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Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Windspeaker.com
A busy week of Toronto professional sports teams celebrating Indigenous heritage kicked off on Jan. 5.
The Toronto Marlies, members of the American Hockey League (AHL), got the ball rolling by staging their Indigenous Celebration Game at their home rink, Coca-Cola Coliseum, against the visiting Cleveland Monsters.
The contest featured one Indigenous player, Monsters’ rookie forward Max McCue, a member of Odanak First Nation in Quebec.
McCue had an assist in the match and helped Cleveland register a 4-2 victory against the host Marlies, the top affiliate for the National Hockey League’s Toronto Maple Leafs.
The Maple Leafs’ Indigenous Celebration Game is set for Jan. 11. The Vancouver Canucks will provide the opposition for that contest, which will be held at Scotiabank Arena.
Meanwhile, the Toronto Raptors, who compete in the National Basketball Association, will have their Indigenous Heritage Night on Jan. 6 against the visiting Milwaukee Bucks.
Like the Maple Leafs, the Raptors also play their home matches at Scotiabank Arena.
McCue, 21, spent his entire junior career, five years, with the London Knights in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) before turning pro with the Monsters this season.
A portion of his rookie season with the Knights and his entire sophomore campaign were wiped out by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Following the Monsters’ victory against the Marlies, McCue talked about participating in the Indigenous Celebration Game.
“It’s not my first,” he said. “We did a couple of them in London. It’s always fun. It’s always exciting to have these kinds of nights. They’re really fun and it’s good for the game.”
Though he is pleased various franchises hold matches celebrating Indigenous heritage, McCue said performing well is the key for players.
“It’s just another game,” he said. “I’ve played in some big games before. It’s just another game and preparing the same way, playing hard and doing all the little things to hopefully get the team win. And we got it tonight. So, it’s going to be a fun bus ride home.”
McCue said he was around eight or nine before he found out he had Indigenous ancestry.
“I found out probably later than most people do,” he said. He added a conversation between his grandfather and father led to the discovery of his heritage.
“We ended up finding out that we were Indigenous a little bit,” he said. “So, we got our (status) cards and we went from there.”
McCue is now finding out what life as a pro hockey player is like with the Monsters.
“It’s really fun,” he said. “It’s a good group of guys and a good coaching staff. Cleveland is a great city. So, it makes the pro game a little bit easier when you can bond with your teammates off the ice and you’ve got a good coaching staff.”
Instead of living with a junior family as he did in the junior ranks, McCue has his own unit in a housing complex where the majority of his teammates live.
“It’s a different game when you’re living on your own and you’ve got to take care of your own body and you have to cook for yourself,” he said. “It’s a big adjustment. But the staff and players have made it easy.”
McCue averaged about a point per game in his final season with the Knights. He racked up 61 points (27 goals and 34 assists) in 62 regular season contests.
He added 22 points, including three goals, in 18 playoff matches helping the London squad capture the OHL championship this past spring.
Points have been harder to come by in the pro ranks. He’s earned five points, including one goal, in his first 25 contests with the Monsters.
He missed some early-season games with a lower-body injury and was a healthy scratch in some other matches.
McCue said the step up to the AHL from the junior ranks is a significant one.
“Obviously you’re playing against grown men,” he said. “Everyone is trying to get to the next level and be in the NHL.”
The Monsters are the top affiliate for the Columbus Blue Jackets.
McCue is also keeping an eye out on the fortunes of his younger brother Sam, a 19-year-old forward who is one of the top offensive weapons for the OHL’s Owen Sound Attack.
“We’re close,” the elder McCue said of his brother, who is a Maple Leafs’ draftee. “I talk to my brother a lot because he’s going through what I went through in the OHL. We’re just keeping in touch, whether it’s about hockey or about life.”