Talkin' with T-Mo

Free Press file photo

I had a chance to chat with Travis Morin by phone on Friday night, just a few days after he and the Texas Stars clinched the American Hockey League's Calder Cup.

I wrote about Morin for my Tuesday Free Press column, which you can read here.

Morin has become a star for the Stars and the AHL, winning that league's MVP award this year as well as the playoff MVP honor last week. At age 30, he is still hoping for that longterm stay in the NHL, a league he has played just seven games in.

Here are a few quotes from Morin that didn't get in the column. Call it a PucKato exclusive:

On having an MVP season: “I was just lucky enough to stay healthy all year. ... I had great coaches and credit my linemates and teammates. You don’t get individual awards without having good teammates around you. … I was lucky to have two good linemates (AHL rookie of the year Curtis McKenzie and, until his callup to Dallas, Colton Sceviour) all year.”

On his back-to-back overtime game-winners in the finals: “You don’t expect to score back to back. Obviously, it was a huge thrill. Again, a lot of credit to my linemates for putting me in position. Great plays by both my linemates.”

On his relationship with Kael Mouillierat; the two were teammates at MSU for one season and played against each other in the AHL finals: “I hung out with Kael quite a bit when he was a freshman. He and Geoff Irwin hung out at our house a lot. … He came to my wedding. ... I said to my wife, ‘I hope we play St. John’s, and if we don’t win I hope Kael could win.’”

On Mouillierat's breakout season: “I didn’t even know what kind of season he was having until I was looking at the top scorers list one day midway through the season. I kept following him, and he continued to play well.”