Westmoreland County Senior Spotlight: Latrobe’s Dylan Morris

By: Anthony DiFilippo
Monday, November 4, 2024 | 2:49 PM

Last year, Latrobe had a lot of inexperience and modest expectations. That group ended up making it to the Penguins Cup Class 2A playoffs, which instilled a lot of belief going into this season.

“It gave us a ton of confidence,” senior forward Dylan Morris said. “Losing so many seniors the previous year, it gave us a lot of confidence in our ability to bounce back and face adversity and use that as fire to fuel us through the rest of the season.”

It’s a performance that leaked into the current campaign, where the IceCats won two of their first three games.

After losing the first game to new Class 2A addition Cathedral Prep, Latrobe responded by beating Armstrong and Baldwin by a combined score of 9-1.

“I think we’ve done really well. I think the first game was a bit rough, losing that first game,” Morris said. “Then we got our flow back, got our rhythm back in practice, and we really started to get it going.”

Cathedral Prep swapped places over the offseason with Thomas Jefferson, the regular season champion of Class 2A last year.

“I think Cathedral Prep coming into our division, that gives us a new replacement for Thomas Jefferson. So we really need to watch out for them,” Morris said.

Morris contributed two goals and an assist in Latrobe’s first three contests.

Another key senior for the IceCats has been goaltender Brock Pflugh, who was top three in goals-against average last year and near the top of the list in save percentage as well.

“He brings us a lot of confidence coming out of the defensive zone,” Morris said. “We know that we have that cushion behind us for if and when we do make a mistake, we know that he can bail us out 99% of the time.”

Penalty killing has been a strength for Latrobe this year, and it’s kind of had to be. They were second in 2A in penalty minutes through three games with 74, including allowing 12 power plays against Armstrong. They killed all but one of them.

“Moving forward, I think it’s going to be really important to watch stick penalties,” Morris said. “Move our feet more instead of trying to use our stick to get pucks off of people and really establish that boundary between just enough intensity and not too much.”

Morris is going to play for the Boston Rangers of the USPHL next year and hopes to get a college opportunity after that.

In the early part of the season, Morris took some time for a Senior Spotlight Q&A:

How did you get started with hockey?

I grew up, my uncle was kind of into hockey, but he hadn’t played growing up. In high school, he started playing. He took me out to skate when I was around 2 years old, and then I did learn to skate when I was about 6. Then I began playing hockey for the Westmoreland Eagles after that.

What are your team and personal goals for the rest of the year?

Team goals are to, obviously, make the playoffs again. I really want to win 15 or more games to really have a good record going into the playoffs. I think setting up more practices, setting up more team things outside of the rink is going to be really good for our morale. As far as personal goals go, I want to do as well as I can while also being a benefit to the team. From there, keep training, keep working throughout the summer to go to juniors next year.

How would you describe your personal performance this season?

I think it’s been pretty good. I think I could do a little bit more as far as putting points on the board. I think I could take a few more shots when I have the opportunity, not look for that pass-first option. So far, I think I’ve done pretty all right.

What’s one thing that people don’t know about you?

Outside of hockey, I really enjoy weightlifting and race cars. It’s more NHRA. My dad is really into drag racing.

Is there a certain player in the pros you try to emulate or look up to?

Obviously, being from Pittsburgh, (Sidney) Crosby’s a huge inspiration. But I’ve been told that I play very similarly to Jake Guentzel. I really like watching him, especially when I was playing wing. Growing up, I really liked emulating his style of play.

What was the recruiting process like for your juniors team?

I think two years ago, I was connected with coach Rich DiCaprio of the Boston Junior Rangers. At that point, they were in the EHL. We had a few kids go up there from our club team, and our coach is in constant communication with him. He hooked me up with that line of contact. I went up there for a couple of skates last year and a couple of skates this year, especially over the summer. I was doing the main camp with them. I really enjoyed it, talked with the coach and visited the facility. I think now that they’ve moved into a higher league, it’s going to be really fun and a really cool experience for me to go up there in play. And hopefully get a college commitment out of that.

Tags: Latrobe