Recap:

20. Sasha Mutala

19. Matthew Steinburg

18. Alex Beaucage

17. Tyler Weiss

16. Brandon Saigeon

15. Adam Werner

14. Igor Shyvryov

13. Ty Lewis





Coming back with #12 is perhaps one of the most frustrating Avs prospects in recent memories, someone who has been on my list the past three years. Cam Morrison. The 6'2" 205lb Left Winger out of Aurora, Ontario was apart of the Avs 2016 draft class when they selected him in the second round, 40th overall. That's a pretty nice investment in a prospect right there. Anytime you spend a top 50 pick on a player, you would really like to get a hit on it. But we'll get more into that later. Coming into his draft year, Morrison was viewed as a big physical power forward who could be used in virtually all situations on the ice. He was a skilled player that could put pucks in the back of the net, as well as more than hold his own in his own end. He was a well rounded prospect that the Avs probably thought was going to Notre Dame for 2 years and then would be in the AHL. Obviously things haven't worked that way.





Before we go down that road, we'll take a peak here at Cam's tenure with the Fighting Irish. Since his Freshman season in South Bend, through last years Junior campaign, Morrison has been pretty steady. 112 games played, 31 goals, 37 assists, 68 points. In itself, not a bad stat line. However I hate stat scouting. When you look at his three seasons there hasn't been a huge improvement anywhere in his game. He battled through some injuries last year when at times he was looking like he was carving out a consistent top 6 role for himself, but that has been the huge problem for Morrison, three years in and he has been bouncing up and down the lineup, essentially being used as a middle 6 scoring threat. You'd really like to see him A.) find a bigger role than that, something at least on the second line. And B.) find a consistent role with the team. He's three years in, this staff should know what he is by now and help put him in a consistent role. It's hard for any player to succeed and continue developing in the NCAA, when all they do is bounce around. (A la AJ Greer and Boston). Unfortunately Cam didn't make the decision to go play Junior back in the OHL, which in hindsight wasn't necessarily the right and easy decision. Obviously at this point he is well overage and can not go down that road.





In his three seasons with Notre Dame, Morrison has played in 40, 40 and 32 games respectively. He has produced 12, 8 and 11 goals and totaled 24, 23 and 21 points in those seasons. Pretty steady. He definitely struggled with a Sophomore slump and part of that included a massive drought in the middle of the season where the kid was just straight up snake bit. He couldn't buy a goal. Early on last season I was encouraged with how he was bouncing back, he looked like a new player that found his rhythm and took a step forward. Then the injuries started creeping back in and we kind of fell back into the rut we were stuck in. However statistically if he were to play the 40 games that he played in his first two seasons he was on pace to notch right around 14 goals and 26 points. Not anything ground breaking but at least some progress.





The biggest issue in my eyes when it comes to Morrison is the fact that I just don't like Notre Dame as a fit for him when it comes to his development. Usually I am a big fan of prospects going to top NCAA programs and helping their development. But in some cases, like AJ Greer's that I mentioned earlier, the fit just isn't right for whatever reason. I'm kind of feeling that is the case for Morrison. It was a tough decision at the end of last season too, because in my opinion he hadn't earned a contract with the Avs, which they did not offer him one from all accounts, but clearly Notre Dame wasn't helping him out all that much either. I would have loved to see him sign an AHL deal with the Eagles, similar to what Saigeon has done, but realistically there isn't any room for him in that lineup for him to earn a spot where he would develop either. I think a different NCAA program would be good for him or the AHL, but the way the cookie crumbles, neither of those options are realistic and I 100% understand that.





But enough of being the Debbie downer here, let's talk about some of the upsides to his game when you watch Morrison on the ice. First off, the kid knows how to use his frame. He's a big boy and he uses it to his advantage. There's not point in being that big and strong if you aren't going to use it. Most of his goals come from driving the net and parking it straight in front of the goalie. He's know afraid to take some shots down low. He knows thats where he needs to be to succeed and when he gets there, he is certainly a headache for opponents. He isn't going to blow you away by any means with his speed or skating ability, but what really jumped out to me is how smart and physical he is when he drives the net. He constantly drives the net with defenders hanging all over him. But his ability to be ready for the puck at all times is great. He is great at handling the puck and moving it off his stick quickly in those tight, dirty areas. His two way game is something that will be vital for his ability to transition to pro hockey. He isn't a guy that is going to step in from day 1 and get top 6 minutes. He isn't at that skill level, so his ability to play 200 feet will help him out greatly. He's great at retrieving pucks in deep and handling and possessing the puck down low behind the goal. He embraces the physical game especially down low, will absolutely take a hit to make a play 10 out of 10 times. Lastly, his hands are really underrated in my opinion. Some of the puck handling this kid does while constantly being slashed, held, cross checked etc amazes me at times. He's able to do all the dirty work and create for his teammates.





At the end of the day, Morrison is playing for a contract this season and with guys like Nieto, Wilson likely being gone next season for the Avs and having a Bowers, Kaut or Henry all potentially coming up to the Avs that will free up some prospect space with the Eagles. I think he will get his chance with the organization and sign with the team at the end of the year, I think the team is high enough on him that barring any disaster of a season he will be with the organization this time next year. He is the guy I'm totally fine with playing a bottom 6 role with the Eagles next year. But as far as this coming season goes, I would love to see him take that next step finally production wise. 30 points would be amazing but at this point I'm not holding my breath. He needs to play more consistent and if he can be the guy on the second line that does all the dirty work and he gets some more power play time, I'll be a happy camper with him.