Morrissey finding his groove

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This article was published 19/03/2018 (2228 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

As a hockey-obsessed Canadian kid, Josh Morrissey grew up appreciating the best and brightest of the NHL’s elite.

He caught the bug at five and by the time he had reached his 10th birthday, his nightly television-watching habits were often informed by the play of two men — the now-retired Nicklas Lidstrom and Scott Niedermayer.

The second-year Winnipeg Jets blue-liner remembers focusing on the performances of those future Hockey Hall of Fame defencemen with unusual intensity.

“So efficient, so smooth,” Morrissey said Tuesday morning. “Always making the right plays — little plays that you wouldn’t notice unless you really just watched that one player. Those guys were great at getting out of the way of checks. For me, that’s something I try to do. Obviously, if I’m taking a lot of hits, that’s not a good thing for anyone.”

Morrissey, now 22, seems very adept at handling the rigours of a punishing NHL season.

And even though he’s small by NHL standards, the 6-0, 195-pounder is the only defenceman to have played in all 154 regular-season games for the Jets since the start of the 2016-17 season.

“He skates so well, he avoids a lot of hits purely based on how well he skates,” said his current defence partner, Tyler Myers. “And, you know what, he plays a lot bigger than he is and I think he’s been unbelieveable for us this year. For a smaller guy, he plays a much bigger game.”

While Morrissey has used the Lidstrom/Niedermayer example as a template, he’s also forged his own path — developing quickly from an untested rookie struggling to make the team to a polished sophomore with a legitimate claim to being a top-pairing defenceman. His adaptability is also shown by the seemingly easy transitions he makes from one defensive partner to another.

He started the season on the club’s top pairing with Jacob Trouba, then switched to Myers when Trouba went down with an ankle injury in late January and played 12 games there, shifted over to Dustin Byfuglien for four more games before moving back with Myers for another five. Trouba finally returned to the lineup last Thursday against the Chicago Blackhawks, but suffered a concussion in Sunday’s game against the Dallas Stars.

Through it all, Morrissey — who had five goals and 22 points prior to the game against the visiting Los Angeles Kings — has scarcely missed a beat.

“I think he’s quietly exceptional… He’s improving,” said Jets head coach Paul Maurice, who returned Morrissey to a pairing with Myers on Tuesday against the Kings. “It’s only his second year in the position and a difficult craft to learn and a little bit like Patrik Laine, (on) his second tour through the NHL he starts to understand goalies’ tendencies a little bit more.

“When you get a young defenceman, you look up on the board at the opposition and have a plan for each of the wingers and the centremen that you’re going to face. It’s exponential learning for a guy.”

Morrissey has learned to prepare for an opponent, but he has also found a comfort level with each of the high-end right-handed defencemen on the roster. That familiarity comes with practice and learning tendencies.

“It’s just natural, you have to read off one another,” Morrissey said. “Each guy moves a little differently, maybe handles the puck differently, looks different when they go to make a play. So it’s all predicated off a couple of reads off each other.”

When paired with Myers, for instance, Morrissey is keenly aware that he doesn’t want to crowd the 6-8 defender’s opportunity to carry the puck and beat an opponent with his speed.

Learning to play with the impulsive Byfuglien also took time, but the duo developed a chemistry through playing together for about 40 games last season, and find it isn’t difficult to recreate the old magic.

“Maybe Buff will reverse a puck in on a certain play where Mysie or Troubs might turn it up, or vice versa,” Morrissey said. “Both plays are great, but as a partner you have to learn what play they’re going to do at any one time.

“All those little things, knowing when a guy is going to jump (into the play) or not jump, all those little reads in games come from playing with someone and getting those reps in game situations.”

Morrissey has learned to appreciate the team game the Jets employ. Successful defensive-zone breakouts are dependant on all five skaters executing properly and not the sole responsibility of the defencemen.

“Teams come so fast on the forecheck, you really don’t have a lot of time to make plays,” Morrissey said. “But there is time to make plays. That’s one thing that we really have gotten good at. You go back for a puck and you’re under pressure. That’s where all five guys are on the same page and you can make those five-foot passes instead of just rimming it or getting rid of the puck right way.”

mike.sawatzky@freepress.mb.caTwitter: @sawa14