MODEL OF CONSISTENCY
Jets defenceman Morrissey making quite an impact in playoffs,
WINNIPEG Josh Morrissey has been known to fly under the radar, but his level of play has become far too good to ignore.
On a Winnipeg Jets team that features ample skill on the defence corps, Morrissey doesn’t do a lot of the flashy things, which could leave him away from centre stage in most eyes.
But that doesn’t mean he’s underappreciated — at least not internally.
“He’s been so solid and underrated. He does everything so well and he does all of the little things perfectly,” said Jets forward Bryan Little. “You rarely see him get beat one-on-one. He’s got an unbelievable stick and he’s one of our biggest shot-blockers on this team. He gets in the way of everything. He’s got the intangibles that are hard to find.
“You try to think of when he’s had off games and it’s hard to think of any. You don’t see him make mistakes. He’s always steady.”
The Jets hold a 2-1 series lead over the Nashville Predators going into Game 4 on Thursday at Bell MTS Place.
Toss in Morrissey’s skating ability and hockey IQ and you find a guy that’s a perfect fit on the Jets’ shutdown pairing with Jacob Trouba.
“We really relish the opportunity to play against the other teams’ top lines and be in situations where you’re counted on to make a defensive play or not let anything happen against,” said Morrissey, who was chosen 13th overall in 2013, one year after the Jets took Trouba ninth overall. “We’re always looking for ways to get better, but we both love the big moment.”
Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck spent the majority of one American Hockey League season with Morrissey on the Manitoba Moose and it didn’t take long to notice he was going to make an impact.
“He’s just a phenomenal player,” said Hellebuyck. “You’ve seen him. He’s gotten better every single game, every single night. You just see him controlling the game and really holding his own and making himself a fear factor out there. Maybe not so much for hits or anything, but guys don’t want to come to his circle because they know he’s going to shut them down.
“I always saw so much potential. And I thought he was great the second he got in. I was lucky enough to be with him with the Moose, if you call it lucky. He was so good there. And you saw him getting better, every single day. I got called up, and when I went back down I saw his game had improved so much. And that’s the same here. When he’s out there, you know he’s going to make a difference.”
Morrissey isn’t going end to end like Jets defenceman Dustin Byfuglien, but there are plenty of ways he makes his presence felt.
“He’s so consistent,” said Jets defenceman Tyler Myers.
“He just keeps wanting to learn. His opportunity is just going to get more and more as the years go.”
Morrissey made his NHL debut against the Montreal Canadiens on March 6, 2016, but was returned to the Moose after that and suffered an ankle injury in his first game back in the AHL.
Although it cost him some valuable NHL experience with the Jets out of the playoff picture, Morrissey got an extended off-season of training in and that helped him make the Jets in the fall.
Not only did Morrissey make the Jets out of training camp, he quickly found himself on the top pairing with Byfuglien.
Morrissey established a high level of consistency and for a guy who came out of junior as an offensive defenceman, did an excellent job in his own end — making it more challenging to monitor the growth in his game.
“Almost flat,” said Jets head coach Paul Maurice. “And all these other kids have kind of gone from here and taken off, right in front of you. October doesn’t look like November and December and they keep building and keep getting better. He made our team and he was that good, almost from Day 1.
“Has he gotten better? For sure. Reads. He’s stronger. He’s a better player. But from a consistency point of view, he’s equally consistent from Day 1.
“Other than highlight packages, if you watch what happens in the 10 feet of ice around the player, the impact of it game after game after game, you’ll come to love his game.”