MANKATO — Minnesota State University’s Reid Morich is back on the ice in Mankato.
The Mavericks are near the halfway point of their annual six-week player-led summer camp. He can be seen leading drills while still bumping bodies in a friendly manner with teammates.
Sure, he’s entering his sophomore season when MSU enters its highly anticipated season opener against national runner-up Wisconsin on Oct. 9. But before he stepped foot back onto campus he was given an opportunity.
Morich completed a three-day player development camp with the Montreal Canadiens in June.
“It’s cool to get recognized by such a prestigious team, and also the NHL in general. But the bigger message is that it’s a testament to what we have here at Minnesota State,” Morich said. “I wouldn’t be here without the staff behind my back, my teammates behind my back every day. We’re always here pushing each other to get better and closer together as a group. It’s cool to be able to experience that, but I don’t think I was just representing myself.
“I was representing this program and this town.”
In his first year with the Mavericks, Morich cemented his status on the third line with Jakob Stender and Sawyer Scholl, tallying seven goals and four assists while providing grit and toughness. His professional rights are currently owned by no one.
But as day two of the 2026 NHL Draft rolled around, Morich’s agent told him that Montreal might have something for him at the end of the draft. Being drafted might not have been on the table, but being invited to development camp later that week was in the cards.
As Morich finished a round of golf that night he got a call from his agent. The Canadiens weren’t able to invite him to camp. They didn’t have enough open spots available after trading late round draft picks.
Morich understood. There were no bad feelings. Then his agent told him he had to go, there was another call on the line.
Less than a minute later Morich’s agent called him back. One of the players Montreal initially invited was unable to secure a visa.
A spot opened up. It went to Morich.
So, Morich spent three days in Montreal. He went through on-ice workouts. There were four-on-four games. And of course, because it was one of hockey’s meccas in Montreal, the stands of the practice facility were jam packed.
He sat through meetings and presentations, including one from Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis, a 2004 Stanley Cup champion with the Tampa Bay Lightning and a player Morich loved watching growing up.
“He talks with a lot of fire,” Morich said of St. Louis. “It was cool hearing from him.”
But what did Morich learn from spending three days in one of hockey’s royal organizations?
“I think it’s not too far off from that level of play,” Morich said. “I think I made a pretty good name for myself, made a good name for this team here and this town.”
If you ask MSU head coach Luke Strand, Morich didn’t just deserve this opportunity. The three days with the Canadiens were earned.
“He did it through consistent and improving play over the whole year, kind of a tale of two seasons,” Strand said. “The beginning (of last season) was feeling it out as a freshman. The second (half) was kind of putting on a man hat and playing the way he does. But, to get noticed for finding consistency and different values to his game is really important.”