Mac Hollowell one happy ’Hound
Niagara Falls native goes to Leafs in fourth round after being overlooked in draft last year
Mac Hollowell is hoping history will repeat itself on the ice, this time at the NHL level.
The 19-year-old Niagara Falls native embarked on a four-year career in the Ontario Hockey League the first time he was drafted by Kyle Dubas.
That was in 2014, when Dubas, then general manager of the
Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, selected Hollowell in the 12th round of the OHL Priority Selection with 237th overall selection.
Fast forward to last Saturday in Dallas, where Dubas, now overseeing his first draft as Toronto Maple Leafs general manager, made Hollowell the team’s fourthround pick with the 118th overall selection.
Since he re-entered the draft after not being selected last year, Hollowell wasn’t at American Airlines Center in hopes of hearing his name called from the podium. He was more or less following the draft from the family home in Niagara Falls.
“I was just kind of hanging out when my little brother, who was watching TV, he heard my name and he started yelling,” Hollowell said of first hearing the news from eight-year-old brother Ford.
Hollowell barely had time to digest his good fortune when Dubas called to make it officials and welcome him aboard “about 20 seconds later.”
Hollowell didn’t know what to expect in his second year of eligibility.
“I wasn’t too sure,” the 5foot-10, 165-pound defenceman said. “Since I’m a re-entry I was kind of all up in the air where I could go.
“Going in the fourth round was pretty huge.”
As an added bonus, the Leafs was the one-time Niagara Falls Canuck’s favourite team growing up.
“It’s really exciting, they’ve been my favourite team,” he said “Ever since I was a kid I’ve been watching them, so it’s really cool.”
Strengths of his game suit him to the Leafs style of play.
“They like to play fast,” he said. “Kyle Dubas, their GM, drafted me in the Sault and now he’s drafted me with the Leafs.
“He definitely believes in me, believes in the way I play. I think I fit their mould pretty well.”
He left Niagara Falls a day after the draft to begin a week-long development camp in Toronto
Hollowell is eligible to return to Sault Ste. Marie for an over-age year in the OHL, but the Greyhounds have yet to make a decision on how they want to fill the three over-age slots in their roster.
‘‘ “Ever since I was a kid I’ve been watching them, so it’s really cool.”
MAC HOLLOWELL Toronto Maple Leafs draft pick
“I’m not too sure, it’s whatever they want really,” he said.
Hollowell played one season in junior B with the his hometown Canucks. He credited the experience playing under one-time NHLer Frank Pietrangelo, the team’s owner and head coach, with preparing him to compete in the OHL.
“Yeah, I would say so,” Hollowell said. “The Canucks organization as a whole is definitely a first-class organization for junior hockey.
“I had a really good experience there, and they treated me very well.”
It was “disappointing” not to be selected in his first year of draft eligibility, but also motivating.
“It motivated me to do better in the summer, come back and have a good year.”
An especially good year at that. Hollowell finished last season
in scoring among the OHL defenceman with 12 goals, 44 assists for 56 points. He had a plus-minus of plus-39 playing in 63 games for the Greyhounds.
Hollowell received the team’s best defenceman award at the annual banquet and had a fivepoint game — two goals, three assists — in an 8-2 road victory over the Flint Firebirds.
Also invited to NHL develfifth opment camps this week are four members of the Niagara IceDogs: Andrew Bruder, F, free agent, Columbus Blue Jackets; Drew Hunter, D, free agent, Toronto; Ben Jones, 2017 draft pick, Vegas Golden Knights; Kirill Maksimov, F, draft pick, Edmonton Oilers.
St. Catharines natives Riley McCourt and Dylan Wells have been invited to the Dallas Stars and Edmonton camps, respectively. McCourt, a free agent, played with Flint last season, while Wells, a goaltender selected in the fifth round with the 123rd overall pick in the 2016 draft, saw action between the pipes for the Peterborough Petes.
Bernd.Franke @niagaradailies.com 905-225-1624 | @TribSportsDesk