Josh Morrissey Explained

Josh Morrissey
Birth Date:28 March 1995
Birth Place:Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Height Ft:6
Height In:0
Weight Lb:194
Position:Defence
Shoots:Left
League:NHL
Team:Winnipeg Jets
Ntl Team:CAN
Draft:13th overall
Draft Team:Winnipeg Jets
Draft Year:2013
Career Start:2014

Joshua Morrissey (born March 28, 1995) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman and alternate captain for the Winnipeg Jets of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected by the Jets in the first round, 13th overall, of the 2013 NHL Entry Draft.

Playing career

Amateur

As a youth, Morrissey played in the 2007 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with the Calgary Flames minor ice hockey team.[1] He was selected by the Western Hockey League (WHL)'s Prince Albert Raiders in the first round, sixth overall, of the 2010 WHL Bantam Draft after skating for Calgary Royals Gold, and being named the top bantam defenceman in southern Alberta.[2] Morrissey made his WHL debut in 2010 skating in five games with Prince Albert, spending most of the season with the Calgary Royals midget AAA team, and competing for Team Alberta during the 2011 Canada Winter Games in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He helped lead Alberta to a bronze medal.

In the 2012–13 season, Morrissey led Prince Albert defenceman in points, scoring 15 goals and 32 assists to go with a +14 plus-minus rating and 91 penalty minutes. The Raiders finished with a winning record for the first time since 2003–04.

In the subsequent off-season, Morrissey was drafted by the Winnipeg Jets in the first round, 13th overall, of the 2013 NHL Entry Draft. Prior to the beginning of the 2013–14 season, Morrissey was named captain of the Raiders.[3] On October 3, 2013, the Winnipeg Jets signed him to three-year, two-way contract,[4] although he returned to Prince Albert for the season. He finished as the second-leading scorer in the WHL during the 2013–14 season, recording 28 goals and 45 assists (73 points) in 59 regular season games, along with a +6 plus-minus rating and 59 penalty minutes. The Raiders were fourth in the East Division before being swept by the eventual 2014 Memorial Cup champions, the Edmonton Oil Kings, in the first round.

On December 10, 2014, during the 2014–15 season, Morrissey was traded to the Kelowna Rockets.[5] He would help lead the Rockets to the WHL championship as well as to the final of the 2015 Memorial Cup, which they lost to the Oshawa Generals.

Professional

Morrissey was called-up to Winnipeg's American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the St. John's IceCaps, during the 2013–14 season, playing eight regular season games as well as 20 games in the 2014 Calder Cup playoffs.[6] The Jets assigned him to the Manitoba Moose (their new AHL affiliate) the following season, although they briefly called him up late in the season to make his NHL debut in a home game against the Montreal Canadiens on March 5, 2016.[7] [8]

Morrissey scored his first career NHL goal on November 15, 2016, in a 4–0 win over the Chicago Blackhawks.[9] He finished his first full season with the Jets with 6 goals and 20 points in 82 games. During his second season with the Jets, Morrissey recorded 26 points in 81 games to help the Jets qualify for the 2018 Stanley Cup playoffs. During the first round, Morrissey was suspended one game for cross checking Eric Staal of the Minnesota Wild.[10]

On September 12, 2019, Morrissey signed an 8-year, $50 million extension with the Jets, carrying an annual average of $6.25 million.[11] Later, on October 1, 2019, just prior to the start of the 2019–20 NHL season Morrissey was named an alternate captain of the Jets.

International play

Morrissey has represented Canada in several international tournaments, including the IIHF World U18 Championships, the Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament and the IIHF World U20 Championships. Morrissey was instrumental in helping the under-18 team win gold at the 2013 World U18 Championships, as well as the under-20 team at the 2015 World Junior Championships. He was named to the 2015 World Junior All-Star First Team, finishing with four points and a +9 plus-minus rating.[12]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

  Regular season Playoffs
SeasonTeamLeagueGP PIMGP G A Pts PIM
2010–11Prince Albert RaidersWHL5 0 0 0 4
2011–12Prince Albert RaidersWHL68 10 28 38 60
2012–13Prince Albert RaidersWHL70 15 32 47 914 0 1 1 9
2013–14Prince Albert RaidersWHL59 28 45 73 594 1 2 3 6
2013–14St. John's IceCapsAHL8 0 1 1 220 2 7 9 20
2014–15Prince Albert RaidersWHL27 7 14 21 28
2014–15Kelowna RocketsWHL20 6 11 17 3413 2 12 14 24
2015–16Manitoba MooseAHL57 3 19 22 47
2015–16Winnipeg JetsNHL1 0 0 0 0
2016–17Winnipeg JetsNHL82 6 14 20 38
2017–18Winnipeg JetsNHL81 7 19 26 4716 1 1 2 6
2018–19Winnipeg JetsNHL59 6 25 31 146 0 1 1 0
2019–20Winnipeg JetsNHL65 5 26 31 244 0 1 1 4
2020–21Winnipeg JetsNHL56 4 17 21 258 1 4 5 6
2021–22Winnipeg JetsNHL79 12 25 37 66
2022–23Winnipeg JetsNHL78 16 60 76 413 0 1 1 0
2023–24Winnipeg JetsNHL81 10 59 69 445 3 1 4 2
NHL totals582 66 245 311 29942 5 9 14 18

International

YearTeamEventResult GP G A Pts PIM
2012Canada PacificU175th5 1 1 2 10
2012CanadaU187 0 3 3 22
2012Canada IH185 1 8 9 14
2013Canada U187 3 4 7 4
2014CanadaWJC4th7 1 2 3 4
2015CanadaWJC7 1 3 4 0
2017CanadaWC10 0 1 1 6
Junior totals38 7 21 28 54
Senior totals10 0 1 1 6

Awards and honours

HonourYearRef
WHL
WHL First All-Star Team (East)2013–14[13]
NHL
National Hockey League All-Star Game2023
International
Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament gold medal2012[14]
IIHF World U18 Championship gold medal2013[15]
IIHF World U20 Championships gold medal2015
IIHF World U20 Championships All-Tournament Team2015

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Pee-Wee players who have reached NHL or WHA. 2018. Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament. 2019-01-05. March 6, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190306085544/https://www.publicationsports.com/ressources/files/439/Joueurs_Pro.pdf. dead.
  2. Web site: Josh Morrissey prospect profile . Hockey'sFuture.com . 2015-06-07 . 2015-06-07.
  3. Web site: Raiders Name Captains. raiderhockey.com. April 20, 2018. September 26, 2013.
  4. Web site: Winnipeg Jets sign Josh Morrissey to $1.4m deal . . 2013-10-03 . 2013-10-03.
  5. Web site: Josh Morrissey joins brother Jake in Kelowna . https://web.archive.org/web/20150531103556/http://www.calgarysun.com/2014/12/15/whl-report----josh-morrissey-joins-brother-jake-in-kelowna . live . 2015-05-31 . . 2014-12-15 . 2014-12-15 .
  6. Web site: Morrissey make professional debut . . 2014-04-15 . 2014-04-15.
  7. News: The Moose are loose. Winnipeg Free Press. 2015-10-09 . 2015-10-09.
  8. Web site: Jets Morrissey make debut in Manitoba . . 2016-03-16 . 2016-03-25.
  9. Web site: Kuc. Chris. Tuesday's recap: Jets 4, Blackhawks 0. Chicago Tribune. November 15, 2016 . 18 April 2018.
  10. Web site: Johnston. Mike. Jets' Morrissey suspended one game for cross-checking Wild's Staal. sportsnet.ca. April 20, 2018. April 18, 2018.
  11. Web site: Campbell . Tim . Morrissey agrees to eight-year, $50 million contract extension with Jets . NHL.com . September 12, 2019 . September 12, 2019.
  12. Web site: 2015 World Juniors All-Tournament Team . nhl.com . January 6, 2015.
  13. Web site: WHL Announces All-Stars & Awards . . 2014-05-01 . 2014-05-01 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140324010930/http://whl.ca/article/whl-announces-all-stars-awards-finalists . March 24, 2014 .
  14. Web site: 22 CHL players win U18 Gold . . 2012-05-01 . 2012-05-01 .
  15. http://www.hockeycanada.ca/en-ca/news/canada-wins-u18-worlds-gold-medal Canada's National Men's Under-18 Team wins gold medal at 2013 IIHF Ice Hockey U18 World Championship