LAKEVILLE, Minn. — A week before heading out to Michigan to play for the U.S. National Team Development Program, Benilde-St. Margaret's forward Brendan McMorrow announced his verbal commitment to Denver.
"I am proud to announce my commitment to play Division 1 hockey at the University of Denver. Thank you to my family, coaches, and teammates that have helped me along the way." McMorrow posted on his Instagram page on Aug. 19.
The Lakeville, Minnesota, native was a plus-32 in 28 games for the Red Knights, posting nine goals and 23 assists.
"I play a 200-foot game, I think I can see the ice well and pass the puck quick," said McMorrow on his playing style, "I like to be in corners and in front of the net. I get a lot of rebound and tip-in goals."
The 5-foot-10 forward started playing hockey around two years old and has stuck with it ever since. Brendan's father, John , played hockey growing up and played at the Division III level for Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minnesota.
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Over his years playing the sport, McMorrow has earned a unique nickname. His mom called him his family nickname "shorty" once in the locker room when he was younger and ever since then his teammates, and even his teachers at school, call him that.
"Shorty" said that the recruiting process had been fairly overwhelming for him over the past few months, but he tried to keep his options open at all times.
McMorrow narrowed down his top three schools to Minnesota Duluth, North Dakota and Denver, and eventually chose the reigning national champions.
"I thought the coaching staff was super genuine and very open with me and where they saw me in a couple of years ... I think their playing style fits mine," he said.
The Lakeville native is one of many Division I prospects from Benilde-St. Margaret's who played on the team this past year, including Brady Yakesh (Minnesota), Tristan Sarsland (Clarkson) and recent commit Drew Stewart (Notre Dame).
McMorrow received an invitation earlier this year to try out for the U.S. National Team Development Program in Plymouth, Michigan, and ended up making the team.
"It was really intense ... we played six games in like three or four days, then they ran us through a really hard and fast workout," he said about the tryout process for the prestigious program.
McMorrow will leave for the NTDP U17s on Aug. 26 and will play with the team for the next two years.
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"I just want to stay consistent in what I'm doing ... I want to adjust quickly to the USHL since that's a big jump from high school."
You can expect to see McMorrow lace up the skates for Denver in the 2024-25 season.
