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  6. article_body => "<p>VOORHEES, N.J. \u2014 The return of Samuel Morin took another step Thursday morning.<\/p>\n<p>The Flyers loaned Morin to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms for conditioning purposes in an effort to get the defenseman some game action at the AHL level before he\u2019s likely recalled early next week.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Morin has been overcoming an ACL injury he suffered on May 9, 2018, during the Phantoms' epic five-overtime thriller when his skate caught a rut in the ice. Morin had surgery later that month when surgeons had to take a tendon from another part of Morin\u2019s leg to repair the torn ligament.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou\u2019re going to have a little bit of pain for about a year, that\u2019s what they said and it\u2019s normal, but it\u2019s not a big deal,\u201d Morin said.&nbsp;\u201cI\u2019ve gone through way worse before.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Perhaps more painful injuries, but not quite the grueling rehab process.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Morin has not only been strengthening his leg through off-ice activities since last summer, but he\u2019s been skating on the ice as far back as training camp. It wasn\u2019t until January that the 6-foot-7 defenseman began to ramp his level of play on the ice.<\/p>\n<p>The biggest challenge is the twisting and turning involved in Morin\u2019s positional play, especially against some of the league\u2019s more talented forwards.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s so weird. I like my stick right now. I\u2019ve got a good stick on the puck, but guys like Jake [Voracek], they go and turn on me and it\u2019s like trusting your knee to put all the weight on it,\u201d Morin said.&nbsp;\u201cObviously, it\u2019s a big challenge mentally.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Morin will join goaltender Brian Elliott with the Phantoms this weekend as they play three games in three nights. Friday could be Morin\u2019s first game action in nine months.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey\u2019ve told me it\u2019s going to be a year before I\u2019m feeling where I was before,\u201d Morin said.&nbsp;\u201cIt\u2019s just trusting my knee. Obviously, it's in my head a lot. It\u2019s going to be hard. I\u2019m not saying it\u2019s going to be easy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong><em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcsports.com\/washington\/myteams-nbc-sports?utm_tags=nbcsphi1356\">Click here<\/a>&nbsp;to download the MyTeams App by NBC Sports! Receive comprehensive coverage of your teams and stream the Flyers, Sixers and Phillies games easily on your device.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<h3 dir=\"ltr\"><strong>More on the Flyers<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li dir=\"ltr\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcsports.com\/philadelphia\/flyers\/deadline-nearing-who-flyers-next-trade-chip\">With deadline nearing, who is the Flyers' next trade chip?<\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li dir=\"ltr\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcsports.com\/philadelphia\/flyers\/flyers-keep-defining-themselves-resilience-under-scott-gordon\">Flyers keep defining themselves by resilience under Gordon <\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li dir=\"ltr\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcsports.com\/philadelphia\/flyers\/flyers-5-wild-4-right-back-win-column-wild-card-race-thanks-another-come-behind-push-minnesota\">Things are getting wild as JVR, Flyers come up with big response<\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li dir=\"ltr\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcsports.com\/philadelphia\/flyers\/penguins-evgeni-malkin-receives-1-game-suspension-swinging-stick-michael-raffl\">That's it? A swing and miss from NHL on Malkin's punishment<\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li dir=\"ltr\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcsports.com\/philadelphia\/flyers\/flyers-brian-elliott-joins-phantoms-recovery-stint-mike-mckenna-recalled\">A Flyers goalie joins Phantoms, another comes back to big club<\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n"
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Flyers

Presented By Virtua Injury Update
Flyers

VOORHEES, N.J. — The return of Samuel Morin took another step Thursday morning.

The Flyers loaned Morin to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms for conditioning purposes in an effort to get the defenseman some game action at the AHL level before he’s likely recalled early next week. 

Morin has been overcoming an ACL injury he suffered on May 9, 2018, during the Phantoms' epic five-overtime thriller when his skate caught a rut in the ice. Morin had surgery later that month when surgeons had to take a tendon from another part of Morin’s leg to repair the torn ligament.

“You’re going to have a little bit of pain for about a year, that’s what they said and it’s normal, but it’s not a big deal,” Morin said. “I’ve gone through way worse before.” 

Perhaps more painful injuries, but not quite the grueling rehab process. 

Morin has not only been strengthening his leg through off-ice activities since last summer, but he’s been skating on the ice as far back as training camp. It wasn’t until January that the 6-foot-7 defenseman began to ramp his level of play on the ice.

The biggest challenge is the twisting and turning involved in Morin’s positional play, especially against some of the league’s more talented forwards. 

“It’s so weird. I like my stick right now. I’ve got a good stick on the puck, but guys like Jake [Voracek], they go and turn on me and it’s like trusting your knee to put all the weight on it,” Morin said. “Obviously, it’s a big challenge mentally.”

 

Morin will join goaltender Brian Elliott with the Phantoms this weekend as they play three games in three nights. Friday could be Morin’s first game action in nine months. 

“They’ve told me it’s going to be a year before I’m feeling where I was before,” Morin said. “It’s just trusting my knee. Obviously, it's in my head a lot. It’s going to be hard. I’m not saying it’s going to be easy.”

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