Josh Morrissey has stood out at his first Prince Albert Raiders’ training camp, not only because of his blue helmet.
More telling is the poise of the 15-year-old defenceman whom the Raiders selected sixth overall in the 2010 WHL bantam draft.
Morrissey isn’t eligible to play in the Dub full-time this season, but he’s expected to make his Raider debut tonight in the pre-season opener against the Saskatoon Blades at the Art Hauser Centre.
Luke Mahura, a 15-year-old right-winger drafted in the second round last spring, is also pencilled into Prince Albert’s lineup for tonight’s game and a Friday date with the Blades in Martensville.
Morrissey and Mahura earned extended stays after the opening phase of training camp last weekend.
“Morrissey and Mahura have been very, very good,” said Raiders coach and general manager Bruno Campese.
“They’re real smart players. Their hockey sense and their competitive level are what really separate those two guys from a lot of kids. They work hard and they compete. Man, it’s going to be hard to say no to those two kids next year.”
The likelihood, of course, is that the Raiders will bring Morrissey and Mahura on board next season, after a year of development in the Alberta Midget Hockey League.
They’re scheduled to head home this weekend and begin workouts with their midget AAA teams — Morrissey with the Calgary Royals and Mahura with the St. Albert Raiders.
After three days of scrimmages and an intrasquad game Sunday, the Prince Albert prospects were anxious to take the next step and test themselves in WHL exhibition play.
“I’m really looking forward to seeing the real WHL pace, with a lot of those top players being in the lineup,” said Morrissey, the captain of the bantam AAA Calgary Royals last winter. “It’s already exciting.”
Saskatoon prospect Trent Geiger captained Morrissey’s bantam AAA team two years ago, but the Blades cut the 16-year-old forward Monday, so the former teammates won’t face each other tonight.
With his father in tow for training camp, Morrissey has been acclimatizing himself with Prince Albert, or at least his future hockey home, the Art Hauser.
“It’s been real exciting to be in the rink here, in this atmosphere, and watch some of the older players and learn from them and what they do,” he said.
“They’re always serious about when they’re getting dressed and what not, and the way they carry themselves on and off the ice. The big thing I noticed was communication and leadership on the bench.”
Before he followed the lead of veteran Raiders like defencemen Ryan Button, Nathan Deck and Jordan Rowley during the past week, Morrissey benefited from summer training with junior and pro players through Crash Conditioning in Calgary.
“Crash runs a pretty tight ship, but I was fortunate enough that I earned the opportunity to skate with guys like (Mike) Green and Jordan Eberle,” he said.
“Seeing those guys and just how fast and skilled they are, and coming here and seeing how fast and skilled these players are, it gives you a heads-up of where you have to be and what you have to work on.
“Eberle has really sweet hands, obviously, and his skill set is really unbelievable. Just watching him out there, and in the back of your mind you’re seeing the goal he scored for Canada (at the world junior championship) a couple of years ago, it’s pretty amazing.”
Eberle, the dynamic forward from the Regina Pats, is on his way to the NHL with the Edmonton Oilers. NHL defencemen like Green, Duncan Keith and Drew Doughty are among Morrissey’s role models.
“I really like Duncan Keith’s style,” said the future Raider. “I’d like to kind of emulate my game towards him, and likewise Drew Doughty. If I could mix the two together, that would probably be my perfect role. But, obviously, those guys are pretty amazing players, so that’s a long ways off.”
For now, he’s scoring lessons in a WHL environment.
“It’s probably been the hardest I’ve worked defensively in a while,” said Morrissey, five-foot-11 and 168 pounds. “You appreciate the speed and skills of the players, and probably the deceptive speed and the quick passing. You lunge at one guy and the puck is the other way. Playing against guys at this level is just going to make me better.
“I find that if I skate, I’m doing all right, but definitely in the next year, a lot of work has to be done before I can really make the jump.”
Morrissey is on track to make that jump at the same time as Mahura. The top prospects from the Raiders’ 2010 draft class sent each other text messages on the day they were drafted, and they’ve already developed a friendship.
Mahura, an offensively gifted forward, hopes to make the most of his pre-season stint.
“There’s going to be a lot going through my head, but I’ve just got to bear down,” he said. “There’s going to be a lot of pressure, but I’ve got to keep my game simple, because I want to be known and be around for next year.
“I want to make an impression for myself to let them know I’m coming in next year to make this team.”
