For the first time in their five-year AHL existence, the Checkers have a new head coach.
Mark Morris was introduced today at a press conference held at the team’s offices and fielded questions from the local media. Morris was quick to express his enthusiasm for the club and its future.
“I’m excited about being here in Charlotte and being a part of the Carolina Hurricanes organization,” said Morris. “I spent last night with the Carolina staff and I can assure you that there’s a commitment there on behalf of the organization that there’s good things that are going to happen here.”
After announcing that former head coach Jeff Daniels’ contract would not be renewed following last season, the Hurricanes began their search to find his replacement. That search came to a conclusion over the Fourth of July weekend when Carolina announced Morris’ hiring.
There were several key aspects that drew Morris to the job.
“I looked at the [Carolina] organization overall and it appeared to play to my strengths as a coach,” said Morris. “I went through that whole process with the [Los Angeles] Kings and I was there for eight years and I took pride in the fact that we developed the depth and young guys that eventually became Stanley Cup winners. I thought that this mirrored where I had been. The number one reason is that I see the potential.”
Morris spent eight seasons as the head coach of the Manchester Monarchs, the AHL affiliate of the Los Angeles Kings, from 2006-2014. During his tenure with the organization, both the NHL and AHL teams enjoyed success, with 13 former Monarchs on the 2012 Stanley Cup-winning Kings team. Morris is hoping to take some of that winning pedigree with him to his new home.
“Winning is hard,” said Morris. “You just can’t flick a switch. It takes time. You’ve got to work on fundamentals of the game. There’s no secret to it other than the fact that you have to be thorough. That’s one thing I learned through the Kings organization. Without good players, it’s hard to make it happen, but you can take players that perhaps don’t have the confidence and pull them up and raise them to another level.”
For a Checkers team that endured a tough 2014-15 season, that’s a promising outlook, and Morris seems committed to holding his team to those high standards.
“You have to keep people accountable and responsible and make them realize that, in the end, it’s how hard they play for one another. We can wish winning to happen, but in the end good teams win because they play hard for each other.”
Prior to joining the Kings’ system, Morris logged 300 wins over 14 years at Clarkson University. Given the amount of young prospects making their way through Charlotte, that experience at the collegiate level gives Morris an added benefit when it comes to developing young talent and aiding their adjustment to the pro game.
“The bottom line is you have to learn how to communicate with them,” said Morris. “Find out what turns their buttons and communicate it either verbally or through technology to let them know that you care about them and they can trust you. That’s really essential in seeing the growth and development of young players. I think having open lines of communications is probably the number one thing.”
Bringing all of his past success with him to Carolina will certainly help the process of improving, but Morris notes that there is one key component to building a competitive organization akin to what he had in Los Angeles, and he sees it here.
“You have to have a vision. We had a good meeting in Raleigh last night and I think everybody is on board. The same way [Kings GM] Dean Lombardi had a vision, I’m sure [Hurricanes GM] Ron Francis has one. The people he has surrounded himself with are great people. That’s very encouraging for me.
“You just have to keep moving that process forward with patience and good communication. That’s one thing that I got out of last night’s meeting with the staff. I think everybody is really pulling to make sure good things happen with the Hurricanes organization.”
With Development Camp winding down, sights will now be set on training camp, which is still a few months away. For Morris, that will begin the process of helping build this organization into a winner. And it starts here in Charlotte.
“The important part is creating that expectation that we’re going to win,” said Morris. “We expect to win and we’ll find ways to make that happen. It starts here. You have to create that winning culture that eventually equates into teams having the opportunity to try and win a Cup.”
