Brendan Morrison - International Play

International Play

Morrison debuted with the Canadian national team at the 2000 IIHF World Championship in St. Petersburg, Russia. He was joined on the team by four other Canucks – Todd Bertuzzi, Adrian Aucoin, Ed Jovanovski and Peter Schaefer. Scoring a goal and three assists over seven games, he helped Canada reach the bronze medal game, where they were defeated 2–1 by Finland. Morrison ranked sixth in team point-scoring and tied for first with Aucoin with a plus-minus rating of +7.

Four years later, Morrison was selected again to the Canadian team for the 2004 IIHF World Championship in Prague and Ostrava, Czech Republic. He was one of two Canucks players on the roster with Matt Cooke. In the gold medal game, Morrison registered an assist, helping Canada to a 5–3 win over Sweden. With seven points in nine games, Morrison ranked third in team scoring, behind Dany Heatley and Daniel Briere.

Morrison made his second consecutive tournament appearance at the 2005 IIHF World Championship in Vienna and Innsbruck, Austria. He was named to the team alongside Canucks teammate Ed Jovanovski. Due to the 2004–05 NHL lockout, all NHL players were available to participate as there was no timing conflict with the Stanley Cup playoffs. Reaching the gold medal game for the second consecutive year, Canada was shut out by the Czech national team 3–0. Morrison ranked third on the team in goal-scoring with four; he had no assists.

Several months later, Morrison was invited to Team Canada's Olympic Orientation Camp in August 2005 – a part of the selection process for the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy. He was a late addition, replacing Mario Lemieux, who chose not to attend due to commitments with his club team, the Pittsburgh Penguins. Morrison was not chosen to the final roster.