Ex-Penguins 1st-rounder Joseph Morrow joins KHL team

Former Penguins defensive prospect Joseph Morrow, the team’s first-round pick in 2011, has signed with Dinamo Minsk, a Belarusian team that plays in Russia’s KHL.

Morrow’s deal with Minsk comes two days after the New Jersey Devils put him on unconditional waivers for the purposes of releasing him from his NHL contract.

The Penguins selected Morrow No. 23 overall in the same draft which saw local players John Gibson (Whitehall) and Brandon Saad (Gibsonia) go at picks No. 39 and 43, respectively in the second round. Gibson and Saad each became all-stars while Morrow never played an NHL contest for the Penguins.

Morrow’s only professional experience with the organization came in 2012-13 when he appeared in 57 games for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the American Hockey League and scored 15 points (four goals, 11 assists).

In March of that season, the Penguins traded Morrow and a fifth-round pick in 2013 to the Dallas Stars for forward Brenden Morrow (no relation) and a third-round pick in 2013 which was eventually used to draft forward Jake Guentzel.

Less than three months later in June of 2013, Morrow was moved again. In a seven-player transaction which brought all-star Tyler Seguin to Dallas, Morrow was traded to the Boston Bruins.

He eventually broke through into the NHL in 2014-15 with the Bruins and spent parts of three seasons with that organization. He has also played for the Montreal Canadiens and Winnipeg Jets.

In 162 NHL games, Morrow has 32 points (nine goals, 23 assists).

At the start of the 2019-20 season, former Penguins general manager Ray Shero, now with the Devils, signed Morrow, 27, to a one-year, two-way contract and assigned him to Binghamton of the AHL. Morrow appeared in 16 AHL games and scored four points (one goal, three assists) before being released.

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