Ken Morrow

Kenneth Arlington Morrow (born October 17, 1956) is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman and a member of the 1980 USA Olympic Miracle on Ice hockey team. He is currently serving as the New York Islanders' director of pro scouting. A member of the United States Hockey Hall of Fame, he played 550 regular season games in the National Hockey League between 1980 and 1989.

Ken Morrow
Born (1956-10-17) October 17, 1956
Flint, Michigan, U.S.
Height 6 ft 4 in (193 cm)
Weight 205 lb (93 kg; 14 st 9 lb)
Position Defense
Shot Right
Played for New York Islanders
National team  United States
NHL Draft 68th overall, 1976
New York Islanders
WHA Draft 86th overall, 1976
New England Whalers
Playing career 1980–1989
Medal record
Men's ice hockey
Representing the  United States
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1980 Lake Placid Team competition

Amateur career

Ken Morrow was born in Flint and grew up in the nearby town of Davison, Michigan. He is a graduate of Davison High School. Morrow attended Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio where he was a star defenseman and also represented Team USA at the 1978 Ice Hockey World Championship. His best year as a college player was in 1979 when he was named Central Collegiate Hockey Association player of the year.

The following season, Morrow played for the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team that beat the Soviet team in an event known as the Miracle on Ice during the 1980 Winter Olympics before defeating Finland to win the gold medal.

Professional career

Selected 68th overall in the 1976 NHL Entry Draft by the New York Islanders, Morrow joined the Islanders immediately after the Olympics. He helped them win their first Stanley Cup in 1980, making him the first player to win the Olympic Gold and an NHL championship in one season. He was an integral member of all four Islanders Stanley Cup teams in 1980, 1981, 1982 and 1983. Although Morrow was never a goal-scorer, during the playoffs the Isles often benefited from his clutch goal scoring at key times. Morrow also returned to the United States national team for the 1981 Canada Cup tournament.

His most individual accomplishment in his professional career was during the 1984 playoff win in game seven his goal beat the New York Rangers[1]

During the 1980 and 1983 playoffs, Morrow had arthroscopic surgeries performed to his knees, and played only days afterward in order to contribute to the Islanders championships, often having fluid drained from his knees between games. He was eventually forced to retire prematurely from the game in 1988–89 due to constant knee problems.

Post playing career

Morrow, who was inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in 1995, has been director of pro scouting for the Isles since 1993. He previously served as the Islanders' assistant coach for one season, in 1991–92. He was also co-coach of the International Hockey League's Kansas City franchise in 1990–91 and assistant coach of the IHL Flint Spirits in 1989–90 shortly after retiring from hockey. On December 31, 2011, Morrow was inducted into the New York Islanders Hall of Fame. Ken Morrow is also President of KCIce, an Outdoor Ice Rink Development and Management company in Kansas City, MO.

In the 1981 TV movie about the 1980 gold medal-winning U.S. Hockey team called Miracle on Ice, he is played by Scott Feraco.

Morrow was portrayed by actor Casey Burnette in the 2004 Walt Disney Studios film Miracle. Before the events of the movie, Burnette played junior hockey for the Barrie Colts in the Ontario Hockey League, the Hull Olympiques (now called the Gatineau Olympiques) and the Montreal Rocket, both in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. Burnette is clean-shaven in the film, although the real Morrow had a beard at the time the film is set. While most of the players on the team were not allowed to wear facial hair, coach Herb Brooks specifically allowed Morrow to keep his beard, since Morrow had a beard prior to joining the team.

Awards and achievements
Award Year
All-CCHA First Team 1975–76 [2]
All-CCHA Second Team 1976–77 [2]
All-CCHA First Team 1977–78 [2]
AHCA West All-American 1977–78 [3]
All-CCHA First Team 1978–79 [2]
CCHA Player of the Year 1978–79
Gold medal US Olympic Team 1980 Winter Olympics
Stanley Cup New York Islanders 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983
Lester Patrick Trophy 1995–96

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs
    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1974–75 Davison High School High-MI — — — — — — — — — —
1975–76 Bowling Green State University CCHA 31 4 15 19 34 — — — — —
1976–77 Bowling Green State University CCHA 39 7 22 29 22 — — — — —
1977–78 Bowling Green State University CCHA 39 8 18 26 26 — — — — —
1978–79 Bowling Green State University CCHA 45 15 37 52 22 — — — — —
1979–80 United States Intl. 56 4 18 22 6 — — — — —
1979–80 New York Islanders NHL 18 0 3 3 4 20 1 2 3 12
1980–81 New York Islanders NHL 80 2 11 13 20 18 3 4 7 8
1981–82 New York Islanders NHL 75 1 18 19 56 19 0 4 4 8
1982–83 New York Islanders NHL 79 5 11 16 44 19 5 7 12 18
1983–84 New York Islanders NHL 63 3 11 14 45 20 1 2 3 20
1984–85 New York Islanders NHL 15 1 7 8 14 10 0 0 0 17
1985–86 New York Islanders NHL 69 0 12 12 22 2 0 0 0 4
1986–87 New York Islanders NHL 64 3 8 11 32 13 1 3 4 2
1987–88 New York Islanders NHL 53 1 4 5 40 6 0 0 0 8
1988–89 New York Islanders NHL 34 1 3 4 32 — — — — —
NHL totals 550 17 88 105 309 127 11 22 33 97

International
Year Team Event   GP G A Pts PIM
1978 United States WC 6 0 0 0 0
1980 United States OG 7 1 2 3 6
1981 United States CC 6 0 0 0 6
Senior totals 19 1 2 3 12

See also

References
  1. "Maven's Memories: Morrow's Playoff-Clincher vs Rangers".
  2. "CCHA All-Teams". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
  3. "Men's Ice Hockey Award Winners" (PDF). NCAA.org. Retrieved June 11, 2013.
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