NEWARK, N.J. -- It's double your pleasure time for the Flyers.
Two rookies, defenseman Sam Morin and recently signed center Mike Vecchione, will make their NHL debuts for the Flyers on Tuesday night at Prudential Center against the New Jersey Devils.
"It's a dream come true for me," said Morin, who is 21. "When I played hockey, when I was little boy, just thinking about playing in the NHL. It's a hockey game. I'm really excited. I worked hard for that."
Morin will play with Shayne Gostisbehere; Vecchione, who is 24, will center Pierre-Edouard Bellemare and Colin McDonald.
"I don't think it's sunk in yet," Vecchione said. "Probably when I'm out there for my first shift or put on my jersey and get ready for warm-ups. I'm just trying to stay focused and not let the biggest stage get the best of me. Just go out there and have some fun."
He's had a few days to study the Flyers systems.
"It's pretty simple," Vecchione said. "There are a couple variations, but for the most part we ran the same thing in college in the D-zone. Neutral zone is a little different so I have to focus on that a bit, but the forecheck and D-zone is pretty much the same.
"Just the left-wing lock and the neutral zone is something new to me that I haven't run in a couple years now. Might be some little learning curves out there, but I've got great veteran guys like Belly and Mac to help me out."
The 6-foot-7 Morin, who was paired with Travis Sanheim on the Phantoms, last played with Ghost when they were partners in training camp only a few years ago.
"I'm excited for Vecx and Sammy – it's huge," Gostisbehere said. "You are always going to remember this moment. You try not to get too weird out there. Keep it simple, have fun and take it all in."
Morin's family had planned to make the 10-hour drive from Quebec City to Lehigh Valley this weekend but will be here instead. Flyers coach Dave Hakstol informed Morin at 6 p.m. on Monday.
Morin replaces Brandon Manning (upper body), who looked very stiff Tuesday morning, as if his back were bothering him.
The Flyers had a very nasty and physical 3-0 win over the Devils last week. Dalton Prout was suspended two games for his blindside hit on Radko Gudas, who suffered a concussion.
This game could get ugly, too. Morin is like a young Chris Pronger. He likes it mean 'n rough.
"I don't know, I didn't really look at that game," Morin said. "I'm just gonna play my game and play physical and see what happens. I'm here to play hockey and have fun."
Manning and Gudas' absences left the Flyers short on blue-line toughness.
"That's the perfect opportunity for Sam to come in and play his game," Hakstol said. "His game, it's a heavy, two-way game. ... We've got him paired with Ghost. That's a pair that makes sense, a puck-mover and a good, two-way defender."
Hakstol would have preferred more practice time for Vecchione – just two skates with the team. Vecchione is attending the Hobey Baker festivities as a finalist this weekend in Chicago and that factored into tonight.
"He said I'll be thinking about it too much and probably wouldn't get a good night's sleep, which is probably true," Vecchione said. "I don't mind this at all. Jump right in, play some hockey, focus on the Hobey, and then watch the game Saturday, then Sunday hopefully, get in that one [against Carolina]."
Hakstol said the travel back-and-forth was an issue, too.
"I think tonight is that best opportunity for his first game," Hakstol said. "It's a pure fact that he's gonna be flying back and forth with the Hobey Baker ceremony on Thursday and Friday. That's a tough schedule if you want to jump into the lineup at 12:30 on Saturday afternoon."
Morin, who was a regular on the Phantoms penalty kill, will see some duty there tonight. Vecchione will not play on special teams tonight, Hakstol said.
Loose pucks
This will be Chris VandeVelde's first healthy scratch as a Flyer under Hakstol. ... Steve Mason, 0-9 lifetime against New Jersey, will start in goal. Mason has recovered from his stomach virus.
