In just two seasons, Massena native Mark Morris has firmly established himself as an American Hockey League head coach, and he could be working his way someday to the National Hockey League.

Morris, who coached at Clarkson University from 1988-2002 and is the winningest coach in that program's history, has spent the past two years as head coach of the Manchester (N.H.) Monarchs.

In his first season with the Monarchs, the top minor league affiliate of the Los Angeles Kings, Morris guided his team to a 51-win season and all the way to the league semifinals.

This past season, with a much younger and inexperienced team, Morris went 39-31, with 10 overtime losses, and guided his team to another playoff appearance, though the Monarchs were swept by the Providence Bruins in four games.

"I think we had three players with more than two years experience," Morris said. "We hovered around the .500 mark for much of the year. Toward the tail end we kicked it into gear and we made it into the playoffs."

Morris's first year at Manchester has been put into book form. He has written a weekly newspaper column for the Manchester Union-Leader and his columns from the 2006-07 season were published by the team and titled, "Inside Source."

All proceeds from the book were donated to charities.

"They took me to lunch and I had no idea," Morris said. "A waiter showed up with a tray and he pulled a napkin off the tray and there was the book. In my wildest dream I never thought I'd be published. It was neat to see the way it encompassed the whole year. It was a fun ride with the group and a great way to kick off my career at the level."

Morris wrote about many subjects during the season, varying from describing pregame routines, to what it's like on the bench during games and also recalling his childhood in Massena and relationships with relatives. He also wrote a column on former Clarkson goalie and Brasher Falls native Chris Bernard.

The weekly columns were a good way to introduce Morris to the Manchester fans.

"Manchester is an old mill town with lots of displaced Quebec people that worked their way down there," Morris said. "They had lots of the same upbringing I experienced. I think once they gained an appreciation for what it was that fueled my passion it mirrored a lot of the reasons why they stayed connected to the game, too. The fun stuff is to be able to share the stories and experiences. I've had some fun with it.

"I've had a lot of high school coaches throughout New Hampshire and college coaches in the area say they've used some of the things and it helps to motivate their teams. In that way it serves a purpose."

Things have changed for Morris now that he's a professional coach, but in other ways they are still the same.

Instead of having to deal with parents who are upset about a player's role on the team, now he fields calls from their agents.

But, unlike his time at Clarkson and at the Northwood School in Lake Placid, Morris has little to no control over who is on his roster.

The other big adjustment is his players can be called up to the Kings at any time. At Clarkson, he never had to worry about Erik Cole or Craig Conroy leaving in midseason because they were performing too well.

"Development is the main focus," Morris said. "That's not something that Manchester Monarchs fans want to hear. For sure it's a delicate balance to try and maintain a highly competitive team. At the same time you are trying to get the guys ready to play in the National Hockey League. It's a balancing act.

"(Call-ups) can be a little humiliating at times. You work all week long with your best players to get them ready for the weekend or the next game and you may get a phone call as you are boarding the bus and they take your best players, two or three guys. You may have to play a game short-handed."

If Morris, who turned 50 on March 31, continues to perform well at the AHL level, he could be another person who gets one of those calls in the future.

"That would be awful difficult to turn down," Morris said. "But it's never been the ultimate goal. I find it very interesting that lots of people in management I know though hockey circles are either (general managers), scouts or coaching around the (NHL). All those contacts at one point or another either open up doors or give you opportunities. It doesn't hurt to have a background where you are in touch with a lot of people."