Connor McMichael's Journey From World Junior Championship to the NHL

Connor McMichael's journey from World Junior Championship to the NHL originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington

On January 5, Connor McMichael was on the bench in Edmonton as the buzzer sounded, watching as Team USA celebrated its 2-0 victory over Team Canada in the World Junior Championships. Less than one month later, McMichael was on the ice at Capital One Arena on Sunday. It was a long road to get to this point, but one that ultimately led to McMichael making his much-anticipated NHL debut.

The day after the loss to Team USA, McMichael was with his family in Ajax, Ontario. The following day, he was on a plane bound for Washington. Once he got there, however, he could not get on the ice right away. Instead, he was stuck in a hotel for seven days under quarantine.

As the team practiced and played, McMichael sat and waited.

"I was able to work out just in the hotel gym, but nothing too crazy," McMichael said. "You’re just trying to stay in shape. Yeah, there was a lot of meals getting ordered in, for sure. You couldn’t really go to a grocery store or anything when you’re in quarantine, so you just had to order every meal. And, I mean, it was good to get back outside again and get a breath of fresh air and get back on the ice.”

After seven days, four negative tests, a lot of "Schitt's Creek" on Netflix and a little bit of Fortnite, McMichael was finally able to get back on the ice.

No promises were made to McMichael on what was in store for him. The only thing the coaches could really tell him was to be ready when called upon. But his presence in Washington already spoke volumes.

The World Junior Championship final was on Jan. 5. With a seven-day quarantine, McMichael was going to miss all of training camp. Yet, the Capitals still wanted him in Washington. Even if it was just to put him on the taxi squad, it already showed just how highly valued he was by the team that he was recalled to begin with.

McMichael could see the implications, but tried not to think about it.

"I think from the day I got here, I wanted to get a spot on the team and that's kind of been my goal," McMichael said to NBC Sports Washington. "Every day I've just practiced with the guys, I try and do my best and try and crack the lineup. You don't want to think about it too much, you don't want to worry about it, you just do what you can control and if that time comes, it'll be an amazing feeling."

Download and subscribe to the Capitals Talk podcast

That amazing feeling came on Sunday.

With Alex Ovechkin, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Dmitry Orlov and Ilya Samsonov added to the NHL's COVID-19 protocol-related absence list, a shorthanded Caps team had to reshuffle its lineup for Friday's game against the Buffalo Sabres. Though McMichael was considered in the mix, he ultimately did not play. With Tom Wilson added to the list of players out for Sunday's rematch against Buffalo, McMichael got the nod.

“I got back to the hotel and Scott Arniel called me up and told me I was going to be playing," McMichael said. "So it was exciting and the first person that I texted was my parents and they were excited too.”

Though his first game came during a pandemic with no fans in the stands, McMichael still got the full treatment. He got the solo lap during warmups and the pep talk from Laviolette who told him to "relax and have fun, enjoy it."

McMichael even got on the scoresheet, though not in the way he would have wanted. In the second period, he was called for hooking and sent to the box. His stat line for the game was 9:54 of ice time, 1 shot on goal and 2 PIM.

“I thought he was good," Laviolette said. "I thought it’s always a tall order jumping into a team, especially when you don’t have training camp or you come out of quarantine and have one real practice with the team. For him to jump into a competitive game like tonight, I thought he did a good job.”

This, of course, is not the end of the journey for McMichael, but the beginning. As a first-round draft pick in 2019, much is expected of him in the future. But just getting to Washington and to his NHL debut in a time in which the coronavirus pandemic is still raging in North America is an accomplishment in itself. Before it is time to get back to the work of becoming an NHL player, McMichael can be allowed a brief moment to celebrate the day that goal first came true.

“It was really exciting," McMichael said. "Obviously, this is what you work your whole life for and, obviously, a little bit of nerves, but I thought I had a good game and I had a lot of fun.” 

Copyright RSN
Contact Us