How has 2017 draft prospect Morgan Barron been fairing at Cornell?
Cornell men’s hockey has played 6 games of ECAC hockey so far this 2019-2020 season. So far, the No. 3-ranked Red are undefeated, having looked fairly dominant. Junior captain Morgan Barron has been a big part of Cornell’s success thus far. Drafted 174th overall in 2017, Barron leads Cornell in points. So far, Barron has scored 6 goals and has 6 assists to his name for a combined 12 points in 6 games.
Barron has been playing on the top line thus far and has been a driving force for Cornell’s offense. He came in clutch during the season opener against Michigan State University, with the primary assist on both the game-winning and game-tying goal against Michigan. 14 minutes into the second period Barron and one of his linemates made strategic passes to open up space for Andreev to score the game-winning goal in what would be one of Cornell’s closes games of the season. Barron also played well a couple of games later against Brown where he scored a power-play goal off a neat pass, showing his efficiency on the PP unit
Barron’s most formidable game of the season thus far was the 11/9 game against Yale where he had a hat trick and finished the game with 4 points. Throughout the game, Barron drove play against Yale. He showcased his ability to win puck battles and solid puck handling skills in addition to his killer ability to shoot.
Cornell coach Mike Schafer described Barron’s play, saying “He’s a flat-out beast when he wins puck battles and the way he can shoot the puck… he has a pro shot. When he combines that with determination and moving his feet like he did tonight, he can be almost unstoppable.”
Barron scored his third goal of the game on the power play, using a 4 on 2 rush to rip on over the Yale goalie’s shoulder. He had the first Cornell hat trick since January 2018
There is no doubt that Barron has gotten off to a very promising start these first six games. In addition to his impressive point tally and his ability to win puck battles, he has also shown impressive skill on the power play. 5 of Barron’s 12 points this season have come on the power play. So far, Barron has had 2 goals and 3 assists on the power play and is a big reason that Cornell’s powerplay unit has been so successful this season. The PP unit has had a conversion percentage of 42.3% which is likely unsustainable long term but speaks to the ability of everyone on it, including Barron.
So far, Barron has been establishing himself as a leader on Cornell’s hockey team. The Junior captain definitely seems like he has the potential to be a legit NHL prospect, especially if he maintains or improves his standard of play.
This season, Barron has already stepped up his game from last year. Hopefully, he continues to improve even more and finishes the season on a strong note.
After that, he has one year left in the ECAC, and then maybe it’s on to Hartford or possibly even the NHL.
Featured Image: Boris Tsang, Photography Editor for the Cornell Daily Sun
