SPRINGFIELD, Mass. … The American Hockey League announced today that Rockford IceHogs left wing Jeremy Morin, Abbotsford Heat center Markus Granlund and San Antonio Rampage goaltender Jacob Markstrom have been selected as the league’s award winners for February.
Morin, the CCM/AHL Player of the Month for February, earned at least one point in all 11 of his games played during the month, totaling nine goals and nine assists for 18 points along with a plus-10 rating, while the IceHogs went unbeaten in regulation at 9-0-1-1.
Morin began February – and his scoring streak – by picking up an assist in a 2-1 win at Utica on Feb. 1. He notched his first career hat trick and finished with four points in an 8-3 victory over Iowa on Feb. 8, and tallied a goal and two assists in a 5-4 shootout loss to Chicago on Feb. 14. His two-assist game on Feb. 15 at Iowa included setting up the game-winning goal in a 5-3 victory, and he scored twice in a 4-1 win at Iowa on Feb. 28, and finished the month with an assist in Rockford’s 5-4 overtime loss at Oklahoma City on Feb. 28.
On the season, Morin has recorded 21 goals and 22 assists for 43 points in 43 games for Rockford, while also tallying one goal and four assists for five points in 15 NHL games with the Chicago Blackhawks. A fourth-year pro from Auburn, N.Y., Morin has appeared in 201 career AHL games with the IceHogs and shows 77 goals and 76 assists for 153 points. He also has 10 points (four goals, six assists) in 30 career NHL outings with Chicago, which acquired him in a trade with Atlanta on June 24, 2010. Morin was originally a second-round draft choice (45th overall) by the Thrashers in 2009.
In recognition of his achievement, Morin will be presented with an etched crystal award prior to an upcoming IceHogs home game.
Also see: Past winners, AHL Player of the Month
In 10 games with Abbotsford during February, Granlund, the CCM/AHL Rookie of the Month for February, recorded five goals and seven assists for 12 points along with a plus-6 rating as the Heat continued to jockey for positioning atop the AHL’s Western Conference.
Granlund began the month with two points in a 4-1 win over Hamilton on Feb. 1 and repeated the feat in a 7-1 win over Charlotte on Feb. 4, his fourth consecutive game with both a goal and an assist. His second shorthanded goal of the month helped the Heat to a 4-3 win over Charlotte on Feb. 5, and he scored on back-to-back nights as Abbotsford and the Checkers played a pair of games in Raleigh, Feb. 15-16. Granlund ran his scoring streak to five games with an assist each on Feb. 21 at Milwaukee and Feb. 22 at Chicago, and after being recalled on Feb. 24 he made his National Hockey League debut with Calgary in a game vs. Los Angeles on Feb. 27.
A second-round draft choice (45th overall) by Calgary in 2011, Granlund leads all AHL rookies with 23 goals and ranks third with 44 points in 50 games with Abbotsford this season. A 20-year-old native of Oulu, Finland, Granlund spent the previous two seasons with HIFK Helsinki, where he was the leading rookie scorer in the Finnish SM-liiga in 2011-12.
In recognition of his achievement, Granlund will be presented with an etched crystal award prior to an upcoming Heat home game.
Also see: Past winners, AHL Rookie of the Month
With San Antonio off on a 10-game road trip, Markstrom, the CCM/AHL Goaltender of the Month for February, made seven appearances during the month and stopped 186 of 195 shots, going 4-1-1 with a 1.31 goals-against average, a .954 save percentage and two shutouts.
After allowing four goals on 38 shots in a 5-4 shootout loss at Toronto on Feb. 5, Markstrom allowed just five goals the rest of the month, including a 21-save effort in a 3-1 win at Lake Erie on Feb. 8. He earned his first shutout of the season on Feb. 15, stopping 28 shots as the Rampage beat Grand Rapids, 3-0. Markstrom made 30 saves in a 4-1 victory at Hamilton on Feb. 17, and was perfect in 49 minutes of relief work at Toronto on Feb. 22, finishing with 23 saves. Markstrom closed out the month with a 22-save shutout at Utica on Feb. 26, helping the Rampage finish 7-2-0-1 on their road trip.
Markstrom has played 29 games with San Antonio in 2013-14, posting a record of 12-11-3 with a 2.56 GAA, a .918 save percentage and two shutouts. The 24-year-old native of Gavle, Sweden, is 61-58-7 (2.64, .917) with seven shutouts in 131 AHL appearances over four pro seasons with San Antonio and Rochester. A second-round pick (31st overall) by Florida in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft, Markstrom has also made 43 career National Hockey League appearances with the Panthers, including 12 this season.
In recognition of his achievement, Markstrom will be presented with an etched crystal award prior to an upcoming Rampage home game.
