlson style of puck mover, or could wind up somewhere closer to a Chris Wideman. It's honestly hard to pin him to one specific guy.