Kevin Gregory Joseph Morrison (born October 28, 1949) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played 418 games in the World Hockey Association (WHA) and 41 games in the National Hockey League (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 Sydney Academy (often abbreviated as SA and once often referred to as "The Academy") is one of two main secondary schools, along with Riverview Rural High School, that service the city of Sydney, Nova Scotia. Its current building, at 49 Terrace ...

and junior hockey for Saint-Jérôme Alouettes. He was drafted in the third round of the

1969 NHL Entry Draft The 1969 National Hockey League, NHL NHL Entry Draft, 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 leagu ...

by the New York Rangers. After two seasons in the Eastern Hockey League and Central Hockey League, he advanced to the American Hockey League (AHL), playing for the Rochester Americans and Tidewater Wings, scoring two goals for the former. Morrison spent the following season with the New Haven Nighthawks of the AHL, tallying 7 goals and 28 assists. Despite solid offensive ability, Morrison was mostly known as an 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, 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 World Hockey Association. 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 Harry Steven Durbano (December 12, 1951 – November 16, 2002) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player noted for his villainous behaviour on the ice and his larger-than-life persona off it. Career Born in Toronto, Durbano rose through minor ...

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's first professional goal on October 20, 1978, against Edmonton Oilers goalie Dave Dryden. Morrison spent half his final year in pro hockey playing in the NHL for the

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fie ...

. 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 Sydney is a former city and urban community on the east coast of Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia, Canada within the Cape Breton Regional Municipality. Sydney was founded in 1785 by the British, was incorporated as a city in 1904, and dissolv ...

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