While rehabbing a broken jaw in Philadelphia recently, Samuel Morin wasnt allowed to eat solid foods for a month. The 19-year-old defenceman drank a lot of smoothies and some less appetizing meals.Steak in a blender, chicken in a blender, everything in a blender, Morin said. It was disgusting. Awful.Morins diet is solidified again and so is his life. Hes back playing hockey and at six foot seven brings an element of size and strength to Canadas world junior hockey team that no one else can provide.Hes not an easy player to play against in the corner, coach Benoit Groulx said at the teams pre-tournament camp in St. Catharines, Ont. We need that presence on the back end that can make a big difference in tight games because when you look at this tournament its all about winning battles in corners, winning battles in front of the net, and I think hes got the size and the stick and hes smart enough to get that done.Morin, a first-round pick of the Flyers in 2013, came closer than most thought to making the NHL club out of training camp. Sent back to Rimouski Oceanic of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, Morin suffered a fractured jaw when he took a one-timer from the Remparts Kurt Etchegary to the right side of his face.That was Oct. 12 in his fifth game of the season. Morin remembers everything about the play.Oh my God, worst injury I ever had, Morin said. One-timer straight in the face, you dont see that a lot. Sometimes it deflects, but that was straight in the face. It just destroyed my jaw. I had no time (to react).After his steak-in-a-blender period, Morin returned five weeks later but with a full face shield. The St-Henri, Que., native had to think twice about what he did.My game changed in junior because when someone boarded me I cannot say, You want to fight? I cant do my tough guy (act) anymore, Morin said. For sure it changed a little bit of my game, but here (at the world juniors) I cannot fight so it changes nothing.Morin doesnt need to fight to be an imposing force for Canada. He wants opponents to see his size on the roster and think twice when they go into the corners with him.While the Flyers hope he can be the next Chris Pronger, Morin has two other players he feels like hes more like. One is Zdeno Chara, a similarly sized defenceman with a big shot who can play in all situations.The other is a defenceman who was part of Canadas 2005 world junior gold-medal team, Toronto Maple Leafs captain Dion Phaneuf.Dion Phaneuf, when they won the gold here, proved it: You can be a physical player. Even though he was not fighting he was hitting everything, Morin said. I dont want to hit everything and get out of the play because I want to hit, but I think I can finish all my checks.Canada, which opens the tournament Friday against Slovakia, will count on Morin to do just that. The defence includes plenty of puck-movers and offensive prowess, but Morin is the muscle.In a tournament like that, you need size, you need strength, you need speed, Groulx said. We like the balance we have with our defencemen. I think theyre all big, they can skate well, theyre pretty strong. Sam brings that element.Except Morin doesnt see himself as a one-dimensional big guy. He understands and embraces a shutdown role but doesnt underestimate his own skills.I think Im a big guy, I got some skills. Im a good skater, Ive got a good shot, Morin said. I got a long reach, I can play with the puck. I want to play like a little guy more. But I have to realize Im a big guy and I need to make some simple plays.Groulx scouted Morin as far back as midget hockey and coached against him in the QMJHL. He said Morin has decent skill and can skate well for a big man.Teammates see that, too.Hes definitely a great skater for how big he is and hes got a great shot and he can use his skills to manage (the puck), defenceman Madison Bowey said. Hes not just one of those stay-at-home defencemen. Hes pretty dynamic with that size.The world junior championship opens Friday in Montreal and Toronto.---Follow @SWhyno on Twitter Authentic NHL Jerseys . -- Derek Jeter says the New York Yankees have no choice but to move forward now that Alex Rodriguez has accepted his suspension for the 2014 season. Wholesale NHL Jerseys .J. -- Fabian Johnson scored his first international goal and Clint Dempsey doubled the lead after a defensive lapse as the United States beat Turkey 2-1 Sunday in the second of three World Cup warm-up matches for the Americans before they head to Brazil. https://www.cheapnhljerseysjustwholesale.com/. The Vancouver coach and an announced sellout crowd of 18,910 watched in dismay as the Canucks lost 7-4 to the New York Islanders on Monday night by squandering a 3-0 lead in the third period. NHL Jerseys . In the opening game of his fourth-round match at the U.S. Open, the owner of 17 major titles got passed at the net twice, sailed a backhand long, then missed two forehands to get broken. NHL Jerseys China . The Detroit Tigers slugger fell short in his bid to become the first player to win the Triple Crown in successive seasons. DETROIT -- Chris Kunitz had two goals and an assist to help the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Detroit Red Wings 5-1 on Wednesday night in an exhibition game. Jussi Jokinen, Pascal Dupuis and Craig Adams also scored for Pittsburgh. Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin each had two assists, and Marc-Andre Fleury made 16 saves. Drew Miller scored for Detroit, and Pettr Mrazek stopped 32 shots.dddddddddddd. Jokinen and Dupuis scored in the final 5 minutes of the first to give the Penguins a 2-0 lead. Adams made it 3-0 3:14 into the second period. Miller scored with 7:11 left in the middle period. Kunitzs first goal came with 2:35 remaining in the second and he added a power-play goal 9:28 into the third. ' ' '