If the Flyers needed any extra convincing to trade up and select Spencer Gill in the second round of the 2024 NHL draft, they probably got it from Samuel Morin.
The team's player development coach knows the 17-year-old's game, knows his position and knows the environment in which he's playing. Morin, a former Flyers defenseman, came up in the same QMJHL program as Gill.
So when the Flyers drafted the lanky, right-handed shot at 59th overall, Morin knew he'd have many more visits to Rimouski.
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"I saw him a lot last year, I went there a couple of times to just do a little scouting trip," Morin said about a month ago at Flyers development camp. "I like his game a lot. A lot of poise, really good with the puck. He's really skinny, he's going to need to gain some weight, you can tell on the ice.
"For me, he's a really good project for us. The coaching staff there in Rimouski is really good, they did a really good job with him. I saw him at 16 and his game got a lot, a lot better. I'm really excited for him."
With the Oceanic, Gill had 46 points (12 goals, 34 assists) and a plus-8 rating in 65 games last season. He added five assists in five playoff games and then won gold with Team Canada at the 2024 IIHF U-18 World Junior Championship.
The 6-foot-4, 186-pounder likes to watch Islanders defenseman Noah Dobson, a righty shot who is 6-foot-4 and 200 pounds. The 24-year-old is coming off a 70-point season (10 goals, 60 assists).
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"He's kind of a very similar build to me," Gill said. "Good puck-mover and he can contribute offensively."
Gill turns 18 this month and has two more years of junior hockey in Rimouski. Morin plans to work with him on the ice throughout the season. But he knows Gill will be in good hands with Oceanic assistant coach Donald Dufresne, a former defenseman who won the 1993 Stanley Cup with the Canadiens. Dufresne coached Morin in his first year with Rimouski.
"I really trust his coaching staff there," Morin said. "The D coach there, he was my D coach when I was 16 years old. He's really good."
Similar to a lot of prospects, Gill had varying draft marks. TSN's Bob McKenzie reported that at least one NHL scout considered Gill as a first-round prospect and TSN's Craig Button ranked him as the 51st-best player in the draft. But EliteProspects.com rated him at No. 68 overall and Daily Faceoff's Steven Ellis pegged him at No. 100.
He ended up being the 23rd defenseman taken in the draft and a key for his development is obvious: gaining strength. Gill said he has been able to put on eight to 10 pounds over each of the last two summers.
"That's the main focus for me this summer," he said. "Time in the gym — getting bigger, stronger, faster."
As a towering and physical defenseman, Morin understood the importance of adding muscle during his development. He likes the potential with Gill.
"He's really smooth out there, but he's going to need to improve his explosion a little bit," Morin said. "That's going to come with time."
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