McCann has barnburner of a shot
SUMMER PRACTICE: Canucks prospect shoots 500 pucks a day, some of which break through the barn door
Jared McCann is back.
Back from the nightmare of last summer, where a bout with mononucleosis undid an off-season of training, cost him a chance to get to Canucks training camp and tipped the start of his junior season into the ditch.
At the Canucks prospects development camp here, McCann — the player who was drafted with the 24th overall pick received in the Ryan Kesler trade — has shown everything you’d expect from a firstrounder. The two-way centre is fast, highly skilled and he possesses an elite shot that crackles off the blade of his stick.
McCann, 19, is coming off a terrific second half to his junior season with Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds and has been invited to Canada’s national junior team summer camp in August.
If he carries a bit of swagger on the ice, it’s not a bad thing because McCann looks like he could become a special player for the Canucks.
“When we drafted him we knew he was a skilled player and has a good release on his shot,” said Canucks GM Jim Benning. “We’ve got some guys now who can shoot the puck. Jake Virtanen, Brock Boeser and Jared McCann can all rip it. He had a good year this year and he’s progressing. He’s worked hard off the ice and needs to continue to fill out and get stronger. He already has the skill.”
McCann has fought his way back from a start to his junior season where he was down to 170 pounds on his 6-foot frame.
“I feel like last year was a tough start,” said McCann. “After December I felt like I was playing my best hockey.”
So far this off-season the strength work has been going as well as McCann had hoped.
“I’ve put on a lot of weight,” he said. “I’m at 188-190 pounds right now, so I feel like I’m a lot stronger on my feet on the ice. I’m just going to keep getting stronger and building muscle (through the summer).”
Getting an invitation to the national junior team last season was a longshot for the Stratford, Ont., native. The team was deep and was going with an older group to have the best chance of winning at home.
This time around, McCann wants desperately to be a part of it. His resumé is pretty good. He had 34 goals and 81 points in 56 games, often while checking the opposition’s top line.
“I want to be one of those guys who can make an impact at that level,” he said. “I remember Jordan Eberle scoring the tying goal against Russia (in the 2009 tournament). I was disappointed (last year), but I understood why and it motivated me. I’m going to work hard there and show them I deserve a spot on that team.”
McCann is in that grey area as a 19-year-old where he’s a year too young to play in the American Hockey League, so it’s either back to junior or make it to the NHL.
Does McCann think he can crack the Canucks’ lineup this fall? He’s going into camp with that mindset.
“There’s not much (else) to say,” he said. “I want to make this team. It’s been my goal since I was drafted here.”
He also knows that his already strong defensive game is going to have to be better for the NHL level.
“I feel very confident (with the defensive part of the game),” he said. “I’ve been at this camp, playing against older guys, so it’s kind of helped me a bit. I’m going to try to keep improving it in the summer. I skate with a lot of older guys who play in the NHL, guys like Joey Hishon, Ryan O’Reilly, Cal O’Reilly.
“I feel like my game defensively has become a lot stronger.”
McCann will be working on his other strengths as well when he gets back home to Ontario. One would be his shot. But let’s let him tell it:
“I used to have a muffin (for a shot). People just told me I needed to work on it. So every day I went outside and shot 500 pucks. I still do it today. It’s something you always need to work on. It takes me about an hour, hour and a half.
“We have a barn out back. I usually put a couple pucks through the barn door each summer.”
NOTE — Virtanen, who was shaken up taking a hit during a drill on Monday, was kept off the ice again on Wednesday as camp finished up. The team said it was merely a precaution.