Maine bound
MacKinnon commits to Black Bears
Carson MacKinnon has committed to the University of Maine Black Bears for 2017-18.
Carson MacKinnon has chosen the NCAA route, committing to the Maine Black Bears for the 2017-18 hockey season.
“It’s something me and my family talked about for a long time,” the 15-year-old Summerside native said Wednesday. “I think the college route would be a better position for me (to develop) as a player and as a person.”
MacKinnon captained Prince Edward Island’s team at the Canada Games in Prince George, B.C., and the Gatorade Excellence Challenge, a showcase event for Quebec Major Junior Hockey League prospects, earlier this year.
MacKinnon had 12 goals and 17 points in six games in Prince George. Five of those games were against Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Newfoundland and Labrador. He had five goals and three assists in five games at the challenge.
The centre said Maine officials watched him play at the Canada Games and talked to him once he returned to Notre Dame in Wilcox, Sask. They saw him skate in Charlottetown and sat down with MacKinnon and his family the following day.
MacKinnon was drafted by the Rimouski Oceanic in the fourth round (61st overall) of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League draft on June 6. His older brother Ryan played the first three seasons of his major junior career there.
He will not be attending the Rimouski camp next month and plans to head back to Saskatchewan for his Grade 11 year with the Hounds.
“It was a tough decision,” MacKinnon said. “Rimouski is definitely one of the top organizations in the Q.”
He was unsure what would happen in his Grade 12 season, but the Summerside Western Capitals have his junior A rights.
“I’m just focusing on going back and having a good year of midget right now,” MacKinnon said.
The young hockey player and his family are planning a trip to Maine in August to visit the campus.
The Black Bears went 8-12-2 last season in Hockey East, which includes strong programs like Boston University, Providence and Boston College.
The team’s alumni include Paul Kariya, Scott Pellerin, JeanYves Roys, Gustav Nyquist, Dustin Penner, Teddy Purcell, Matt Martin, Jimmy Howard and Scott Darling.