Stéphane Morin

Joseph Normand Stéphane Morin (March 27, 1969 – October 6, 1998) was a Canadian ice hockey player who played in the National Hockey League between 1989 and 1994 with the Quebec Nordiques and the Vancouver Canucks.

Stéphane Morin
Born (1969-03-27)March 27, 1969
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Died October 6, 1998(1998-10-06) (aged 29)
Oberhausen, Germany
Height 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight 174 lb (79 kg; 12 st 6 lb)
Position Centre
Shot Left
Played for Quebec Nordiques
Vancouver Canucks
NHL Draft 43rd overall, 1989
Quebec Nordiques
Playing career 1989–1998

Early life

Morin was born in Montreal, Quebec. As a youth, he played in the 1981 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with a minor ice hockey team from Saint-Leonard, Quebec.[1]

Playing career

Morin played his junior hockey for the Chicoutimi Saguenéens. He was passed over in the 1988 draft, but following a monster season in 1988–89 in which he led the QMJHL in scoring with 186 points and won the Michel Brière Memorial Trophy for Most Valuable Player in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, he was selected 43rd overall in the 1989 NHL Entry Draft.[2]

Morin turned pro for the 1989–90 season, and spent most of the season with the Halifax Citadels, where he performed well, earning a six-game callup to Quebec in which he picked up two assists. In 1990–91, he was called up mid-season and performed exceptionally well, notching 40 points in 48 games on a weak Quebec club to finish 4th in team scoring. However, this would represent the high-water mark of Morin's career, as he slid down the depth chart the following year and registered just 10 points in 30 games for the Nordiques, and found himself back in the minors for much of the season.

Released by Quebec, Morin signed with the Vancouver Canucks in 1992. He spent two seasons in Vancouver's system during which he dominated the American Hockey League with the Hamilton Canucks, but appeared in only 6 games for the NHL Canucks over that span, recording three points.

After leaving the Vancouver organization, Morin signed on with the Minnesota Moose of the International Hockey League. While Morin's skating ability was considered questionable and cited as the reason he failed to stick in the NHL, he was a gifted minor-league scorer with tremendous offensive skills, and he led the IHL in scoring with 114 points in 1994–95. He would spend four seasons in the IHL with the Moose and later the Long Beach Ice Dogs.

For the 1998–99 season, Morin signed in Germany with the Berlin Capitals.[2]

Death

On October 6, 1998, in his 7th game with his new team, he was complaining of feeling unwell during the first period. Early in the second period, he collapsed at the bench as a result of heart failure, and medical staff were unable to revive him.[2] He was pronounced dead at hospital, leaving a wife and newborn son, Frederick.[3] An autopsy was performed and it was discovered that Morin had undiagnosed chronic bronchitis and an enlarged heart. It also revealed he had suffered an undetected heart attack in the past several years.[2]

During his career, Morin appeared in 90 NHL games,[2] recording 16 goals and 39 assists for 55 points, along with 52 penalty minutes.

Career statistics
    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1984–85 Montréal-Bourassa QMAAA 41 16 22 38 12 10 5 13 18 10
1985–86 Montréal-Bourassa QMAAA 42 26 37 63 — — — — — —
1986–87 Shawinigan Cataractes QMJHL 65 9 14 23 28 14 1 3 4 27
1987–88 Shawinigan Cataractes QMJHL 34 16 15 31 6 — — — — —
1987–88 Chicoutimi Saguenéens QMJHL 34 22 30 52 12 6 3 8 11 2
1988–89 Chicoutimi Saguenéens QMJHL 70 77 109 186 71 — — — — —
1989–90 Quebec Nordiques NHL 6 0 2 2 2 — — — — —
1989–90 Halifax Citadels AHL 65 28 32 60 60 6 3 4 7 6
1990–91 Quebec Nordiques NHL 48 13 27 40 30 — — — — —
1990–91 Halifax Citadels AHL 17 8 14 22 18 — — — — —
1991–92 Quebec Nordiques NHL 30 2 8 10 14 — — — — —
1991–92 Halifax Citadels AHL 30 17 13 30 29 — — — — —
1992–93 Vancouver Canucks NHL 1 0 1 1 0 — — — — —
1992–93 Hamilton Canucks AHL 70 31 54 85 49 — — — — —
1993–94 Vancouver Canucks NHL 5 1 1 2 6 — — — — —
1993–94 Hamilton Canucks AHL 69 38 71 109 48 4 3 2 5 4
1994–95 Minnesota Moose IHL 81 33 81 114 53 2 0 1 1 0
1995–96 Minnesota Moose IHL 80 27 51 78 75 — — — — —
1996–97 Manitoba Moose IHL 12 3 6 9 4 — — — — —
1996–97 Long Beach Ice Dogs IHL 65 25 57 82 73 18 6 13 19 14
1997–98 Long Beach Ice Dogs IHL 27 10 17 27 30 13 1 10 11 18
1998–99 Sorel Dinosaures QSPHL 2 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
1998–99 Berlin Capitals DEL 7 2 6 8 6 — — — — —
NHL totals 90 16 39 55 52 — — — — —
AHL totals 251 122 184 306 204 10 6 6 12 10
IHL totals 265 98 212 310 235 33 7 24 31 32

See also

References
  1. "Pee-Wee players who have reached NHL or WHA" (PDF). Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament. 2018. Retrieved January 17, 2019.
  2. White, Lonnie (November 23, 1998). "Tragedy on Ice". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 30, 2013.
  3. Spencer, Donna (October 9, 1998). "Too young: The sudden death of former Hamilton Canuck Stephane Morin stuns friends, colleagues". The Spectator.
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