Projected Top 5 Pick Mac Pre-Draft Interview

[LastOneUp 160]

When he isn't lifting weights in his garage, Michael Mac spends time playing games, watching movies and sharing meals with family.

 

The projected No. 3 pick in the 2020 VHLM dispersal draft should be on the ice battling in the VHLM playoffs and looking forward to the biggest moment of his young career at the end of May but his team was woefully disappointing. In Mac’s first year, he led his team in points after not even being on the roster in game 1.

 

 

And in an era of social distancing and self-isolation brought on by the crippling COVID-19 pandemic, Mac's daily routine looks a lot like those of millions of other people across North America and around the world.

 

"I don't have much to do," Mac said on a conference call with reporters Monday. "I didn't spend that much time with my family this year. I lived with billets. It's good for us to spend time together."

 

That's perhaps the only silver lining for the Hounds star winger.

 

The Canadian Hockey League cancelled the playoffs and the Memorial Cup this week due to the novel coronavirus outbreak after previously scratching the end of the regular season.

 

The VHL draft, meanwhile, was scheduled for May and will have to be done remotely in Toronto — a short distance from the 25-year-old Mac's hometown of Mississauga — but the event, along with the scouting combine and the league's award show, were all postponed.

 

That could mean no announcement of his name to an adoring crowd, no walk across the stage, no big party.

 

And if he does indeed go No. 3 in an unusual draft, Mac will have something else in common with many VHLers. Somebody who had a rough start in hockey but blossomed into a star.

 

"It would be a little bit different, but it's still an honour to get drafted by an VHL team," Mac said before news of the draft's postponement broke. "It's really special."

 

Mac, who helped lead Canada to gold at the world hockey championship in January, said he's learned to not worry about things outside his tight circle.

 

"I just try to focus on myself and going through it day by day," Mac said. "One important thing is to control what you can control. There's some things that you cannot really control.

 

"You've got to stay focused on yourself and try to do your stuff."

 

That includes working out a few hours a day by himself using a program set up by his off-season trainer.

 

"I have all the equipment that I need to get stronger and stay in shape," Mac said. "For sure it's different, but I think I can I can get stronger even if I train at my house."

 

He also lamented the abrupt end to the season when the Hounds tanked in the final weeks of the season.

 

"It went by really quick," he said of his season in the VHLM. "I enjoyed a lot of good times, good memories with my teammates. It's sad that you won't get to play with these guys again.

 

"The most important thing is that everyone stays healthy."

 

Mac's season started with sky-high expectations and a ridiculous offensive tear to begin the VHLM schedule as a rookie. Unfortunately, his team could not keep it going.

 

Mac wouldn't bite when asked if he's done enough to cement a top 3 slot, but he did touch on the @Jubo07Helsinki Titans & @GustavMattias HC Davos— the teams with the best odds of drafting him based on the final standings.

 

"Great organization," he said of Helsinki, before adding later of HC Davos: "It would be special. It's a great place to play.

 

"We'll see what happens."

 

For now, though, all he can do is train, wait and cherish some family time.

 

"It's always fun to be able to be home and spend time with them," Mac said. "It's easier for sure that I'm with them and can stay here until everything's done."

 

That's likely a long ways off. It also can't come soon enough.