Newest Giant takes shine to line
Fresh from Prince George, Morrison likes idea of playing alongside Benson, Ronning
The prospect of a forward trio featuring Tyler Benson, Ty Ronning and Brad Morrison is undoubtedly appealing to Vancouver Giants’ fans.
Morrison sounds keen on the concept, too.
“That could be a pretty serious line,” said the 20-year-old, who was picked up by the Giants Friday in a trade with the Prince George Cougars.
Vancouver general manager Glen Hanlon presented Morrison with the idea of playing with Ronning and Benson when he spoke to him about the deal.
Vancouver sent a conditional second-round pick in the 2018 WHL bantam draft to the Cougars in exchange for Morrison, who recorded his third straight 20-goal season in league in 2016-17 when he tallied 21 times, on his way to 52 points, in 62 regular-season encounters.
Vancouver, thanks to a 20-46-33 record, missed the playoffs this past campaign for the third straight spring and the fourth time in five years.
And while they had their problems checking, and they also had troubles offensively, scoring just 183 goals — a new season-low for the franchise over its 16 years in existence.
Ronning, with 53 points, led Vancouver in scoring last season. More telling, Benson came in third on the squad, via the 42 points he produced in an injury-shortened 33 games.
Morrison, listed at 6-feet and 175 pounds, is a shifty, clever type who isn’t averse to driving the puck to the net. He’s capable of playing either centre or wing.
He spent part of last season on Prince George’s No. 1 line, alongside Jansen Harkins and Jesse Gabrielle, and the Cougars wound up winning the B.C. Division regular season pennant.
There would seem to be makings of chemistry between Morrison, Ronning and Benson. Ronning is a finisher.
Benson is a workhorse capable of winning battles in corners, and also an underrated passer. The trio, if together, would also be one of the quicker lines in the league. But there are still questions. Benson, the 2016 Edmonton Oilers second-rounder, has been ransacked by injuries during his time with the Giants and he’s missed 91 of the 216 regular-season games he’s been eligible for.
His health will be a major storyline once again this season.
He has inked a contract with the Oilers and is age eligible to play in the NHL this coming season, although considering how much action he’s missed the past few years and the playoff run Edmonton had last spring, that’s a decided long shot.
Morrison and Ronning, though, are both eligible to play minor pro. Ronning, a 2016 New York Rangers seventh-rounder, is yet to sign a deal with the team, although he did play 12 games with their AHL Hartford affiliate last spring on an amateur tryout after the Giants season ended and remains hopeful that he could land something in their system after training camp this fall.
Morrison was a Rangers 2015 fourth-rounder but they opted to not sign him by Thursday’s NHL deadline, waiving their rights to him in the process.
He’s hoping for a chance at an NHL training camp somewhere this fall.
Odds are that both he and Ronning will be based out of the Langley Events Centre with the Giants in 2017-18. Then again, with the way things have gone for the club the past few seasons, it would be foolish to completely rule anything out.
The conditional status on the draft pick sent to Prince George is in case Morrison plays pro.
“If things fall into place, I’d put those three up against any other line in our league,” Hanlon explained.
Morrison talked up mentoring younger players with the Giants, mentioning James Malm in particular. Malm, 17, is a similar in size and skills to Morrison, and the plan is for him to anchor Vancouver’s No. 2 line. He was Vancouver’s second-leading scorer last season.
Teams are only permitted three 20-year-olds on their regular-season roster, and the Cougars had 13 players born in 1997 on their team at the end of last season, meaning that several trades could be in the works.
“If things fall into place, I’d put those three up against any other line in our league.” — GLEN HANLON VANCOUVER GIANTS GM