Josh Morrissey named Masterton nominee

WINNIPEG, April 25, 2022 - The Winnipeg Jets Hockey Club is proud to announce that defenceman Josh Morrissey has been named the team's nominee for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy by the Winnipeg chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association (PHWA). The Masterton Trophy is awarded annually by the National Hockey League to the player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey.
Morrissey, 27, overcame the off-season death of his father, Tom, to cancer to put together one of the best seasons of his NHL career.
"When you're going through something like that, I think the situation with what was going on in my life, being around friends and teammates and what not just really helped a lot," said Morrissey. "And being on the ice. That's where I'm my happiest, that's what I love to do. I felt a renewed sense of enjoyment and appreciation of being at the rink, and I think it just really stemmed from there and built into the season. Training camp, pre-season. I've just never had more fun playing the game than I have this season […] it's definitely been a healing year for me."

Morrissey is active in the community and raised more than $3,700 for Cancer Care earlier this season by auctioning off a "game worn" purple velvet blazer as a tribute to his dad. He serves as an ambassador for The Dream Factory and hosts The Josh Morrissey Classic, an event that raised nearly $500,000 for Manitoba children battling life-threatening diseases in the first three years.
Morrissey is also an ambassador for Camp Manitou and Project 11, in addition to being an active board member with the True North Youth Foundation. He also started his own Foundation called the Glass Half Full Foundation, which helps raise funds for various Mental Health programs and is active both in Winnipeg and his hometown of Calgary.
Morrissey has set career highs for goals (12) and points (35) already. He has done so while often playing against the opposition's top offensive players. Morrissey is averaging nearly 24 minutes of ice time per game (also a career high) while serving as an alternate captain.
The Masterton Trophy was first presented by the NHL Writers' Association in 1968 to commemorate the late William Masterton, a player for the Minnesota North Stars, who was originally from Winnipeg and exhibited to a high degree the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey.
Masterton died on January 15, 1968 after sustaining an injury sustained during a hockey game.
Morrissey is one of 32 candidates around the NHL. The winner is selected in a poll of all chapters of the PHWA and will be revealed when the NHL holds its annual awards, though they may be held virtually this year.
A grant from the PHWA is awarded annually to the Bill Masterton Scholarship Fund, based in Bloomington, MN, in the name of the Masterton Trophy winner.