The Manchester Monarchs, the primary affiliate of the Los Angeles Kings, have extended the contract of head coach Mark Morris.
Morris has been the bench boss of the Monarchs squad for the last seven seasons and coached the team to a record of 290-229-33 (.555), including an Atlantic Division championship in 2006-07. He has also guided the Monarchs to the Calder Cup Playoffs in six of his seven years, reaching the conference finals in 2007 and 2010.
Morris has also assisted in advancing many NHL careers and turning Monarchs players into Stanley Cup champions with the Kings. He was integral in developing the skills of Jonathan Bernier, Kyle Clifford, Davis Drewiske, Dwight King, Trevor Lewis, Andrei Loktionov, Alec Martinez, Willie Mitchell, Jordan Nolan, Scott Parse, Jonathan Quick, Brad Richardson, Slava Voynov and Kevin Westgarth, among others. Over half of the Kings’ 2012 Stanley Cup championship team was coached by Morris at one point in their careers.
“I’m looking forward to coaching again this upcoming season in Manchester,” said Morris. “It has been enjoyable working for the Monarchs for the past seven seasons. It’s a great environment. The people connected to the team make it that way; specifically the hockey staff, the players, the Monarchs office staff, the people who operate the Verizon Wireless Arena, the sponsors, and the hockey community who follow and support us. We will continue to push for excellence, win games and compete our tails off every night in our efforts to provide top-notch entertainment and ready our players for the next level.”
“We are very pleased with the job Mark has done with our prospects in Manchester over the last seven seasons,” said Kings president and general manager Dean Lombardi. “Mark has enriched the talent of our club by understanding the delicate balance between winning in Manchester and developing players to win a Stanley Cup. He is a passionate teacher and an emotional leader who has taught the prospects to be winners and consummate professionals.”
Morris, 55, coached the Clarkson University Golden Knights to 10 consecutive 20-plus-win seasons during his 14-year reign. Hired by Clarkson in 1988, Morris compiled an overall record of 306-156-42 in 504 regular-season games and a playoff record of 39-19-1. His teams appeared in 14 Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference tournaments, five ECAC league championships, three ECAC tournament championships, nine NCAA tournaments and one Frozen Four. He is the winningest coach in the history of Clarkson University and the team won eight ECAC titles in his 14 seasons as head coach. Morris received the ECAC Coach of the Year Award in 1991 and 2001.
