It’s hard to separate what Sam Morin was once thought to be with the player he currently is. Not to go and dive into the deep pool of the psychology of fan-thought, but Morin was once thought to be one of the rare players that was set to be the next level of physical defenseman that can still play the game of hockey without their knees combusting every single time they try to skate in smooth strides.
The Philadelphia Flyers certainly drafted him because he was (and still is) a 6-foot-6 defenseman. And as his progression was closely followed, trying to find any answer to the team’s defensive woes in their teenaged prospects, Morin slowly became a post-hype guy that would eventually be thought of being lucky to find any NHL minutes in his career.