The newest addition to the Carolina Hurricanes, Scott Morrow, joined the team for his first practice Wednesday after signing a three-year, ELC a day earlier.
Morrow, 21, was drafted by Carolina in the second round of the 2021 draft and spent three seasons playing with the UMass Minutemen.
After his first practice, he spoke with the media in Raleigh about joining the team. Here's what he had to say:
On what the last 24-48 hours have been like for him: It's been crazy. A lot of thank yous and a lot of people reaching out. I obviously traveled down here and I'm just getting to know everybody, getting to know the facility. It's all a bit of a blur right now, but I'm hoping it becomes normal real soon.
On Tony DeAngelo helping him through drills: I just didn't want to get in the way in any of the drills. Tony was partnered with me today. He really helped me stay out of the way and showed me what to do everywhere. So it was good.
On graduating in three years: From the second I entered college, I always knew I was probably going to leave before I graduated as a senior so it wasn't even about graduating in three years. It was about staying as ahead as possible so whenever I left, I would have as little of my degree left to finish and it just so worked out that this was my last semester that I'm in the middle of.
On how much school he has left: I have about five weeks left so I'm finishing them online. I'm trying my best to get through it.
On what made now the right time to turn pro: I think I'm physically ready. The best thing about college is that by playing fewer games, you get to spend more time in the weight room. I'm a big guy, but coming out of playing in high school, I had a lot to learn in terms of A) getting stronger and B) using my physicality on the ice, especially in the defensive zone with stopping plays and battling in front of my own net. It was good for me to get to a point where I felt like I was one of the stronger guys in college physically before I turned pro.
On developing his defensive game this season: I tried to play with a tighter gap. I know that's something they really talk about a lot here. Just closing on guys quicker, creating turnovers and just being harder to play against. Giving up less space on the ice whenever the other team has the puck. I think I definitely took big strides in that area this year and I'm happy with how my year went on that end.
On his familiarity with Hurricanes hockey: Especially in the second half of the year once we had our little winter break from school, it was times like that where you can throw on ESPN when you're at home, even though I was doing homework or whatever, just always having it on and trying to pick up little bits and pieces so that it's not as much of a culture shock when I get here as to what the play style is.
On if the Hurricanes not having an AHL affiliate influenced his decision to return to UMass for his junior year: I mean, I feel like everyone wants to know what they're doing and where they're going to be. It was just a question mark and I really did love my time at UMass and it was a great spot so I figured why not go back for one more year.
On what he's hoping to get out of the next few weeks: I'm trying to learn as much as I can. There's so many guys here that are better at things than I am, so I just want to pick up on those little skills. There's a lot of guys in here that have been in the league for a long time and know what it takes to have longevity and how to be a pro day in and day out. I just want to pick up on those habits and take it into the summer and go from there.
On the players he models his game after: I watched a lot of Duncan Keith growing up and I like Kris Letang a lot. Guys like that who can skate and make plays from the backend or on the power play, with skill, who can hold onto pucks. I definitely try to model my game after those guys.
On being in the team picture before even having practiced with the team: That was a bit weird, I have to admit.
On if there's more pressure with joining a team as good as Carolina is right before the playoffs begin: Yeah, I think there's a bit of that, but at the same time, I feel like everyone else around me is going to be so sound. Obviously this has been a really dominant team this year. To me, it's like, 'Okay I know if I make a mistake out there, I have some really good players around me that are going to help me out.' It's definitely a little bit of pressure, but it gives you a lot of confidence when you look around the room and see the names that are in here. There's going to be guys that are going to make great plays to cover up for me if I screw up.
On if he has any expectations to play this season: That's not a question for me. I don't know.