CANADIENS’ McCARRON STILL GROWING ON AND OFF THE ICE
Big forward has a more settled personal life, hopes to find stability professionally as well
Mike McCarron doesn’t know what team he will be playing for this season, but he does know where he’ll be living.
The 6-foot-6, 230-pound forward is obviously hoping to earn a spot with the Montreal Canadiens four years after the club selected him in the first round (25th overall) at the 2013 NHL Draft. But he could end up with the AHL’s Laval Rocket after splitting last season between Montreal and St. John’s, where Montreal’s top farm club used to be located.
The Canadiens hit the ice for the first time at training camp Friday morning in Brossard and McCarron was skating at centre between Martin Reway and Jacob De La Rose on what could end up being the No. 1 line in Laval. That’s not McCarron’s goal. The 22-year-old from Grosse Point, Mich., spent most of this summer in Montreal and has settled into a condo in the Old Port with his girlfriend of three years, Olivia Vollmers. They first met when McCarron was with the U.S. National Development Team, based in Plymouth, Mich., where Vollmers’ mother, Lisa, was the academic adviser.
“That was a big transition for us,” McCarron said about moving in with Vollmers on Aug. 1 after spending the last two seasons flying back and forth between Montreal and St. John’s. “We’re all settled now and it’s a better lifestyle for me for sure.”
Whether he’s playing in Montreal or Laval, the Old Port will be home.
McCarron said his girlfriend’s mother always liked him, so it wasn’t a problem when he first started dating Olivia. But he was nervous the first time he was invited to the Vollmers’ home for dinner.
“It was weird, I’ll tell you that,” McCarron said with a smile. “They made frickin’ ribs and I was eating it with a fork and knife … on my best behaviour, you know? I had never been so embarrassed. Her dad goes: ‘You know, you can eat those with your fingers, right?’ ”
Eating is something McCarron likes to do, which isn’t surprising considering he’s still a growing boy. He was just under 6-foot-6 when measured at last year’s training camp and is now exactly 6-foot-6.
“I’ve grown maybe another eighth of an inch,” McCarron said. “Hopefully, I stop soon.”
McCarron was out of his equipment when we spoke on the indoor soccer field at the Brossard complex, wearing a tight, long-sleeved undershirt with a much more chiselled physique than last season. He’s quicker now than he was at his first train- ing camp four years ago, having worked hard on his skating, but there’s still room for improvement on his first three strides.
“I think I’ve come a long way since the first camp I had here,” he said.
“I mean, you guys saw me the first time I was here. I think I’ve become a lot better player. It’s a part of growing as a human and your lifestyle, too. It’s how to take care of your body.”
McCarron went through some fitness and nutrition testing this summer and was told his body is burning 2,400 calories a day just by resting. On days this summer when he hit the gym and also skated, he was burning upwards of 4,000 calories.
“You want to try and get those calories with the best food … you don’t want to go have a Big Mac or anything like that,” McCarron said. “I actually love cooking … (Vollmers) is a great cook as well, so we kind of mix it up and help each other out. But she definitely has salads in the fridge all the time for me and fruit and stuff … so it’s a better lifestyle having her around.”
McCarron’s guilty-food pleasure? Cookies-and-cream ice cream.
This has been a fun summer for the big man. Apart from moving in and getting to know his way around the Old Port, McCarron attended an Impact game with teammate Andrew Shaw, sitting with members of the 1642 MTL supporters’ group and ringing the North Star Bell at Saputo Stadium. He also took in a Queen concert featuring singer Adam Lambert at the Bell Centre, checked out the Jazz Festival, and tagged along with Torrey Mitchell to visit with kids in Greenfield Park attending a hockey school run by his teammate’s older brother, Josh.
McCarron also worked out hard on and off the ice to prepare for this camp.
This is a young player who has already had a taste of the NHL — which is even better than ice cream — playing 51 games over the past two seasons with the Canadiens, scoring two goals and adding five assists while playing a physical style of hockey.
The Canadiens knew McCarron was a project when they drafted him — but you can’t teach size, which McCarron has plenty of. He is entering the final year of his NHL entry-level contract and can become a restricted free agent next summer, so this is a big season for him.
“I want to stay here,” he said. “That’s my goal.”
It’s a part of growing as a human and your lifestyle, too. It’s how to take care of your body.