How Morrison became the player the Firebirds count on in shootouts
At a time where sporting event are increasingly viewed through an entertainment lens – as golfers duel in payper-view matches and pro football players compete in flag football – IndyCar is trying something new in Southern California.
It’s a level of ingenuity the sport has long needed. But after a run of setbacks in numerous forward-thinking efforts – its video game, its Nashville finale and its hybrid rollout to name a few – IndyCar and Penske Entertainment are sorely, sorely in need of a win at the $1 Million Challenge at The Thermal Club.
‘I think people want to see us innovate’
Sunday’s All-Star-style, non-points event was born, in part, because of the availability of a network NBC TV window and a gaping hole left by the loss of Texas Motor Speedway from IndyCar’s schedule. After the series provided almost uniformly positive reviews from IndyCar’s preseason test at the venue in February of last year, visions of doing something more – importantly: bigger – was soon the focus for its return.
“We had an opportunity on the calendar in the spring, and Thermal had the kind of climate that seemed like it could work,” Penske Entertainment Corp. president and CEO Mark Miles
this season in the American Hockey League, no one knew that Logan Morrison had it in him to be an elite scorer in a shootout. Not even Morrison.
“Not at all,” said Morrison, a Coachella Valley Firebirds rookie forward. “Even in junior, I was not good at them.”
That’s remarkable, considering that this season Morrison has become a bit of a secret weapon for the Firebirds in shootouts.
On a team loaded with offensive talent, it’s Morrison who leads Coachella Valley with four shootout goals — two of which were game-winners. Morrison is currently one of just three players in the AHL with at least four shootout goals, but he’s the only one of the three who has a 100% shootout percentage.
Morrison, 21, was passed over three times in the NHL draft before the Seattle Kraken saw his potential and signed him as an undrafted free agent in 2023. The Ontario, Canada native is now playing his first year of professional hockey.
“It’s pretty impressive,” veteran center Andrew Poturalski said. “Shootouts often get overlooked, but those are big extra points, and it’s been fun to watch him bring that to the table for us.”
What has made Morrison’s heroics in the shootouts especially mindblowing is that they’ve all come within the last two months, and he’s scored all four goals using the exact same move. It’s a unique move that includes a slow skate toward the opposing goalie, then a quick shot.
“It’s been working,” Morrison said. “I might have to change it up because I think they’ll start to figure it out.”
Morrison said that he has a few different moves in a one-on-one situation with a goalie that he can pull out of his bag of tricks, if needed. But he won’t reveal what those moves are, to keep everyone guessing.
As of Wednesday, Morrison has 15 goals and 24 assists on the season.
Morrison was initially called into a shootout on Jan. 31 against the Calgary Wranglers. After four Coachella Valley players came up empty in the shootout, Morrison put his into the back of the net to win the game. That then gave him more chances in the shootouts that followed.
“If you score in a shootout,” Poturalski said, “you’re probably going to get another chance to do it again.”
Firebirds head coach Dan Bylsma has now repeatedly given Morrison that chance, and he has not been disappointed.
Morrison followed that shootout with a goal in the Feb. 3 shootout against the Tucson Roadrunners. He was then the only Firebirds’ player to score in a shootout loss to the San Diego Gulls on March 6, and he won the game with his shootout goal against the Ontario Reign on March 15.
“Mo has developed into a guy that just gets it done,” Bylsma said. “Does he have the hardest shot? No. But he seems to find a way. It says a lot. He’s an undrafted rookie free agent and the guy we’re looking to in those situations.”
Morrison said that the best part of his ability to score in the shootouts is that it has given him added confidence in games before they even get to a shootout.
As the Firebirds inch closer to the Calder Cup Playoffs, sitting comfortably in first place in the Pacific Division, having Morrison as another scoring threat to add to an already stacked offense should make Coachella Valley even more dangerous.
“I’m really fortunate to be a part of such a great team,” Morrison said. “There’s so many good players and the depth we have is crazy. The veterans have been amazing. So, to be a part of that in this way is really cool, and hopefully with this group we won’t even have to go into shootout the rest of the season.”
Andrew John covers the Coachella Valley Firebirds for The Desert Sun and the USA TODAY Network. Email him at andrew.john@desertsun.com.