Mark Morrison: General Manager & Head Coach

Mark Morrison is the fourth head coach in Salmon Kings history.  He started with the organization in September, 2005 as an assistant coach.  Morrison took over as the team's Head Coach on December 28, 2006. He led the team to a 27-15-3 finish including a club record nine-game winning streak, a 15-point improvement from the previous season and the team's first ever ECHL playoff berth. In his first full season as head coach (2007-08), Morrison led the Salmon Kings to not only a West Division Title, but the first Kelly Cup Playoff Series win in club history. The team rewarded Morrison for his success with a new three-year contract as head coach on May 29, 2008, also adding General Manager duties.

Morrison and the Salmon Kings continued their success in the 2008-09 season. At the Christmas break Victoria was tied for the most points (40) in the ECHL. The Salmon Kings also rambled off a 15-game winning streak that set a franchise record (the previous mark was 12 set in 1989 when the club resided in Erie, PA) and was the second longest in ECHL history. The Salmon Kings qualified for the Kelly Cup Playoffs for the third consecutive season, and then proceeded to record the team’s first ever playoff series sweep in the first round.

Morrison is well known to the Victoria hockey community, beginning his junior hockey career as a member of the Western Hockey League's Victoria Cougars in the 1979-80 season. Collecting 394 points in 191 games, the team's all-time career record, Morrison was taken 51st overall by the New York Rangers in the 1981 NHL Entry Draft. At the age of 19, he notched his first NHL goal at Madison Square Garden against the Chicago Blackhawks.

In 1981, Morrison was named as a member of the Team Canada squad that captured the gold medal at the World Junior Championships.  He was also the captain of the 1982 team that captured the bonze medal. Morrison later continued his international experience with the Canadian National Team in 1983-84 and 1988-89.

The time he spent playing with Team Canada helped open doors to continue his professional career in Europe, while his goal scoring ability enabled him to produce record setting seasons. Playing for HC Merano, in the prestigious Italian Serie A, Morrison captured the scoring title recording an astonishing 147 points in 36 games.

Morrison then began his transition into coaching by tackling the dual role of player/coach with the Fife Flyers of the British National League.  In 12 seasons as the Head Coach and General Manager of the Flyers he was a three-time recipient of both the league's Player of the Year and Coach of the Year Awards. After finishing his time in Fife, he returned to Victoria and began shortly thereafter as an assistant coach with the Salmon Kings.