Travis Morin

Travis Andrew Morin (born January 9, 1984) is an American former professional ice hockey center and current assistant coach. While he briefly played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Dallas Stars, he most notably played with the Stars' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Texas Stars. Morin appeared in 686 games for the Texas Stars across 10 seasons and had his jersey retired by the team following his retirement in 2019.

Early life Morin was born on January 9, 1984, in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota. He began playing organized hockey at the age of five and competed in the Brooklyn Park youth system through bantams.

Playing career

Amateur While enrolled at Osseo Senior High School, Morin competed with their varsity ice hockey team from 1999 to 2002. Morin helped them clinch second place at the state championship. He finished the 2001–02 season with 26 goals and 40 assists to help the Orioles finish with a 21–7 record.

Despite going unranked by the NHL Central Scouting Bureau, Morin was selected by the Washington Capitals in the 9th round, 263rd overall, in the 2004 NHL entry draft.

Collegiate Morin competed with the Minnesota State Mavericks at Minnesota State University, Mankato, from 2003 to 2007, where he recorded 58 goals and 75 assists. Morin accumulated eight goals and 13 points with the Stingrays before being called up to their AHL affiliate, Hershey Bears, on November 5, 2007. Despite missing a few games, Morin ended November with the team lead in scoring and was named to the ECHL's American Conference All-Star Team. He finished his rookie season with 34 goals and 50 assists through 68 ECHL games and 0 points through four AHL games. He finished the regular season with 24 goals and 62 assists through 70 games and was named to the All-ECHL First Team. Despite missing four playoff games due to a wrist injury, Morin led the team with 22 points enroute to the 2009 Kelly Cup championship.

Texas Stars (2009–2019) Morin joined the AHL's Texas Stars on a 25-game tryout contract for the 2009–10 season after being recruited by Stars general manager Scott White. He scored in Game 7 of the West Division semifinals, but went goalless for eight consecutive games before breaking the streak in Game 2 of the Calder Cup Finals. Morin finished the playoffs with four goals and 12 assists through 24 games. He then signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Stars' NHL affiliate, Dallas Stars, on July 12, 2010.

Morin started the 2010–11 season with the Texas Star and quickly led the team in scoring. After recording a team-high 13 goals and 17 assists, Morin was named a starter for the Western Conference All-Star team at the 2011 AHL All-Star Classic. Shortly after this, Morin made his NHL debut on January 26, 2011, against the Edmonton Oilers. He played one more game for the Dallas Stars before fainting and falling into a wall at the airport. After being transported to a hospital, he was cleared to return to the lineup. Morin appeared in one more game for Dallas before returning to the AHL on February 6. He finished the regular season with 21 goals and 24 assists to help the Stars qualify for the 2011 Calder Cup playoffs. He then signed a two-year contract extension with the Dallas Stars on June 9, 2011.

Morin returned to the Stars for the 2013–14 season as their franchise's all-time leading scorer. He scored two goals and four points in the Stars' season opener against the Chicago Wolves on October 5, 2013. He scored a point in each of the team's games in October and finished the month leading the league with eight goals and 11 assists. As a result, he was named the CCM/AHL Player of the Month for October. Morin recorded his first career AHL hat-trick on January 11 in win over the Utica Comets. He then tied a franchise record with four assists and five points in a win over the Charlotte Checkers on January 17. Morin ended the month as the league leader in goals and points and was named the CCM/AHL Player of the Month for January. He subsequently became the second player in AHL history to be named Player of the Month twice in one season. Shortly thereafter, Morin tied both his personal and franchise record for points in a single season. He finished the regular-season with a league leading 88 points and won both the Les Cunningham Award and John B. Sollenberger Trophy. Morin was also named to the AHL's First All-Star Team.

Midway through the 2014–15 season, Morin signed a two-year contract extension with the Dallas Stars.

On May 19, 2017, as an impending free agent, Morin opted to continue his tenure with Texas, signing a one-year AHL contract.

After his 12th year in professional hockey, and 10th with Texas, Morin announced his retirement from playing on July 31, 2019, accepting a position within the Texas Stars as both a skills development coach in hockey operations and in a business development and community outreach role in the front office.

He finished his career as the Texas Stars leader in games played, goals, assists and points and was announced to be the first player to have his number retired by Texas during the 2019–20 season on October 19, 2019.

Career statistics Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1999–2000 Osseo Senior High School HS-MN 20 22 30 52 — — — — — 2000–01 Osseo Senior High School HS-MN 20 22 31 53 — — — — — 2001–02 Osseo Senior High School HS-MN 20 23 31 54 — — — — — 2001–02 Chicago Steel USHL 20 5 8 13 0 4 0 0 0 2 2002–03 Chicago Steel USHL 60 21 26 47 46 — — — — — 2003–04 Minnesota State Mavericks WCHA 38 9 12 21 14 — — — — — 2004–05 Minnesota State Mavericks WCHA 36 12 19 31 20 — — — — — 2005–06 Minnesota State Mavericks WCHA 39 20 22 42 16 — — — — — 2006–07 Minnesota State Mavericks WCHA 38 17 22 39 34 — — — — — 2006–07 South Carolina Stingrays ECHL 8 2 1 3 0 — — — — — 2007–08 South Carolina Stingrays ECHL 68 34 50 84 30 20 10 7 17 18 2007–08 Hershey Bears AHL 4 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 2008–09 South Carolina Stingrays ECHL 71 26 62 88 46 19 4 18 22 12 2008–09 Hershey Bears AHL 1 0 1 1 0 — — — — — 2009–10 Texas Stars AHL 80 21 31 52 30 24 4 12 16 6 2010–11 Texas Stars AHL 64 21 24 45 30 6 3 4 7 0 2010–11 Dallas Stars NHL 3 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 2011–12 Texas Stars AHL 76 13 53 66 46 — — — — — 2012–13 Texas Stars AHL 59 12 32 44 14 7 0 3 3 4 2013–14 Texas Stars AHL 66 32 56 88 52 21 9 13 22 12 2013–14 Dallas Stars NHL 4 0 1 1 0 — — — — — 2014–15 Texas Stars AHL 63 22 41 63 40 3 0 0 0 0 2014–15 Dallas Stars NHL 6 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 2015–16 Texas Stars AHL 63 15 39 54 36 4 0 1 1 8 2016–17 Texas Stars AHL 72 21 34 55 42 — — — — — 2017–18 Texas Stars AHL 75 10 51 61 36 22 7 8 15 16 2018–19 Texas Stars AHL 68 8 24 32 34 — — — — — AHL totals 691 175 386 561 360 87 23 41 64 46 NHL totals 13 0 1 1 0 — — — — —

Awards and honors

Award Year College All-WCHA Second Team 2007 ECHL Rookie of the Month (November) 2007 Performer of the Year (+37) 2009 First All-Star Team 2009 Kelly Cup (South Carolina Stingrays) 2009 Sportsmanship Award 2009 AHL Player of the Month (October) 2013 Les Cunningham Award 2014 John B. Sollenberger Trophy 2014