Kevin Gregory Joseph Morrison (born October 28, 1949) is a Canadian former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...

player who played 418 games in the

World Hockey Association The World Hockey Association (french: Association mondiale de hockey) was a professional ice hockey major league that operated in North America from 1972 to 1979. It was the first major league to compete with the National Hockey League (NHL) ...

(WHA) and 41 games in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(NHL) between 1973 and 1980, scoring a total of 97 goals and 235 assists.

Career

Morrison was scouted while playing high school hockey for Sydney Academy and junior hockey for

Saint-Jérôme Alouettes The Saint-Jérôme Alouettes were a junior ice hockey team that played in Saint-Jérôme, Quebec, Canada. The team originated during the late 1950s in the Quebec Junior Hockey League, and played there until 1969. After which, the Alouettes joined ...

. He was drafted in the third round of the

1969 NHL Entry Draft The 1969 NHL Amateur Draft was the seventh NHL Entry Draft. It was held at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, Quebec. This draft is notable for being the first NHL draft to be conducted after the league ended direct sponsorship of junior ho ...

by the

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home ...

. After two seasons in the

Eastern Hockey League The Eastern Hockey League was a minor professional United States ice hockey league. Eastern Amateur Hockey League (1933–1953) The league was founded in 1933 as the Eastern Amateur Hockey League (EAHL). The league was founded by Tommy Lockhart ...

and

Central Hockey League The Central Hockey League (CHL) was a North American mid-level minor professional ice hockey league which operated from 1992 until 2014. It was founded by Ray Miron and Bill Levins and later sold to Global Entertainment Corporation, which opera ...

, he advanced to the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 season, every team in the le ...

(AHL), playing for the

Rochester Americans The Rochester Americans (colloquially known as the Amerks) are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League; the team is an owned and operated affiliate of the Buffalo Sabres. The team plays its home games in Rochester, New York, ...

and

Tidewater Wings The Virginia Wings were a professional ice hockey team based in Norfolk, Virginia of the greater Hampton Roads area. They were an affiliated farm team of the Detroit Red Wings, and a member of the American Hockey League for three seasons from 197 ...

, scoring two goals for the former. Morrison spent the following season with the

New Haven Nighthawks The New Haven Nighthawks were a professional ice hockey team that played in the American Hockey League from 1972 to 1992. They had affiliations with the Minnesota North Stars (1972–1977), New York Islanders (1972–1973), New York Rangers (19 ...

of the AHL, tallying 7 goals and 28 assists. Despite solid offensive ability, Morrison was mostly known as an

enforcer Enforcer or enforcers may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Comics * Enforcer (comics), a Marvel Comics character * Enforcers (comics), a Marvel Comics team * New Enforcers, another Marvel Comics team Film and television * ''The Enforcer ...

who was involved in a number of memorable hockey fights. During his season with the Nighthawks, he tangled with Rochester's J. Bob "Battleship" Kelly in what some, including Rochester coach

Don Cherry Donald Stewart Cherry (born February 5, 1934) is a Canadian former ice hockey player, coach, and television commentator. Cherry played one game in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Boston Bruins, and later coached the team for five se ...

, have called one of the greatest fights in hockey history. Both combatants fought furiously until exhausted, had a brief respite, then continued until neither man could punch anymore. Morrison spent the next five seasons, from 1973 to 1978, exclusively in the

. He scored better than 20 goals in his first three seasons in the league and was selected to the one WHA All-Star game. He was involved in another memorable fight during the 1978–79 season against Steve Durbano of the Birmingham Bulls. In this skirmish, even after Morrison was assessed a penalty and standing in the penalty box, Durbano continued to go after him. Durbano broke free of the linesman holding him back and took several wild swings at Morrison, who himself broke free of the other linesman and decked his opponent with a clean right that sent Durbano crumpling to the ice. Splitting 1978-79 between the AHL and WHA, Morrison recorded the only assist on

Wayne Gretzky Wayne Douglas Gretzky ( ; born January 26, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former head coach. He played 20 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for four teams from 1979 to 1999. Nicknamed "the Great One ...

's first professional goal on October 20, 1978, against

Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. They play their home games at Rogers Place, which ...

goalie

Dave Dryden David Murray Dryden (September 5, 1941 – October 4, 2022) was a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender, who created and first used the modern goaltending mask, consisting of fibreglass and a cage. From 1962 to 1980, he played nine season ...

. Morrison spent half his final year in pro hockey playing in the NHL for the Colorado Rockies. In 41 NHL games he scored 4 goals and added 11 assists.

Personal life

Morrison retired from senior hockey in 1986 and, , lives in his hometown of Sydney, Nova Scotia.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

External links

* 1949 births Living people Canadian ice hockey left wingers Canadian people of Scottish descent Colorado Rockies (NHL) players Fort Worth Wings players Fort Worth Texans players Ice hockey people from Nova Scotia Indianapolis Racers players Jersey Knights players New Haven Blades players New Haven Nighthawks players New York Golden Blades players New York Rangers draft picks Omaha Knights (CHL) players People from Sydney, Nova Scotia Philadelphia Firebirds (AHL) players Quebec Nordiques (WHA) players Rochester Americans players San Diego Mariners players Sportspeople from the Cape Breton Regional Municipality Tidewater Wings players {{canada-icehockey-winger-1940s-stub