Fife Flyers netminder Adam Morrison honoured to join list of Mirror of Merit winners

The trophy, awarded by The Fife Free Press at the end of every season, is steeped in history and tradition, having been engraved with the names of players who were at the heart of the team dating back to the 1950s.

It is a measure of respect for the award that a board listing the names of winners through the decades hangs on the wall of the home dressing room.

Those include current head coach Todd Dutiaume, as well as the likes of Mark Morrison, Vincent Lukac, Dave Stoyanovich, Rick Fera and more recent heroes such as Charlie Mosey and Kevin Regan.

Morrison was leading the standings when the season was cut short, and after an impressive debut campaign between the pipes, few would argue that the 29-year-old Canadian deserves the special accolade.

“It’s a fantastic honour,” Morrison told the Press.

“To be recognised and become part of a rich and long history of ice hockey in Fife is something that means a lot to me.

“There were a number of great individuals in our dressing room this year and guys who performed well, so to get this award is a great honour.

“Individual accolades are always nice to receive, and we play this game because we love it, but what keeps us going back into it year after year is the people we get to work with.

“For me, the most special part of playing hockey is the connections you make along the way.”

The sudden end to the season caused by the coronavirus outbreak saw imports across the league make a hasty retreat back home.

Morrison made it to Vancouver via London, where he has spent the past 14 days in isolation at his sister’s home.

While the season may not have gone according to plan for the club – Flyers were marooned to the bottom of the Elite League when it was cut short – it was a breakthrough year for Morrison in terms of his fitness and consistency.

He featured in all 49 league matches that were played, and his 91.46 save percentage placed him among the top EIHL goalies.

“I came to compete every single night,” he said.

“Some nights your numbers look stellar, and other nights not so much.

“It’s a long season and it’s hard to be at your best every single night, but overall I was extremely happy with my season. 

“It was my first entirely healthy season and I played every single game. 

“That was a real positive for me to prove that I’m capable of that. Deep down I always knew it, but it was nice to get the result of it.”

Despite having only slim prospects of making the play-offs, Morrison was gutted not to be able to play the remaining five matches.

“I was really enjoying the push we were involved in,” he said. “We put ourselves in a very difficult position to make play-offs but the pressure was off us so it was fun going into buildings knowing we still had an outside chance, as well as possibly upsetting some rival teams.

“It was disappointing not to be able to see that through to a finish but making sure everyone is safe and healthy is the number one priority.”

Morrison, who is one year into a four-year course at Abertay University, admits he would like to return to Fife again next season, if circumstances allow.

“It’s going to depend a lot on how this virus reshapes the world and when things start back up again,” he said.

“Personally I would like to return, I enjoyed playing for Fife and for Todd, and also enjoyed going to school, but I’m not taking anything off the table at the moment. 

“It will depend on certain circumstances and I will make the decision when the time comes.”