{"id":2443492,"date":"2019-04-26T22:56:00","date_gmt":"2019-04-27T04:56:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/aspens-henry-morrison-signs-to-play-junior-hockey-next-season-in-missoula\/"},"modified":"2019-04-26T22:56:00","modified_gmt":"2019-04-27T04:56:00","slug":"aspens-henry-morrison-signs-to-play-junior-hockey-next-season-in-missoula","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/local-news\/aspens-henry-morrison-signs-to-play-junior-hockey-next-season-in-missoula\/","title":{"rendered":"Aspen\u2019s Henry Morrison signs to play junior hockey next season in Missoula"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"swift-gallery\" readability=\"6.6872852233677\">\n<ul id=\"imageGallery-304822-378\" class=\"gallery list-unstyled\">\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/04\/hockey-atd-042719-1-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/04\/hockey-atd-042719-1.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Courtesy | Aspen High School senior and Aspen Junior Hockey product Henry Morrison will play Junior Hockey next season for the Missoula Bruins.\" class=\"h-100\">\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\" readability=\"6.5\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/04\/hockey-atd-042719-1.jpg\" alt=\"Aspen High School senior and Aspen Junior Hockey product Henry Morrison will play Junior Hockey next season for the Missoula Bruins.\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"8\">\n<p><strong>Aspen High School senior and Aspen Junior Hockey product Henry Morrison will play Junior Hockey next season for the Missoula Bruins.<\/strong><br \/>Courtesy<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/04\/hockey-atd-042719-1-1-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/04\/hockey-atd-042719-1-1.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times | Aspen High School senior Henry Morrison leads a group onto the ice against Valor Christian on Nov. 27, 2018, at Lewis Ice Arena. (Photo by Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times).\" class=\"h-100\">\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\" readability=\"8\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/04\/hockey-atd-042719-1-1.jpg\" alt=\"Aspen High School senior Henry Morrison leads a group onto the ice against Valor Christian on Nov. 27, 2018, at Lewis Ice Arena. (Photo by Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times).\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"11\">\n<p><strong>Aspen High School senior Henry Morrison leads a group onto the ice against Valor Christian on Nov. 27, 2018, at Lewis Ice Arena. (Photo by Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times).<\/strong><br \/>Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/04\/hockey-atd-042719-1-2-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/04\/hockey-atd-042719-1-2.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times | Aspen High School hockey senior Henry Morrison, back right, plays against Valor Christian on Tuesday, Nov. 27, 2018, at Lewis Ice Arena. (Photo by Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times).\" class=\"h-100\">\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\" readability=\"9.5\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/04\/hockey-atd-042719-1-2.jpg\" alt=\"Aspen High School hockey senior Henry Morrison, back right, plays against Valor Christian on Tuesday, Nov. 27, 2018, at Lewis Ice Arena. (Photo by Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times).\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"14\">\n<p><strong>Aspen High School hockey senior Henry Morrison, back right, plays against Valor Christian on Tuesday, Nov. 27, 2018, at Lewis Ice Arena. (Photo by Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times).<\/strong><br \/>Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"caption-toggle\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/sports\/aspens-henry-morrison-signs-to-play-junior-hockey-next-season-in-missoula\/#\" class=\"show-captions\">Show Captions<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/sports\/aspens-henry-morrison-signs-to-play-junior-hockey-next-season-in-missoula\/#\" class=\"hide-captions\">Hide Captions<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText DropCap\">Aspen\u2019s Henry Morrison is allowing his dream of playing hockey to take him to Montana, where beginning in the fall he will play junior hockey for the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.missoulajrbruins.com\/\">Missoula Bruins<\/a>. He made it official by signing with the team earlier this week.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cIt\u2019s been a dream since I was a little kid to keep playing after high school,\u201d Morrison told the Aspen Times. \u201cThe whole college decision and all that has been stressing me out, so to know what I\u2019m doing next year is big. It helps out a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Tier III junior hockey exists as a pathway to advance to the more competitive Tier I or II levels, or to land on a college team. Athletes can play junior hockey until they are 20.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Currently a senior at Aspen High School, Morrison was a standout for the Skiers and grew up playing in the Aspen Junior Hockey organization. While attending and possibly playing in college will remain his long-term goal, taking a gap year or two to play junior hockey will allow him to pursue other hockey options down the line.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">He gave a lot of the credit to AJH executive director Shaun Hathaway for making it possible.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cReally, Shaun Hathaway made it all happen,\u201d Morrison said. \u201cWe talked about it a couple of weeks ago. He was able to make some calls for me and I got up there last weekend to go talk to the coach.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Morrison liked what he saw in Missoula. The Bruins compete in the <a href=\"http:\/\/na3hl.com\/\">North American 3 Hockey League<\/a>, which is one of two USA Hockey-sanctioned Tier III junior leagues. This past season the league had 30 teams from across the country, and is expected to add six more for this upcoming season.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The Bruins went 27-19-1 last season and made the playoffs out of the Frontier Division.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cThe management and the ownership are really good. The coach is amazing. They have really good facilities. They have an off-ice facility, full-time trainers,\u201d Morrison said. \u201cIt was about finding one program that was going to be really well run and a really good fit for me, so I wasn\u2019t looking at other programs once I found this one.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Morrison, who played center in high school and leans more toward the offense, said he doesn\u2019t yet know how the Bruins will use him. He will spend much of the summer training in order to prepare for a more physical form of hockey compared to what he experienced with the Skiers and with AJH.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cIt\u2019s going to be another added level of physicality and speed and size. It will be fun hockey,\u201d Morrison said. \u201cHopefully, I\u2019ll be able to get up there and make an impact wherever they want to play me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Morrison will live with a host family while in Missoula and will be asked to participate in numerous community service activities, such as reading to preschoolers and teaching hockey to young kids.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cI\u2019m very excited for Henry and the amazing opportunity that he\u2019s earned,\u201d Hathaway said <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspenjuniorhockey.com\/news_article\/show\/1015830\">in a press release<\/a>. \u201cI have no doubt that he\u2019ll make an instant impact on the Missoula organization, and I look forward to making a trip north to watch him play next season.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Morrison will report to camp in August. The season begins in September and runs through March. After that, he\u2019ll have more decisions to make, such as stick around for a final year in junior hockey or possibly head to college, whether hockey continues to be an option or not.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cIt will definitely be something I\u2019m talking about next spring,\u201d he said. \u201cJust keep playing competitive hockey as long as I can and see where it takes me. Maybe I\u2019ll get a spot to play in college somewhere.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText Tagline\"><a href=\"mailto:acolbert@aspentimes.com\">acolbert@aspentimes.com<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/sports\/aspens-henry-morrison-signs-to-play-junior-hockey-next-season-in-missoula\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">via:: The Aspen Times<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Aspen High School senior and Aspen Junior Hockey product Henry Morrison will play Junior Hockey next season for the Missoula Bruins.Courtesy Aspen High School senior Henry Morrison leads a group onto the ice against Valor Christian on Nov. 27, 2018, at Lewis Ice Arena. (Photo by Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times).Austin Colbert\/The Aspen Times Aspen High [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-2443492","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-local-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-17 10:02:48","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSPN The Valley&#039;s Quality Rock","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2443492","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2443492"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2443492\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2443492"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2443492"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2443492"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}