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CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. — The newest member of the UPEI men’s hockey team has earned a reputation as a hard-nosed, physical defenceman.
But, off the ice, six-foot-three and 215-pound Cam Morton is the exact opposite.
“My girlfriend’s parents call me a big teddy bear,” Morton said with a laugh in a phone interview with SaltWire on June 1. “I enjoy helping people and I worked at a nursing home (in Kingston, Ont.) for over a year.
“I really enjoyed that and getting to help people with something that’s hands-on and not sitting at a desk.”
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UPEI announced on June 1 that Morton will join the Panthers for the 2023-24 Atlantic University Sport (AUS) Men’s Hockey Conference season.
The 21-year-old Morton said he’s excited to join the Charlottetown-based Panthers and has heard great things about P.E.I.’s capital city and UPEI.
“Life is precious. Growing up, your parents and grandparents give us so much and when you get to give that back, it’s heart-warming to do for them.” – Cam Morton
Job description
With his work at the nursing home, Morton screened family members during COVID-19, interacted with residents, helped feed them and did activities with them along with trying to keep them talking and happy.
Morton said those experiences played a big factor in his decision to study kinesiology at UPEI. Morton, who hopes to work in therapy, said his experience working with seniors has provided many important lessons.
“Life is precious,” said Morton. “Growing up, your parents and grandparents give us so much, and when you get to give that back, it’s heart-warming to do for them.”
Hockey resumé
Morton, a member of the Ontario Hockey League’s Erie Otters the last four years, is from Inverary, Ont., which he described as 10 minutes from Kingston.
“There are a lot of things we like as far as stability in Cam’s game that attracted us to him right from the onset.” – Forbes MacPherson
Morton served as team captain of the Otters for the 2022-23 season and an assistant captain during the 2021-22 campaign.
“We were obviously very interested in Cam right from the onset of our recruiting process,” said Panthers head coach Forbes MacPherson. “He’s somebody that has a real presence on the ice and a real strong presence in the dressing room amongst his teammates.
“There are a lot of things we like as far as stability in Cam’s game that attracted us to him right from the onset.”
MacPherson noted Morton is the third Panther recruit who served as team captain at the major junior level last season, joining two Prince Edward Islanders – Keiran Gallant (Charlottetown Islanders) and Cole Larkin (Acadie-Bathurst Titan).
Style of play
On the ice, Morton describes himself as a hard-working, physical and puck-moving defensive defenceman, who puts his body on the line and will do whatever is necessary to help the team win.
“I’m a big locker-room guy, too,” said Morton, who has been tasked with shutting down the opposition’s top lines the past two years with the Otters. “Being captain, I think I’m a very good leader, a good supporter of my teammates and a good communicator as well.”
So, how did Morton end up committing to UPEI?
A phone call from MacPherson started that process. Morton played previously with Panthers defenceman Kurtis Henry, who spoke highly of the UPEI hockey program.
“I’ve heard great things about the AUS conference as well, so I was very intrigued by that,” said Morton. “With the success the program has had, and the players Forbes has helped develop and the places he has got them, I couldn’t think of a better place to go.”
By the numbers
Here are Cam Morton’s statistics with the OHL’s Erie Otters:
Year GP G A Pts PIM
2019-20 58 3 9 12 46
2020-21 0 0 0 0 0 0
2021-22 65 3 18 21 99
2022-23 67 2 12 14 101
Roster turnover
With several of last year’s Panthers graduating or moving on, the 2022-23 team will feature a lot of new faces.
MacPherson is looking forward to the team growing together over the next few years.
“That’s kind of going to be the theme of this year’s recruiting class,” said MacPherson. “We are going to be a young team with the number of graduates we had last year.
“But, with that, it’s going to give us a real good opportunity to grow as a team, galvanize and come together over time.”
It’s an opportunity Morton describes as exciting.
“You get to come in with guys your age and knowing a few guys from around the OHL, it’s going to be exciting to grow with these guys and become a close-knit group,” said Morton. “It’s always fun to do that. I know in Erie, we were close in age and went through it together.”
Jason Simmonds is a sports editor with SaltWire in Prince Edward Island. He can be reached by email at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @JpsportsJason.