Players, fans and management at Cardiff Devils have paid tribute to departing captain Jake Morrissette following the announcement he is to retire.
The 36-year-old is the most successful captain in the club’s history and leaves with nine honours to his name since joining them in 2013.
And various members of the team on and off the ice have spoken of his contribution to the team and their memories of him.
Devils’ Managing Director Todd Kelman led the compliments and said: “Mo was one of the few guys we kept when we took over the team and thank goodness we did.
“He is one of the best team players I have ever had play for a team I was involved with. He does whatever it takes to win and always put the team’s success ahead of his own.
“He played on our top line for two years, then it seemed like whenever we felt someone was struggling or a line needed to get going, we would switch him onto that line and things would start to pick up.
“He blocks too many shots to even count, Is one of the best penalty killers I’ve ever seen in this league and would go through a wall for his teammates if it meant they had a better chance to win. Just a total pro and a great captain.
“I don’t worry about him as he moves into a career outside of hockey. When people bring a good attitude and a great work ethic to anything, which I know he will, they tend to succeed at whatever they choose to do.”
Devils coach Andrew Lord added: “I’ve been so lucky as a coach to have Mo alongside me all this time, He’s one of the best teammates I’ve ever played with and one of the best people I know.
“He is a total pro who gave everything he had to his teammates and the club. He did so much for the guys that was never talked about or known and was there for them, which is why he was always in the running for player’s player every year.
“Mo was one of the lowest maintenance players I’ve ever had, he never complained about anything and was always team first. The number of injuries he played through after blocking shots without anyone even knowing was incredible.
“I’ve known Mo since 2004 and this ends an incredible time we have had together being in hockey. He was a huge part in turning around this club the past five years and his success as our captain speaks for itself. We will miss him greatly.”
Morrissette captained the team to back-to-back league titles in 2017 and 2018, a Challenge Cup win in 2017 and most recently their second Playoff championship in a row.
His departure comes a couple of days after it was announced Layne Ulmer and James Livingston wouldn’t be returning for the new season.
Cardiff start their pre-season games with a double header against Hungarian side Fehervar AV19 this weekend.
