Mike Morrison (ice hockey)

This article is about the American ice hockey player. For other persons of the same name, see Michael Morrison (disambiguation).
Mike Morrison
Born (1979-07-11) July 11, 1979 (age 45)
Medford, Massachusetts, U.S.
Height 6 ft 3 in (191 cm)
Weight 203 lb (92 kg; 14 st 7 lb)
Position Goaltender
Caught Left
Played for Edmonton Oilers
Ottawa Senators
Phoenix Coyotes
HDD Olimpija Ljubljana
Modo Hockey
NHL draft 186th overall, 1998
Edmonton Oilers
Playing career 2002–2010

Michael Morrison (born July 11, 1979) is an American former professional ice hockey goaltender who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Edmonton Oilers, Ottawa Senators and the Phoenix Coyotes.

Early life

Morrison was born in Medford, Massachusetts. As a youth, he played in the 1993 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with a minor ice hockey team from the Montreal South Shore.[1]

Career

Morrison was selected in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft by the Edmonton Oilers, in the 7th round, 186th overall. He then played for the University of Maine for 4 years.[2] He spent time playing for the ECHL's Columbus Cottonmouths, Greenville Grrrowl, and the AHL with the Edmonton Road Runners.

After the NHL lockout, Morrison was given a chance to play in the NHL when goaltenders Ty Conklin and Jussi Markkanen were unable to work for the Edmonton Oilers. He made his NHL debut on November 7, 2005, playing 18 minutes in relief during a shut-out defeat to the Dallas Stars.[3] In his first start at Denver, he stopped 31 shots to put his team on top 5–2 against the home team, the Colorado Avalanche on November 14.[4] He eventually became the Oilers' starting goaltender. On March 7, 2006, Oilers head coach Craig MacTavish made a decision to replace Conklin with Morrison before heading into a shootout against the Dallas Stars. The Oilers ended up losing by a shootout goal from Jussi Jokinen.

On March 8, 2006 the Oilers traded their 1st round pick in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft to the Minnesota Wild for goaltender Dwayne Roloson. Since Edmonton had to unload a goaltender and could not find a trade partner, they placed Morrison on waivers, and he was picked up by the Ottawa Senators to back up Ray Emery.

On July 2, 2006, he was signed as a free agent by the Phoenix Coyotes to back up former Curtis Joseph and work with head coach Wayne Gretzky, and goaltender coach Grant Fuhr, all former Oilers. After posting a 0–3 record, a 6.14 goals against average and a .790 save percentage, Morrison was placed on waivers once again. He was not picked up and was sent to the minors. Morrison finished the year in the ECHL.

Morrison signed to play for HDD Olimpija Ljubljana in EBEL for the 2008-09 season, leaving from the Bridgeport Sound Tigers of the AHL.

On January 7, 2009, Morrison signed with Modo Hockey in the Swedish elite league Elitserien. Morrison then signed a one-year contract with the Albany River Rats in the American Hockey League on August 11, 2009.[5]

Career statistics

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP W L T/OT MIN GA SO GAA SV% GP W L MIN GA SO GAA SV%
1997–98 Phillips Exeter Academy USHS 27 15 11 2 1632 64 1 2.35 .921 — — — — — — — —
1998–99 University of Maine HE 11 3 0 1 347 10 1 1.73 .917 — — — — — — — —
1999–00 University of Maine HE 12 7 2 1 608 27 1 2.66 .894 — — — — — — — —
2000–01 University of Maine HE 10 2 3 3 490 16 1 1.96 .924 — — — — — — — —
2001–02 University of Maine HE 30 20 3 4 1645 60 2 2.19 .921 — — — — — — — —
2002–03 Columbus Cottonmouths ECHL 38 9 18 6 1948 113 1 3.48 .892 — — — — — — — —
2003–04 Toronto Roadrunners AHL 27 12 8 2 1309 55 3 2.52 .913 — — — — — — — —
2004–05 Greenville Grrrowl ECHL 26 13 10 0 1576 72 1 2.74 .924 3 1 1 150 9 0 3.61 .893
2004–05 Edmonton Road Runners AHL 14 2 5 5 728 21 2 1.73 .939 — — — — — — — —
2005–06 Greenville Grrrowl ECHL 9 7 2 0 548 20 0 2.19 .922 — — — — — — — —
2005–06 Edmonton Oilers NHL 21 10 4 2 891 42 0 2.83 .884 — — — — — — — —
2005–06 Ottawa Senators NHL 4 1 0 1 207 12 0 3.47 .875 — — — — — — — —
2006–07 Phoenix Coyotes NHL 4 0 3 0 127 13 0 6.13 .790 — — — — — — — —
2006–07 San Antonio Rampage AHL 2 0 1 0 60 11 0 11.01 .732 — — — — — — — —
2006–07 Phoenix RoadRunners ECHL 27 9 12 3 1423 80 1 3.37 .900 — — — — — — — —
2007–08 Bridgeport Sound Tigers AHL 43 23 17 1 2445 114 5 2.80 .911 — — — — — — — —
2008–09 HDD Olimpija Ljubljana EBEL 24 — — — — — — 3.33 .901 — — — — — — — —
2008–09 Modo Hockey SEL 3 — — — 163 11 0 4.05 .847 — — — — — — — —
2009–10 Florida Everblades ECHL 22 9 10 3 1247 60 1 2.89 .899 — — — — — — — —
2009–10 Albany River Rats AHL 14 6 5 1 763 42 0 3.30 .892 — — — — — — — —
2009–10 Utah Grizzlies ECHL 1 0 1 0 60 9 0 9.00 .719 7 1 5 353 27 0 4.59 .865
NHL totals 29 11 7 3 1226 67 0 3.28 .871 — — — — — — — —

Awards and honors

Award Year
All-Hockey East First Team 2001–02

References

  1. ^ "Pee-Wee players who have reached NHL or WHA" (PDF). Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament. 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-03-06. Retrieved 2019-02-09.
  2. ^ "Q&A with Mike Morrison". hockeysfuture.com. 2004-01-28. Retrieved 2013-04-05.
  3. ^ "Stars blank Oilers". National Hockey League. 2005-11-07. Retrieved 2015-06-21.
  4. ^ "Morrison claims first NHL win, as Oilers beat Avalanche". National Hockey League. 2005-11-14. Retrieved 2005-11-15.
  5. ^ "Goaltender Morrison joins Grizzlies in Victoria". Utah Grizzlies. 2009-11-23. Retrieved 2010-04-15.