Sidney Morin Back on Home Ice

For Sidney Morin, one word described her feelings as she took the ice at Grand Casino Arena for her first game as a member of the Minnesota Frost: “It's really special,” Morin told The Ice Garden. “That's the word that I keep thinking of. I found my family in the stands right away during warmups, which is something I pretty much always do when I'm stretching, and yeah, it was just joyful to see them there supporting me at home. One of my nannies from when I was a kid was there, and she had a sign that said, ‘Welcome Home, Sidney’, and that was pretty cool to see that other people are happy that I'm back as well."

In year nine of her professional career, Morin is once again home in Minnesota. After winning three state titles at Minnetonka High School and a successful career at the University of Minnesota Duluth, Morin spent the first five years of her professional career in Europe. Morin returned home to Minnesota in 2022-23 for a season with the PHF's Minnesota Whitecaps, before heading out to Boston for the past two PWHL seasons.

Morin’s time in Boston included an appearance in the 2024 Walter Cup Finals, and when she became a free agent this offseason, a move back home to Minnesota wasn’t a foregone conclusion. “No, I mean, to be honest, when I left the season in Boston, I was pretty sure that I was going to be back,” Morin said. "I did have that opportunity, and I tried to take my time and talk to every team that was interested."

If trying to decide on her professional future wasn’t enough, this summer’s free agency came at an already busy time for Morin. “The free agency period happened right around my wedding, actually, so it was a pretty stressful time, but I tried to take my time and talk to every team and weigh my options.” 

It’s no surprise that teams were calling. Morin’s offensive numbers, skating ability, and experience made for a valuable package, one that the Minnesota Frost were interested in. “Once Sidney became available, we kind of hopped right on that,” Frost General Manager Melissa Caruso said. “We thought her veteran presence would be a great addition to our group.” 

After plenty of consideration, a return to Minnesota made the most sense for Morin.

“It was a really hard decision, I'm not going to lie. I had a lot of tears, feeling like I was leaving my team, and Boston was a really special place to me and the group of people that were there. But for my family and me, it just made a lot of sense to move back home to Minnesota, and that's ultimately what drove my decision. I'm really excited to be here. There's obviously a special group of girls here as well. It's been a lot of fun to get to know the ones that I didn't know before and play alongside them.”

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In her third PWHL season, Kelly Pannek is on pace for her best offensive year. Her hot start is powering the Minnesota Frost’s offense.

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It’s safe to say the Frost are pretty excited to have her. “I think she's that calm, poised defender that we were looking for,” coach Ken Klee said. “She makes the game look easy. She's not trying to overcomplicate things. She's been a really nice fit for us.”

Morin and the Frost traveled to Boston in early December to take on the Fleet, and the trip provided Morin with an opportunity to visit with some old friends. "Yeah, it was fun," Morin said. "I had one out for coffee with all my roommates. It was nice to see familiar faces, chat a little bit, and see the fans, of course, as well."

The path back home has been long and winding. Morin is from a generation of players who had limited options to pursue professional hockey after completing college. So, after a decorated career at UMD, Morin left Minnesota and began her professional career thousands of miles from home, in Örnsköldsvik, Sweden. “I played overseas, and I wouldn't trade those experiences for the world,” Morin said. “I met some amazing people, and learned a lot about myself and different cultures.”

“I think the biggest thing I learned playing overseas was my confidence, and I think that was something that really helped me evolve as a player.”

It’s a lesson she learned early in her professional hockey career. “I think my first year of pro hockey, when I played in MODO, I had just so much fun playing hockey there and met some of my best friends,” Morin explained. “It was one of my favorite years of hockey. I was done with school, and all I was doing was playing hockey. It felt free, and it just felt like everything I was doing was clicking for some reason.”

Clicking is one way to put it; in her rookie season, Morin led MODO defenders with 32 points in 27 games. “It wasn't anything specific," Morin said. "Maybe it was more time, more space, you know, on a bigger rink. Who knows?”

Morin's rookie season with MODO was so good, she caught the attention of USA Hockey. Morin wasn't originally a part of the centralization roster for Team USA's 2018 Olympic team, but after her great start in the SDHL she was a late addition to the group, joining the centralization squad in late November 2017. Morin made the team, and she went from late addition to the group to an integral part of a gold medal-winning team. She chipped in two assists across five tournament games, one in the semi-final win over Finland and another in the gold medal victory over Canada.

Morin quickly proved her rookie season success in Sweden was no fluke. In year two, she scored 38 points in 32 games for Linköping. In the 2020-2021 season, Morin captained HV71 and scored 65 points in 36 games, an SDHL record for points by a defender in a single season that still stands today. Morin was voted the best defender in the SDHL in both the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons. For the 2021-22 season, Morin moved to Switzerland, where she captained Lugano and led the SWHL A in points with 58 points in 25 games. She won the SWHL A best defender and league MVP awards that season.

“I think my first year of pro hockey, when I played in MODO, I had just so much fun playing hockey there and met some of my best friends. It was one of my favorite years of hockey. I was done with school, and all I was doing was playing hockey. It felt free, and it just felt like everything I was doing was clicking for some reason.”

For college players now, the post-college path in the PWHL era is a bit more straightforward than it was when Morin graduated from UMD. However, Morin is thankful for the path she took. "I had so much fun playing in Europe and playing so freely," Morin said. "It didn't matter to make mistakes. I feel like mistakes here [in the PWHL] hold a little bit bigger weight. You might or might not lose a little ice time or be in the stands, or you have to take on a different role, but the years that I had in Europe just let me play so freely, and really brought out my offensive abilities and skating."

"Who knows what kind of player I would have been if I had just jumped straight into this league. But I am obviously thankful for the path that I took," Morin said.

Morin has been playing back home in the United States for the past three seasons, but the lessons she learned abroad remain important. “Something that I've tried to bring back here is that if you believe in yourself, it can really go far," Morin said. "When people start to doubt themselves, that's usually when they start to struggle.”

It's a lesson Morin has had to lean on herself. Her time in Europe provided an opportunity for her offensive game to flourish, but the inaugural PWHL season in Boston required a shift in focus. "I think year one was a little bit of an adjustment for everybody," Morin said. "But, you know, me especially, I hadn't really had to play that much defense. Since I was in college, I was a very offensive D in my pro years before this league started. So I think it was getting back to just taking care of my own end before anything else. The points weren't necessarily there, and we were struggling a little bit early in the season in Boston, just trying to figure out systems and whatnot. "

"I had so much fun playing in Europe and playing so free. It didn't matter to make mistakes. I feel like mistakes here [in the PWHL] hold a little bit bigger weight. You might or might not lose a little ice time or be in the stands, or you have to take on a different role, but the years that I had in Europe just let me play so freely, and really brought out my offensive abilities and skating."

"I think I did a much better job in year two getting back to just believing in myself and my abilities, and if I have to take care of our end first like so be it that that is my job as a defenseman, and then offense comes second."

Morin's decision to return to Minnesota has stabilized a Frost defense core that went through an offseason of change. After back-to-back Walter Cup titles, the Frost lost four defenders in the offseason, including defender of the year finalists Claire Thompson and Sophie Jaques.

With so much turnover, Morin's return has been a calming presence. She’s averaging over 20 minutes of ice time a night for the Frost, and she's spent the majority of that time playing alongside Mae Batherson.

"Yeah, I think it's been great," Batherson told The Ice Garden. "Playing with Syd, she's a vet, and she's really steady back there. She brings me a lot of confidence, and we just try and do our best to help the team play against some of the other team's best lines, try and shut them down, and then jump up in the play and try and contribute to offense the best we can as well."

Morin picked up her first point on Taylor Heise's overtime game winner against the Vancouver Goldeneys, but Morin’s value to this Frost team goes well beyond her contributions on the ice. With so many newcomers on the back end, Morin’s ability to pass along her wealth of experience is invaluable. "Yeah, I'm probably more lead by example unless someone has a question, especially being on a new team," Morin said. "I need to learn the way that we play first and foremost, but I want to be able to be leaned on if people need it."

It's no surprise that confidence is a big part of what Morin tries to pass along. “Playing with confidence and just believing in yourself is a huge thing, and that's something that I want the younger girls to take; It's okay if you make a mistake, but hold yourself to a high standard. Keep your head held high and know that the next time you won't do that, you'll be just fine.” 

Currently, the Frost have two rookie defenders in the lineup trying to make the difficult jump from college hockey to the PWHL. “It is an adjustment when you come from college,” Morin said. “It is not the same pace at all. It doesn't matter how successful you were before; you're not getting bumped the same way. You're not getting forecheckers on you at the same speed whatsoever.” 

“Something that I've tried to bring back here is that if you believe in yourself, it can really go far. When people start to doubt themselves, that's usually when they start to struggle.”

Though the learning curve is steep, Morin has been impressed with the Frost’s young defenders. “I think Kendall Cooper has great feet, and I think that anybody in this league who can skate is usually pretty successful. It's been fun to watch her play and adjust her game already; she looks great. If she can keep believing in herself and playing with confidence, it's going to go a long way.”

But it’s more than just Cooper. Rookie sixth-round pick Brooke Becker was unsigned coming into camp, but she made the team and has had a strong start to the season when she's been in the lineup. “She's really taken everything in stride and worked her ass off to make this team and put her best foot forward every day, every time she's on the ice, and learn as much as she can from everybody,” Morin said. 

“We have a lot of promising young defensemen that I think will play for a long time in this league.”

Sidney Morin's nine-year professional hockey career has taken her all over the world and has been filled with memorable experiences.

"I really feel like I've done it all. I wasn't necessarily set on going to Sweden; it kind of just happened when I first finished college, and I'm so thankful it did. I was really good friends with Lara Stalder in college. We were roommates, and I had always wanted to play in Switzerland. That was a dream of mine, even though it's not the highest league, I just really wanted to experience the country and, kind of, play hockey on the side. So I checked that one off my list. And the Olympics were obviously a big one when I was younger. Checked that off my list. And now I'm really just trying to enjoy every moment."

Opening night as a member of the Minnesota Frost was another one of those special moments.

"At this point in my life, it's not just about me, it's about everyone else, and I want to share as many experiences as I can with my friends and family in the final years of my career, so [it was] really special and beautiful.”