McIver retires – sort of
Newton native trades playing hockey for coaching.
Nathan McIver has closed one door and opened another. The 31-year-old native of Newton has retired as a professional hockey player, and will join the Oshawa Generals as an assistant coach for the 2016-17 Ontario Hockey League season.
“It’s hard to believe I started out playing pro 11 years ago,” reflected McIver, an eighthround pick of the Vancouver Canucks in 2003, who went on to play 36 games in the NHL and 538 in the American Hockey League (AHL) as a gritty stayat-home defenceman. “It seems like just yesterday I went to my first training camp in Vancouver.
“I was very fortunate to have a long career, and I got to meet a lot of lifetime friends.”
Highlights
There have been many memories along the way, but McIver says two stand out – playing in his first NHL game in Vancouver, and advancing to the 2009 AHL Calder Cup final, a six-game series his Manitoba Moose lost to Hershey. “You always dream of playing professional and playing in the NHL,” said the son of James and Karen McIver. “When I was 16 and playing (junior A) with the (Summerside Western) Caps I didn’t know that would actually happen.”
After playing with the Western Capitals for the 2001-02 MHL (Maritime Junior Hockey League) campaign, McIver was drafted by the Ontario Hockey League’s (OHL) St. Michael’s Majors, who were coached by Kinkora native Dave Cameron. “Dave helped me a lot, taught me what it takes to be a pro player,” offered McIver. “When I moved to Toronto and was playing in the OHL, I thought maybe I can be a professional player. “That opens your eyes a bit, you set goals and work hard to reach them.”
KRHS
After three seasons with St. Michael’s, McIver jumped to the professional ranks with the Moose, where he, again, crossed paths with another Kinkora Regional High School alumni. “I was fortunate to have Mike Kelly as my first pro D coach,” offered McIver. “He believed in me and maybe I shouldn’t have been in the American (Hockey) League to start the year, but he wanted to keep me around and gave me a shot. I owe him a lot for that.”
Scotland
McIver closed out his playing career with the Braehead Clan in Glasgow, Scotland, last season. McIver described the level of play in the British Elite Ice Hockey League as between the East Coast Hockey League and AHL.
“I didn’t know what to expect, but the hockey was a lot better than I thought it was going to be,” said McIver, who admitted he enjoyed his year in Scotland and could have returned.
Family
Another unsung hero, McIver says, in his career has been his wife, Jackie. The couple has a 15-month-old son, Kitson. “My wife is great, she was willing to do whatever,” said McIver. “If I wanted to go back and play again she was all for that. “When an opportunity came up like in Oshawa, we thought it was a good thing to jump into.”