Brendan Morrison was born in Pitt Meadows, BC on August 15, 1975. Although Morrison was a local kid, it took him a while to find his way to Vancouver as a professional.
Morrison was a somewhat undersized left-shot center that played minor hockey in the BCJHL with the Penticton Panthers. As a rookie, he had 94-points in just 56-games and finished 2nd in team scoring. His performance put him on the radar for the upcoming NHL Draft and he was selected 39th overall by the New Jersey Devils in 1993.
Following the draft, Morrison put an emphasis on wanting to pursue the collegiate path and landed on the Michigan Wolverines as his destination. Morrison played 4 seasons with the Wolverines and left the program as the all-time leading scorer. In 1993-94, Morrison was recognized as the CCHA Rookie of the Year and helped the team win the CCHA championship. In his sophomore season, Morrison put together 76-points in 39-games and earned his first of three CCHA First-Team All-Star Recognitions. The following year, Morrison received his first of back-to-back CCHA Player of the Year awards after he had 72-points in 45-games. The Wolverines won another CCHA Championship that year and Morrison ended up scoring the overtime winning goal in the NCAA National Championship to secure Michigan its first national title in 32-years. Morrison was recognized as MVP of the tournament. Morrison was then named captain in his senior year where he produced 88-points over 43-games. The team repeated as CCHA champions but lost in the NCAA Semifinals to Boston University. Morrison was recognized as the best NCAA player that season winning the Hobey Baker Award. His NCAA point totals ranks 7th all-time.
After four years in the NCAA, Morrison signed his NHL contract with the Devils. With the amount of depth New Jersey had at Center, Morrison ended up playing a majority of his first pro season in the AHL with the Albany River Rats. As an AHL rookie, Morrison produced at an elite level with 35-goals and 84-points in 72-games. He was first in team scoring and eighth overall in the league. However, Morrison was not the highest scoring rookie in the AHL that season as Daniel Briere had 92-points. Nonetheless, Morrison was recognized as part of the AHL All-Rookie team.
Morrison did get some NHL Action in his first season. He was called up in December of 1997 and scored his first NHL goal in his first game against Tom Barrasso and the Pittsburgh Penguins. Through 11 NHL games, Morrison had 5-goals and 9-points. In 1998-99, as an official rookie, Morrison scored 13-goals and 46-points across 76-games. He finished 5th in Calder Trophy voting which was ultimately awarded to Chris Drury.
By the end of the season, Morrison was a restricted free agent and the Devils had sent him a qualifying offer of ~$500k. Morrison joined teammate Patrik Elias in the Czech Republic as he was also holding out for a better deal. It took until October 24th in 1999 for Morrison and Elias to officially sign new deals. After playing 44-games and registering 26-points, Morrison was still unhappy with his role in the club and was moved along with Barry Pederson to the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for Alexander Mogilny.
Morrison was excited to be joining his hometown team and knew first hand just how passionate the fan base was in Vancouver. He finished the season strong with 9-points in 12-games. Morrison set a career-high in points during his first full-season with the Canucks. He scored 16-goals and 54-points through 82-games. He also had 3-points in 4-playoff games.
It was during the 2001-02 season that Morrison’s true legacy as a Vancouver Canuck began to emerge and take shape. Morrison was the centrepiece to one of the best lines in all of hockey after Head Coach Marc Crawford paired Morrison with wingers Markus Naslund and Todd Bertuzzi. Iconically known throughout hockey as the West Coast Express, the trio dominated and terrorised the opposition for a handful of years. Morrison played at his best with the trio and set consecutive career highs with 67- and 71-point campaigns.
With the trio intact, Vancouver made the postseason each year and were widely considered as a true contender in the 2002-03 season in which they fell short after losing in Game 7 of the second round to the Minnesota Wild. Looking for redemption in 2003–04, The West Coast express steamrolled through the first half of the season, but the season took an unfortunate turn after Todd Bertuzzi sucker punched Steve Moore in a game against the Colorado Avalanche. The team still won the Northwest Division and Morrison helped force a Game 7 in the first round against the Flames with a triple-overtime winner.
In his lockout year, Morrison played in the Swedish Elite League for Linköpings HC and had 44-points in 45-games. Returning to Vancouver for the 2005-06 season, Morrison suffered a torn labrum but chose to play through the injury. He finished the season with 56-points in 82-games and the West Coast Express had come to a halt. Morrison had an off-season hip surgery and linemate Todd Bertuzzi was dealt to the Florida Panthers in exchange for Roberto Luongo.
Morrison returned for the start of the 2006-07 seasons and set the Canucks ironman record for consecutive games played—all while still dealing with a hip injury. Morrison’s ironman streak continued through the regular season and he even became the active ironman leader in the entire league. The streak continued into 2007-08 until it ended at 542-games and Morrison finally got surgery on his wrist that had been bothering him since the pre-season. After a few months of recovery Morrison returned to the lineup in the new year and tore his ACL a month into returning.
mephnick
BMo!
ColdInAlberta
Played against Brendan when I was young. I was a defensive defenseman.
I kept the newspaper clipping of the game because I had a goal and assist in a 7-3 game.
Brendan had all three goals for the other team.
AirportNearby9751
BMo will always be my #1 Canuck
BlackP-
I remember being so mad when the Canucks traded Mogilny for BMo and Denis Pedersen… But sometimes I LOVE being wrong!! The WCE was amazing!
tonyinvan
Anyone watch his youtube channel? I enjoyed his post game analysis and his stories. Last update was a few months ago, so hopefully he’s back this season.
RealGud
A SILENCER!
Sarcastic__
I remember being frustrated watching the 2010 Training Camp seeing Peter Schaefer get a contract and letting go of Morrison. I’ll always remember staying up to watch Game 6 against Calgary and him scoring the OT winner in Triple OT.
9 Comments
16. Brendan Morrison — 543GP | 136G | 257A | 393P
Brendan Morrison was born in Pitt Meadows, BC on August 15, 1975. Although Morrison was a local kid, it took him a while to find his way to Vancouver as a professional.
Morrison was a somewhat undersized left-shot center that played minor hockey in the BCJHL with the Penticton Panthers. As a rookie, he had 94-points in just 56-games and finished 2nd in team scoring. His performance put him on the radar for the upcoming NHL Draft and he was selected 39th overall by the New Jersey Devils in 1993.
Following the draft, Morrison put an emphasis on wanting to pursue the collegiate path and landed on the Michigan Wolverines as his destination. Morrison played 4 seasons with the Wolverines and left the program as the all-time leading scorer. In 1993-94, Morrison was recognized as the CCHA Rookie of the Year and helped the team win the CCHA championship. In his sophomore season, Morrison put together 76-points in 39-games and earned his first of three CCHA First-Team All-Star Recognitions. The following year, Morrison received his first of back-to-back CCHA Player of the Year awards after he had 72-points in 45-games. The Wolverines won another CCHA Championship that year and Morrison ended up scoring the overtime winning goal in the NCAA National Championship to secure Michigan its first national title in 32-years. Morrison was recognized as MVP of the tournament. Morrison was then named captain in his senior year where he produced 88-points over 43-games. The team repeated as CCHA champions but lost in the NCAA Semifinals to Boston University. Morrison was recognized as the best NCAA player that season winning the Hobey Baker Award. His NCAA point totals ranks 7th all-time.
After four years in the NCAA, Morrison signed his NHL contract with the Devils. With the amount of depth New Jersey had at Center, Morrison ended up playing a majority of his first pro season in the AHL with the Albany River Rats. As an AHL rookie, Morrison produced at an elite level with 35-goals and 84-points in 72-games. He was first in team scoring and eighth overall in the league. However, Morrison was not the highest scoring rookie in the AHL that season as Daniel Briere had 92-points. Nonetheless, Morrison was recognized as part of the AHL All-Rookie team.
Morrison did get some NHL Action in his first season. He was called up in December of 1997 and scored his first NHL goal in his first game against Tom Barrasso and the Pittsburgh Penguins. Through 11 NHL games, Morrison had 5-goals and 9-points. In 1998-99, as an official rookie, Morrison scored 13-goals and 46-points across 76-games. He finished 5th in Calder Trophy voting which was ultimately awarded to Chris Drury.
By the end of the season, Morrison was a restricted free agent and the Devils had sent him a qualifying offer of ~$500k. Morrison joined teammate Patrik Elias in the Czech Republic as he was also holding out for a better deal. It took until October 24th in 1999 for Morrison and Elias to officially sign new deals. After playing 44-games and registering 26-points, Morrison was still unhappy with his role in the club and was moved along with Barry Pederson to the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for Alexander Mogilny.
Morrison was excited to be joining his hometown team and knew first hand just how passionate the fan base was in Vancouver. He finished the season strong with 9-points in 12-games. Morrison set a career-high in points during his first full-season with the Canucks. He scored 16-goals and 54-points through 82-games. He also had 3-points in 4-playoff games.
It was during the 2001-02 season that Morrison’s true legacy as a Vancouver Canuck began to emerge and take shape. Morrison was the centrepiece to one of the best lines in all of hockey after Head Coach Marc Crawford paired Morrison with wingers Markus Naslund and Todd Bertuzzi. Iconically known throughout hockey as the West Coast Express, the trio dominated and terrorised the opposition for a handful of years. Morrison played at his best with the trio and set consecutive career highs with 67- and 71-point campaigns.
With the trio intact, Vancouver made the postseason each year and were widely considered as a true contender in the 2002-03 season in which they fell short after losing in Game 7 of the second round to the Minnesota Wild. Looking for redemption in 2003–04, The West Coast express steamrolled through the first half of the season, but the season took an unfortunate turn after Todd Bertuzzi sucker punched Steve Moore in a game against the Colorado Avalanche. The team still won the Northwest Division and Morrison helped force a Game 7 in the first round against the Flames with a triple-overtime winner.
In his lockout year, Morrison played in the Swedish Elite League for Linköpings HC and had 44-points in 45-games. Returning to Vancouver for the 2005-06 season, Morrison suffered a torn labrum but chose to play through the injury. He finished the season with 56-points in 82-games and the West Coast Express had come to a halt. Morrison had an off-season hip surgery and linemate Todd Bertuzzi was dealt to the Florida Panthers in exchange for Roberto Luongo.
Morrison returned for the start of the 2006-07 seasons and set the Canucks ironman record for consecutive games played—all while still dealing with a hip injury. Morrison’s ironman streak continued through the regular season and he even became the active ironman leader in the entire league. The streak continued into 2007-08 until it ended at 542-games and Morrison finally got surgery on his wrist that had been bothering him since the pre-season. After a few months of recovery Morrison returned to the lineup in the new year and tore his ACL a month into returning.
BMo!
Played against Brendan when I was young. I was a defensive defenseman.
I kept the newspaper clipping of the game because I had a goal and assist in a 7-3 game.
Brendan had all three goals for the other team.
BMo will always be my #1 Canuck
I remember being so mad when the Canucks traded Mogilny for BMo and Denis Pedersen… But sometimes I LOVE being wrong!! The WCE was amazing!
Anyone watch his youtube channel? I enjoyed his post game analysis and his stories. Last update was a few months ago, so hopefully he’s back this season.
A SILENCER!
I remember being frustrated watching the 2010 Training Camp seeing Peter Schaefer get a contract and letting go of Morrison. I’ll always remember staying up to watch Game 6 against Calgary and him scoring the OT winner in Triple OT.
An all time favourite 🔥