EAGER TO RETURN
His rookie season ended early due to COVID-19, but he’s ready to play this fall
Mason McTavish wants to get back on the ice with the Petes and take a step forward after an impressive rookie season //
Mason McTavish wants to build off a strong rookie season.
Last week, the Peterborough Petes rookie of the year was named to Canada’s national under-18 selection camp roster.
“It’s always a great honour getting selected to Team Canada events,” McTavish said. “It’s what you dream about being a kid. It’s always really humbling to get announced to one of those teams.”
There will be no camp since Canada will not be participating in the Hlinka Gretzky Cup U18 tournament, usually held each August. This year’s event was cancelled by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It’s horrible news to hear it’s cancelled, but it’s probably for the better with COVID going around,” McTavish said.
In lieu of a camp, McTavish will participate in virtual training and development sessions run by Hockey Canada.
“With every Hockey Canada experience, there are lots of good meetings. You really need to pay attention. They really lay out the future for you. It’s always good to be a part of those,” said McTavish.
His first involvement with Hockey Canada was on Ontario’s silver-medalwinning U16 team at the 2019 Canada Winter Games. He placed fourth with
Canada White at the World U17 Hockey Challenge in November.
McTavish was second in rookie scoring to OHL rookie of the year Shane Wright with 29 goals and 13 assists. He was named the OHL Second All-Rookie Team centre.
“There were obviously ups and downs, but I thought I had a good first year and I’m really looking forward to what’s next,” he said. “I expected the hockey to be fast-paced and it was. I thought I got used to the pace. The pre-season games really helped me get my confidence up and thinking I belong here.”
The Petes had to sell McTavish on coming to Peterborough after his agent requested they not draft him.
“It was a great experience especially for a young kid,” McTavish said. “It’s a really great league, really good development. Everyone in the organization are great people. The players are great people and terrific players. It made them really nice to work with.”
The Petes looked poised for a long playoff run when the pandemic halted play with two weeks left in the regular season.
“I thought we had a really good chance in the playoffs,” McTavish said. “We were really playing well toward the end, especially the last couple of weeks. It was very tough news hearing the season was cancelled considering we traded for a guy like Akil Thomas, who brought another element to our team that would have helped us really big in the long run.”
Having a year under his belt will help as he expands his role next season with the club graduating at least 12 veterans.
“There are less unknown factors I’ll have to think about and also being more confident in myself. I’ll try to bring that into training camp,” McTavish said.
While the Petes will lose a lot of key players, McTavish is excited to get back in action.
“We’re going to be young, obviously, but there is going to be lots of excitement, especially coming off a season that got cut short. Guys will be missing it and itching to play again. I think we might surprise a lot of teams.”
McTavish started skating again more than a week ago and hopes the pandemic won’t delay the season too much. The QMJHL has targeted October for the start of its season.
“I hear the league talking about starting a month later, which isn’t too bad. It’s the same for all teams, so it will be whichever teams and players adjust the best. We have to put ourselves in the best situation possible.”