Prospect Info: McCarron Thread Part III - A true scotsman never bust!

[Shutdown]

Mike McCarron could have murdered a Hab in training camp but opted for mercy. Talk about soft!

Exactly. No one was impressed with him at camp until he played against guys who weren't his teammates.

 

[Habskrieg]

Exactly. No one was impressed with him at camp until he played against guys who weren't his teammates.

 

[bsl]

Speed, skill, vision and the will to improve. Also not nearly as big. Blunden relied only on crashing the net and was pretty one dimensional whereas McCarron is capable of creating plays off his stick by either beating a guy with strength and speed or by making a nice pass. Blunden had only one good year for the otters where he played with skilled players.

Also, Blunden was dominating players physically in the OHL but wasn't quite as dominant in the NHL due to players being stronger. McCarron is already much bigger and stronger than almost all NHL players. 6'6" 240 pounds at 20 (likely to get even bigger) vs a guy who was 6'3" and 210.

I'd actually like to see him get down to 230, if he really is 240. Reach and speed in the NHL are more important than 10 extra pounds. 230 is already top 5% of forwards I'd guess.

 

[Mercury10]

I love the way Big Mac is playing. Everything seems to be improving/progressing nicely. The one flaw I see in his game at the moment is his endurance. He seems to take short shifts (shorter than his linemates), then seems to struggle sometimes to make it to the bench for a change. In the 5 on 3 late in the 3rd period he was gassed early and leaning on his stick across his shin pads. Easily correctable in the off season, just wondering if anybody else noticed this?
Repeat first sentence: I love the way Big Mac is playing. I thought he was better than Draisaitl last night and in the Memorial Cup in general, (other than Draisatl's big game against Rim).

 

[coolasprICE]

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/news/m...n-comes-up-big-at-memorial-cup-131613631.html

 

[417]

I love the way Big Mac is playing. Everything seems to be improving/progressing nicely. The one flaw I see in his game at the moment is his endurance. He seems to take short shifts (shorter than his linemates), then seems to struggle sometimes to make it to the bench for a change. In the 5 on 3 late in the 3rd period he was gassed early and leaning on his stick across his shin pads. Easily correctable in the off season, just wondering if anybody else noticed this?
Repeat first sentence: I love the way Big Mac is playing. I thought he was better than Draisaitl last night and in the Memorial Cup in general, (other than Draisatl's big game against Rim).

McCarron is a big boy, and he's still young and growing into his body.

It's going to take some time and some patience, but he will eventually improve his conditioning & stamina with time.

 

[The n00b King]

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/news/m...n-comes-up-big-at-memorial-cup-131613631.html

That explains a lot actually. Poor conditioning led to a poor year. Kid might turn out to be a total beast. Hope he surpasses expectations!

 

[HaZiKaN]

I was at the game Yesterday. McCarron played a hell of a 1st period! Big Hits, good passes, good shots, Good puck protection... He was dominant!

 

[Grant McCagg]

Yeah..Mac needs to keep working on his conditioning...and he's aware of it. That one rush where he and Cal Colle could have had a 2-on-1 was a good example..he went to the bench instead...he was gassed. He is skating miles out there though..better to be gassed because you are working too hard than to not even being winded at the end of a shift.

 

[habaholic]

Yeah..Mac needs to keep working on his conditioning...and he's aware of it. That one rush where he and Cal Colle could have had a 2-on-1 was a good example..he went to the bench instead...he was gassed. He is skating miles out there though..better to be gassed because you are working too hard than to not even being winded at the end of a shift.

I thought of the same thing when I saw the play. To his defense, he had just finished working his tail off playing defense in his own zone. Did a great job too.

Love this player. Could see him becoming a "complimentary" top 2 line winger or a dominant 3rd line center at the NHL level, which speaks to his smarts and versatility. Either way, exactly the type of prospect this team needs.

BTW, by complimentary, I mean a guy that can complete skill players by retrieving loose pucks, holding it, getting to the front of the net, etc. Has good enough hands and hockey smarts to play with skill guys too.

 

[RandR]

I love the way Big Mac is playing. Everything seems to be improving/progressing nicely. The one flaw I see in his game at the moment is his endurance. He seems to take short shifts (shorter than his linemates), then seems to struggle sometimes to make it to the bench for a change. In the 5 on 3 late in the 3rd period he was gassed early and leaning on his stick across his shin pads. Easily correctable in the off season, just wondering if anybody else noticed this?
Repeat first sentence: I love the way Big Mac is playing. I thought he was better than Draisaitl last night and in the Memorial Cup in general, (other than Draisatl's big game against Rim).

I also think this affects his face offs. I don't think he lost a single draw in the first period last night, but he certainly lost a few big ones in the 3rd period. Similar thing in the Rimouski game where Gauthier seemed to win the big faceoffs against him late in the game. I'd also swear that the first game I saw McCarron live during this season (one of the Oshawa at Ottawa games), he won most of his 1st period draws and lost most of his 3rd period draws.

The good thing is that conditioning is correctable. And as he improves on that, he will become even stronger on his skates.

Big Mac is having a terrific tournament. They also had a nice piece on him on Sportsnet during the 2nd intermission. Playing the way he is on the big stage and getting the recognition he is getting can only help his confidence and continued development.

 

[dudester]

I'd actually like to see him get down to 230, if he really is 240. Reach and speed in the NHL are more important than 10 extra pounds. 230 is already top 5% of forwards I'd guess.

He's already down to 225

This is what he said about his weight
“I’m down to 225 and it helps with my skating and my speed,” he said. “I want to stay around there. I feel like I’m faster, Last year, I had trouble being first on the puck in the offensive zone, but this season I’m getting to the pucks in the corner.

http://montrealgazette.com/sports/h...-to-team-usa-selection-camp-for-world-juniors

 

[Habs 4 Life]

When we drafted him, Habs said he was a long project. Watching him play we can see the guy has come along a lot faster then most though. Good for him, loved him in pre season. I wouldn't be surprised to see him up here for a few games next year, but a year in the AHL will do him good.

 

[DangerDave]

I'd actually like to see him get down to 230, if he really is 240. Reach and speed in the NHL are more important than 10 extra pounds. 230 is already top 5% of forwards I'd guess.

He's listed at 236 right now. I don't really think the weight bothers him to be honest. Watching him, he's very quick and agile (not just for a big guy either) and he can play an entire game without being tired. His conditioning seems really good compared to last year. But if it can make him quicker then I'm all for it. Speed is always better than having a few pounds.

 

[yianik]

When we drafted him, Habs said he was a long project. Watching him play we can see the guy has come along a lot faster then most though. Good for him, loved him in pre season. I wouldn't be surprised to see him up here for a few games next year, but a year in the AHL will do him good.

I am really looking forward to how he does at the AHL level, and yes, for sure you would think he will get a few NHL games in. Patience, patience, but this kid is causing excitement.

We need scoring help, but at this point McCarron is about as close to an untouchable prospect as you can get, do not trade this guy. I know he is still a couple steps from the NHL, but getting oh so close, and things came together so well this year.Can't help but dream of him being a top 6 capable guy who causes havoc every which way for other teams. Even if he is a top 9, would still be a great addition if his game translates to the NHL, even as a 10-15 goal scorer.

 

[DangerDave]

He's already down to 225

This is what he said about his weight
“I’m down to 225 and it helps with my skating and my speed,†he said. “I want to stay around there. I feel like I’m faster, Last year, I had trouble being first on the puck in the offensive zone, but this season I’m getting to the pucks in the corner.

http://montrealgazette.com/sports/h...-to-team-usa-selection-camp-for-world-juniors

Didn't hear about that. Thanks for the link. I thought he was still at 240 like what is listed.

 

[montreal]

well at least he'll get some time off before the final game to try and rest up. It's been a long season for sure.

 

[S Bah]

Debating you equals madness does it? You argued with me that you never said he was soft..which was an outright lie...then it was "he's not overly physical"..now we have different definitions of physical. Backtrack much?

I've watched McCarron play well over 100 times the past three years, and the last thing I would describe him as is "fairly soft". Please explain to me your definition of "fairly soft"...I don't think anyone else on here has a clue what that might be.

George Chuvalo was fairly soft after 15 rounds with Mohammed Ali, maybe that's what he means? Everyone has different ideas about fairly soft don't they? After the onslaught here last season, fairly soft could mean Hard As Nails, couldn't it?

 

[DAChampion]

Chris Pronger was 6'6 and played at ~215 lbs i think.

 

[Shutdown]

Chris Pronger was 6'6 and played at ~215 lbs i think.

He also had size 8 feet. (I have no clue why i remember that)

 

[DAChampion]

He also had size 8 feet. (I have no clue why i remember that)

I wonder if he slso had a small _____.

 

[SquiddFX]

I wonder if he slso had a small _____.

That could explain a lot actually...

 

[bsl]

I love the way Big Mac is playing. Everything seems to be improving/progressing nicely. The one flaw I see in his game at the moment is his endurance. He seems to take short shifts (shorter than his linemates), then seems to struggle sometimes to make it to the bench for a change. In the 5 on 3 late in the 3rd period he was gassed early and leaning on his stick across his shin pads. Easily correctable in the off season, just wondering if anybody else noticed this?
Repeat first sentence: I love the way Big Mac is playing. I thought he was better than Draisaitl last night and in the Memorial Cup in general, (other than Draisatl's big game against Rim).

He probably needs to lose ten pounds. That will happen.

He's already down to 225

This is what he said about his weight
“I’m down to 225 and it helps with my skating and my speed,†he said. “I want to stay around there. I feel like I’m faster, Last year, I had trouble being first on the puck in the offensive zone, but this season I’m getting to the pucks in the corner.

http://montrealgazette.com/sports/h...-to-team-usa-selection-camp-for-world-juniors

OK 6-6 225 is not bad. In fact it is beastly for the NHL. Then he needs to work on endurance I guess, and leg strength.

I wonder if he slso had a small _____.

Ironic given his name.

 

[sharks9]

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/news/m...n-comes-up-big-at-memorial-cup-131613631.html

The best thing about this is that he didn't get discouraged after last year, he knew he had work to do and trained all summer so he could be a better player and it's paying off in a huge way this year.

The kid's got CHaracter!

 

[Monctonscout]

He's listed at 236 right now. I don't really think the weight bothers him to be honest. Watching him, he's very quick and agile (not just for a big guy either) and he can play an entire game without being tired. His conditioning seems really good compared to last year. But if it can make him quicker then I'm all for it. Speed is always better than having a few pounds.

That was his weight last year, he lost about 10lbs in the summer and that's a big part of why he is faster and has more stamina. Last year he looked sluggish at the end of games especially.

I'd actually like to see him get down to 230, if he really is 240. Reach and speed in the NHL are more important than 10 extra pounds. 230 is already top 5% of forwards I'd guess.

He's around 225lbs right now.

I think in time he will grow to 235-240lbs but maintaining speed and quickness is important. For a guy his size, he can get stronger, he still ahs room on his frame to add good muscle. He has a powerful skating stride so if he keeps working on his speed he should be a good NHL skater much like Tinordi.