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Phantoms’ Morrison goes to Colorado in Round 2
By BRIAN DZENIS
Two hours away from his hometown in East York, Ontario, Canada, Cam Morrison had his hockey dream come true.
On Saturday in Buffalo, Morrison walked on stage and donned a Colorado Avalanche jersey after being selected in the second round of the NHL draft.
“There’s so much going through your head when your name gets called,” the former Youngstown Phantoms forward said. “You don’t really know what to think. Afterwards, you just really appreciate what happened. It’s just a true honor to be drafted into the NHL.”
Morrison is the 11th player in Phantoms history to be drafted and third to be taken in the second round. Morrison, who went 40th overall, was the USHL’s Rookie of the Year in his lone season in Youngstown, scoring 34 goals and 32 assists.
“I was very comfortable with the league and comfortable with my abilities. I was given all the support I needed to show what kind of player I was,” Morrison said. “I was given everything I needed and it was a great situation and I was happy with how the season went.”
Morrison’s 6-foot-2, 207-pound frame allowed him to develop into an imposing power forward.
“Cam is a north-to-south player and he knows it,” Phantoms coach Brad Patterson said. “He strives to go to those areas and never had any delusions about being a Patrick Kane-type player, but what he does is very successful in its own right.”
Throughout the season, NHL scouts and other front office personnel visited Youngstown to check out Morrison. Phantoms GM Jason Koehler said from his interactions with those visitors, he wasn’t surprised to see the 17-year-old Morrison selected in the second round.
“With our league, it’s tough for first-year guys to really translate and have success,” said Koehler, who attended the draft. “The ones that really produce are really special players and Cam Morrison came in and racked up 30-plus goals and that right there makes him very sexy.”
The only question surrounding Morrison’s time in Youngstown was if he was even going to show up. The team selected him in the fourth round of the USHL’s draft last season and Koehler recalled the Morrison family’s reluctance to send their son south of the border. At the time, he was coming off a 31-goal season in the OJHL based in the hockey capital of the world, Toronto.
“Even when we drafted [Morrison], it was never a done deal,” Koehler said. “It was something that I knew would be a recruiting battle.”
Two weeks before the team was set to report in for the start of the season, the Morrisons agreed to come to Youngstown. Koehler said the unsung hero to get Morrison to stay was fellow Canadian and teammate Chase Pearson. The pair had the same agent-advisor and Pearson’s father, Scott, was a former NHL player who had his stamp of approval on the team.
“It was different, but I enjoyed it a lot,” Morrison said. “The parents were awesome and the guys on the team were great.”
Morrison wasn’t the only draft-eligible player the Phantoms had on Saturday. Defensemen Luke McInnis and Connor Moore and forward Yushiroh Hirano were eligible, but not selected. McInnis and Hirano were both ranked prospects by NHL Central Scouting, sitting at 141 and 184, respectively out of 330 possible non-goalies.
Koehler said that while he thought Moore and Hirano are viable pro hockey talent, they were longshots for different reasons. Moore wasn’t ranked by NHL Central Scouting so his chances of getting drafted were slim to start with and Hirano’s age — 20 — made him a less-than-desirable prospect. Koehler found McInnis’ omission puzzling.
“I’m a little surprised. He was our highest-rated prospect outside of Cam Morrison,” Koehler said. “I thought for sure he’d be taken, but every year you look at the draft and see some guys that get taken and you shake your head. You see guys that don’t get taken and you still shake your head. It’s just the choices the NHL clubs make.”
McInnis and Moore will both play for Boston College and Koehler said Hirano wants to stay in the United States. Hirano, who’s from Japan, is ineligible to play college hockey. He previously played junior hockey in Sweden and got paid there, which rendered him ineligible. Hirano will likely get invites to NHL rookie development camps and from there, try to catch on with an AHL or ECHL team, Koehler said.
As for Morrison, he’ll be heading to Notre Dame for his freshman season. Morrison said the Avalanche have no issues with him reporting to the Irish. For now, he’ll make a quick hop over the border to celebrate with his friends and family.
“I just hoped a team had faith in me as a player and as a person and I’m glad Colorado took that chance,” Morrison said.