Some interesting stuff on Morrow

Due to time contraints I'll have a story on McNabb later in the weekend but Gregg Drinnan has posted some interesting stuff on former Kamloops Blazer/Kootenay Ice d-man Josh Morrow. Morrow, you might remember, was acquired in November of 2003 from the Blazers to fill one of the club's 20-year-old spots. He'd been traded from the Blazers due to a major conflict with the club's trainer Mikki Lanuk, who is now the Athletic Therapist with the Medicine Hat Tigers. So much so that Morrow threatened Lanuk, leading to the trade. I remember writing about Morrow being cut suddenly before the playoffs that season - a sweep at the hands of the Kelowna Rockets - but could never dig up why.
New information has come to light in a court decision that can be viewed here. There's a few notes in paragraphs 90-93 about his issues in Cranbrook. Ultimately the judge awarded Morrow $1.4 million in damages after a botched shoulder surgery by a doctor Outerbridge who 'left metal anchors and screws sticking up from the bone in his shoulder' from the surgery in February of 2003. It's a long read but it does provide a revealing look into the life of a player that's rarely seen on a public level. Players entertain us on a night-in and night-out basis but we never get to see what goes on behind the scenes and how their lives are affected by the strenuous life that is the sport of hockey.

Digging through the archives below is the story I wrote for the NewsAdvertiser just before the playoffs in 2004.

Maxwell arrives, Morrow released



by Jeff Bromley



In a strange case of addition by subtraction, the Kootenay Ice welcomed their future over the weekend in 15-yr-old forward Ben Maxwell, but not before making 20-yr-old defenseman Josh Morrow a sudden part of their past. G.M. Jeff Chynoweth announced that the club had released the much-maligned blueliner with only three games left in the regular season. “He has missed the last eight games and his roster spot has been filled with younger players who management feels will develop more by playing regularly,” said Chynoweth in a release.

The smooth-skating defenseman from Sherwood Park, Alberta was obtained from the Kamloops Blazers November 18, 2003 along with 18-yr-old forward Casey Lee in exchange for 20-yr-old forward Kyle Sheen. Lee opted not to report and played this season with the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League’s Kindersley Klippers.

The release was a culmination of both on-ice play and some off-ice issues, said Kootenay head coach Cory Clouston. “There’s a few issues that I’m not going to bring up,” said Clouston Thursday. “We just felt that what was best for the team was that Josh was released. As far as the on-ice situation was concerned I didn’t feel that Josh was contributing on the ice in a positive way.”

In his fifth season in the WHL, Kootenay was Morrow fourth WHL club. Starting with Medicine Hat in 1999 for three seasons Morrows was traded to the Tri-City Americans in 2002 before being dealt to the Blazers in 2003. Always a breathtaking skater to watch, as offensively exciting he was his defensive game left something to be desired, said Clouston. “He was a minus player for us and for every exciting and positive thing he did offensively with the puck he probably did one or two things to put ourselves in jeopardy. In the eight games he missed we showed that we were equally as strong without him. Guys like Price, Cole and Lloyd were filling in his absence.”

That being said, Clouston affirmed that is was more off-ice behavior than on-ice that contributed to his release. “I would say more the off-ice stuff but I’m not going to go into detail,” offered Clouston. “Basically the games he missed were shown to be a distraction and with the situation created off the ice, it wasn’t warranted keeping him here.”

Finishing the season with 5 goals and 21 assists along with 114 penalty minutes Morrow, who was drafted in the 7th round of the 2002 NHL Draft by the Nashville Predators, was an offensive player on a club sorely in need of scoring. His absence won’t shake up a blueline corps that has already played without him for the past eight games and that had trouble gelling with the 20-yr-old in the first place. “Not really,” said Clouston. “We played the eight or nine games without him anyway. Our power play didn’t pick with him coming in because he was so difficult to read (on the ice). People who watch the games would see that he was on his own page, he wasn’t within the structure. Our power play has struggled for the most of the year and while he was with us the number didn’t improve at all. It was frustrating and a little disappointing but we were his fourth team for a reason. We knew we were getting player that had some issues and some other things that had to be dealt with.”

“We made some strides with our younger players in his absence and we felt going into the playoffs that it would be a better experience to give our younger defenseman.”

Meanwhile Kootenay’s immediate future in Ben Maxwell was expected to fit into the club’s fourth line, making his debut Friday against the Chiefs. “He’ll play on the fourth line,” said Clouston. “How much ice-time he gets will be determined by the time of the game and the score. We’re not going to put him situations where he’s not going to succeed or not going to feel comfortable.”